Lessons learned from the Peruvian experience

Street life conditions for in Peru are terrible: winter cold hits street children heavily, street violence reaches Colombian levels, and the economic situation is so bad that nobody can get a good income from selling or begging (see Notes on the current juncture in Peru). Nevertheless, there are very creative NGOs, from which much can be learned.

1. Libraries prevent homelessness. Lima has an old tradition of a learned population and, in spite of the awesome growth of the city in recent years, book culture survives. Some programs – including CEDRO, La Semilla, and PUC-Lima – promote building community libraries, which have helped greatly to provide an alternative to the street.
   
   A library as a place where books are archived is not enough: it must be a community space. In many cases, community youth and adults teach children literacy in the library or use it as a place to reinforce schooling. Boys, girls and teenagers meet in the library because is a safer, healthier and cleaner place than the neighborhood streets. And when they are there, they take advantage of the books to research and learn.
   
   
2. Youth must not be the only people with leading roles; their families must take an active part as well. Blocks in the center of Lima seem a post-apocalyptic neighborhood: families live in the ruins of XVIII-century aristocratic houses. Rates of drug addiction, gang membership and disease are high. However, CEDRO teaches people how to take advantage of their own abilities and skills and some communities are changing.
   
   For instance, there are people in these neighborhoods who have worked in construction. CEDRO mobilizes them and provides piping and bathrooms. Now, local people build their own water and drainage systems. There are also women who can teach crafts or cookery, and CEDRO trains them to teach their peers. Other mothers teach children to read or administer small community libraries.
   
   
3. New, strange things can attract street children. In Huaraz, a famous Andean center, street children go to artificial rock walls, where children learn to climb. Other children are attracted by the lifestyle of high mountain guides. Some programs try to use such wishes to motivate children to get through.
   
   
4. “Abolishing” child labor is still an open question. MANTHOC, a movement for child workers, attempts to uphold the dignity of work and to improve conditions for child workers. Instead of promoting the eradication of child labor, it recognizes that all children work: domestic work in their homes, looking after their younger siblings and cooking when their parents come home late. Equally, it acknowledges that work and salary are the roads to dignity in a capitalist culture.
   
   Whether we accept this argument or not, the good results of MANTHOC’s proposal cannot be denied. Its 5000 participants attend school more often than other child workers, are good leaders and know their rights. The vocational workshops offer a better alternative to street work, being safer and better paid.