Shining Light for Peru's Working Children

By Kai T. Hill

Lorena Garcia scans a busy square in Peru's jungle region. Her eyes zero in on the kids who pound the pavement for a quick sale.

A shoeshine boy carrying a wood case slumps away, dejected after strangers decline to have their shoes buffed. Some of his peers found customers. They're buffing away. Two tiny girls peddle candy and gum from cardboard trays.

This is a business district in the high jungle. The lush green vegetation is a distant, hazy backdrop to the concrete central square that's surrounded by small shops and municipal buildings. Adults come here for a stroll while children come to panhandle or sell bags of colored juice, candy and trinkets. They don't smile.

'A Commitment of Love'

These are Peru's street children—the kids Lorena is so passionate about. She founded Christian Cooperation for Development (COCID) six years ago as a way to nurture them and instill a love for education.

"For me it's a great commitment of love. To be able to protect them and provide them with opportunities and with what they are not getting at home," says Lorena, wearing a gleaming but modest gold cross around her neck.

Scores of children throughout this Andean country not only work to contribute to the family's income, but also often miss school and live in harsh, impoverished conditions, she says.

"Because of the problems in their homes, they have to go to the street to look for work. Child labor is cheapest. They get paid half as much as an adult," says Lorena.

The reality at home is often as emotionally grim as it is financially depressing.

"Most of the mothers here can only find jobs in the field. They simply don't have enough to support their families. Often the father is not in the picture. After a day's work they are tired and don't have enough energy left over to show their children affection."

A Daily Refuge

Catholic Relief Services has supported outreach to Peru's children for more than six years through projects linked to education, HIV and AIDS awareness, prevention of sexual exploitation, and training in small-business management. The projects are located in the Andean and Amazon regions.

Lorena started Christian Cooperation for Development in 2003 with the help of Catholic Relief Services and a Peruvian-American donor based in Rochester, New York. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), about 20 percent of Peru's children between the ages of 5 and 14 are involved in some form of income-generating labor or domestic work. The 2007 data reveals that girls and boys are equally affected.

"Lorena, together with the other teachers and collaborators of this project, has ensured that these children and adolescents have opportunities for their personal development and future," says CRS' Romina Sanchez, a former teacher who has worked with Lorena for several years.

Nurturing and Affection

At the square, Lorena hugs the young girls selling candy, plants kisses on their cheeks and tells them about the COCID center. They return her affection with hugs and high-spirited chatter. She knows some of them by name.

"They need a lot of affection. These kids often don't spend the day with their families," says Lorena.

Located in the hillside town of Moyobamba, the modestly decorated center sees upward of a hundred children each day. Some children trek long distances along rutted streets to come to the center.

"We have cases of some children who have not studied for two or three years who come here and suddenly want to study," says Lorena. "They spend most of their day at COCID, then they go back home."

In a classroom setting, the program provides children with tutoring, two meals a day, school supplies, confidence-building activities, health education, mentoring and a family-like atmosphere.

"It's beautiful that they support us," says one boy at COCID. "I come here to do my homework to keep going and be a professional achiever." Another participant says she uses what she learns at the center to "go home and help other children."

Older children learn culinary and entrepreneurial skills, including candy- and yogurt-making. After participating in the program, most kids want to pursue school and future careers, Lorena says. Given the success with the Moyobamba center, the COCID program has started satellite programs in the towns of Soritor and Iquitos in the Amazon, and Cuzco in the southern highlands.

La Madrina

Lorena has taken her deep affinity for these children a step further.

She is the godmother (la madrina) to two brothers, Hans and Miguel, whose mother died more than two years ago. Hans is part of the group that makes chocolate candies. Miguel is a confident peer trainer at COCID. Hans wants to be a systems engineer and Miguel is applying for college, with plans to become a police officer.

The effects of Lorena's touch are lasting, even for those who don't complete the program.

At the square, Lorena spotted a young man who fell into trouble with the law some time ago. They embrace as longtime friends. The center was able to help him with legal services, she explains. He later asked her to be the godmother to his infant daughter. Lorena beams with pride.

Kai T. Hill is an associate web producer for CRS. She works at the Baltimore headquarters.