Children In Peru: Conditions And Current Interventions

Thirty-five percent of Peru’s population lives below the poverty line and thirty-four percent of children have to work in order to provide for their families (“Children of Peru”). Many families are living in poverty which affects the children in several ways. There are many factors that impact children's everyday lives. In Peru, the amount of vulnerable children living and working on the streets is very high. There are also many children in orphanages and living in poverty.

There are many vulnerable people in Peru that are struggling to meet their basic needs. Humanium states in their article, “Children of Peru” that so many people are in unstable situations living in Peru. Unemployment has affected many families and they are struggling because

So much of the work the children do is dangerous and very difficult. Some youth work every day in terrible conditions and still earn very little money. Many work in mines, traveling markets, plantations, or waste disposal centers. Some children are forced into prostitution or drug dealing (“Children of Peru”). In the article “Street-Working and Street-Living Children in Peru: Conditions and Current Interventions” Talinay Strehl says “Their working conditions are worse and they are confronted with more hazards such as violence, sexual abuse, drug addiction, 133 health problems, and social exclusion. The needs that street-living children express are less related to material needs, and more to emotional needs. They feel that society does not accept them as they are and that they are therefore always discriminated against. They lack the feeling of belonging to a family, of having someone who really cares about them” (132-133). This is important because so many youths are vulnerable because of the increasing violence. They also lack close relationships and don’t believe anyone cares about them because they are so discriminated against. This exemplifies how important it is for people, especially children, to have close relationships with others so they feel like they belong and know that others care about them. When children are struggling in their homes or with their families, it leads to

“Children who lose a caregiver are more likely to be institutionalized in an orphanage or care home, and experience broader short- and long-term adverse effects on their health, safety, and wellbeing...girls become more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and boys to illegal mine work” (Taylor). Children in Peru face many challenges every day. Whether they are in poverty or just have to work to provide for their families, every day is a struggle. So many of them also face abuse, discrimination, and maybe even child marriage. They don’t receive adequate health care and some of them can’t access any healthcare at all (“Children of Peru”). This exemplifies the number of challenges these vulnerable children face and that a lack of education and healthcare negatively impacts their everyday lives. Not only do children face these challenges but there are also limited resources available to