The goal of her "Sembrando,"(Sowing) aid program is to educate families on cooking and nutrition; teach communities how to build latrines for better hygiene andsupply families with plows and seeds for improved farming.

PERU – A long and windy climb into the Upper Andes by truck is enough to leave you breathless. At 15,000 feet above sea level, the air is thin – making it harder to catch your breath.

But that's just one of the problems facing families living in these remote communities.

Hunger, poverty, poor health and hygiene are also at the top of the list.

Recently, OBI President Bill Horan joined the First Lady of Peru, Pilar Nores de Garcia, for a three-day trip into the almost-inaccessible villages in order to assess the needs and see the current projects in action to aid these desolate communities.

OBI's partnership first began in an effort to aid people cooking in homes with poor air ventilation. Since most families use open flame fire pits inside their home to cook meals as well as heat their house, the interior air quality becomes toxic.

OBI President Bill Horan joined the First Lady of Peru, Pilar Nores de Garcia, for a three-day trip into remote villages in order to assess the needs. Above, an adobe oven provides relief from indoor smoke.

With no chimney to ventilate, the carbon-filled smoke covers the walls with black soot while doing even more harm to the lungs of the families breathing the air, causing an increase in respiratory and pulmonary diseases.

"The walls of the homes are black," said Jordan Durso, OBI's Latin American director based in Peru. "So you can imagine their lungs."

In response, OBI provided 1,000 adobe ovens to be distributed to affected families. The custom-made adobe ovens are equipped with metal chimneys that safely vent the smoke outside the home.

But adobe ovens are just one part of OBI's partnership and the First Lady's holistic plan to fight poverty in Peru.

The goal of her "Sembrando,"(Sowing) aid program is also to educate families on cooking and nutrition; teach communities how to build latrines for better hygiene; supply families with plows and seeds for improved farming; instruct in proper irrigation techniques; register every child with a birth certificate; and more.

OBI plans to help raise funds to aid in the purchase of plows, additional stoves and materials to construct latrines. In addition, a microenterprise project where families are given a litter of male and female guinea pigs is underway.

Education programs are underway to help teach villagers proper hygiene practices and build latrines.

"This would create some food security," Durso said, "and it would eventually help build the economy."

Once a colony of guinea pigs is established, a portion of the group is then passed on to another family to start their own business.

In the next few months, OBI is also planning to install water filtration systems in the remote areas.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This microenterprise venture is one of many Operation Blessing projects touching lives around the world. You can be a part of improving the quality of life for impoverished communities by supporting these and other life-changing programs.

 

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