Humanitarian context
Peru has experienced significant economic growth in the last decade, but inequality persists, especially in rural Andean areas. In 2017, the El Niño climate phenomenon caused floods and landslides on the north coast, affecting over 600,000 people. Seven years later, many families have still not recovered and live in makeshift camps without adequate access to water and sanitation. These catastrophes threaten the already fragile agricultural sector, resulting in food insecurity, with approximately 30% of the population dependent on agriculture and livestock.
BENEFICIARIES
Workers
Food security and livelihoods
Nutrition and Health
EXPATRIATE
NATIONAL
Our activity
For Peru, 2023 was a year marked by the effects of climate change and weather phenomena. With more than 50% of its districts declared in a state of emergency, and the northern regions (Piura, Tumbes and Lambayeque) in a level 5 national state of emergency due to the impacts of Cyclone Yaku and El Niño Costero, citizens have had to face emergencies due to heavy rainfall, water shortages, food emergencies, health emergencies due to an outbreak of dengue fever, and even districts in the capital have been declared in a state of emergency due to citizen insecurity, with the armed forces intervening.
In this emergency context, with 13 out of 24 regions reaching food and beverage inflation of more than 10%, which especially affected people of low socio-economic status, who had to spend 50% of their income (on average) to buy food, Action Against Hunger has focused its work on serving people and territories, responding to the rain and flood emergency in the north of the country, supporting the indigenous population and promoting employment and entrepreneurship through marketing networks with a comprehensive approach.
Our strategy in Peru addresses both rural and urban areas, on the coast, in the highlands and in the jungle. The actions prioritised included close work with the Autonomous Territorial Government of Awajún, in Amazonas, to generate capacities among the population to implement preparedness and rapid response mechanisms for oil spill emergencies. In the Andean region, our food security and livelihoods programme managed to prevent anaemia and malnutrition rates by 20% in the districts of Sancos and Carapo in Ayacucho. In Cusco, the cheese producers of the Sumac Ausangate Association and the maize producers of Huaro were able to reactivate their economy and increase job opportunities by marketing these products. In Lima, we help to improve access to quality health care and the care and prevention of gender-based violence among migrants and refugees.
WHERE
WE HELP
We help 24.5 million people each year. We work in 55 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, those most threatened by hunger.
EYEWITNESSES
LUIS CASTILLO: "I NEVER IMAGINED I WOULD LEARN SO MUCH AT THESE WORKSHOPS"
Luis Castillo arrived in Peru from Venezuela in 2018. Together with his wife, Lanny Fernández, and their two children, Luis was looking for new opportunities to start his bakery and pastry business. The political, economic and social crisis that his country was going through, and living conditions, complicated Luis Castillo's aspirations to get ahead. The prices of the ingredients used in breadmaking, especially flour, changed from one day to the next, increasing his production costs. "It was unprofitable to continue our business there. We had to get out quick," explains Luis.
Luis sold his oven and mixer, and with that money he embarked alone on the long journey to Lima. Thanks to his cousin Christian, he found an informal job as a bakery assistant and after a year and two months, Luis quit his job and tried to set up his own bakery business, but because of the pandemic, people were no longer buying as many loaves of bread from him as in the beginning for fear of catching Covid-19. "Gradually people stopped coming. Profits were no longer the same. With a heavy heart, I had to close my market stall," says Luis.
After a short time working as a watchman in the same market where he had his old stall, Luis returned to making bread to order full time, while his wife, Lanny, was in charge of distribution. Although business was starting to go well again, the lack of a business plan limited the potential and income his venture could generate. In 2023, Luis enrolled with his wife Lanny in Action Against Hunger's VIVES EMPRENDE programme.
The early days were not easy for Luis and Lanny: not having a computer greatly limited their progress on the tasks of building a business plan. However, the patience and understanding of their teacher Isabel Laura motivated them to continue with this important workshop. "I would highlight their perseverance to get ahead and their dedication to every detail of their business plan," Laura said.
"To begin with, I thought we would just have a few brief talks about what entrepreneurship is. I never imagined I would learn so much at these workshops, especially in putting together a business plan from scratch," recounts Lanny. Having graduated from the course run by Action Against Hunger, Luis and Lanny are now hoping that this is the start of their new goal: to reopen their bakery in the market.
