(Photo courtesy Food for the Hungry)
Peru (FFH/MNN) — When was the last time you had to worry about how you would feed your kids? How about how you would protect them from your husband or wife?
To help address domestic violence and malnutrition in Peru, Food for the Hungry is working to transform lives in each of the communities where they work: in Lima (26 communities in two districts) and Huancavelica (21 communities in three districts). They do this by working on the needs of each region.
In Lima, FH addresses the issue of child protection, promoting the holistic protection of children and adolescents because there is a high percentage of domestic violence in this area.
They are teaching and encouraging positive parenting using a Cascade Group, or Care Group, Method. Volunteers are trained by FH facilitators, then share their training in the community. Parents are taught to be self-aware, to resolve conflicts calmly, to use positive parenting, and to remember how valuable their children are.
Families also learn how to save money. Mothers learn to use healthy practices to prevent diarrheal respiratory diseases, and children strengthen their social skills in art workshops and improve their reading comprehension with the AMO educational program.
In Huancavelica, FH focuses on child malnutrition in order to improve the nutritional status of children under 3 years of age.
Parents are educated about nutrition, healthy hygiene practices, and good feeding habits to improve health and reduce chronic malnutrition in children. Using the Cascade Model, mothers replicate what they’ve learned to other families in the community.
FH also encourages families to start their own gardens so they can eat healthy, high-nutrient plants such as chard, spinach, and lettuce.
These lessons have taught parents that they can transform their families and love one another. They have found how great God is and how much He cares for them.
Food for the Hungry has been serving the poor globally since 1971. They reflect the love of Christ in short-term emergency relief and long-term work to help end world hunger.
