Peru's rich and varied heritage includes the ancient Incan capital of Cuzco and the lost city of Machu Picchu. The country boasts spectacular scenery, including Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake.

It is rich in copper, silver, lead, zinc, oil and gold. Despite this, Peru's progress has been held back by corruption and the failure of successive governments to deal with social and economic inequality.

The social and economic inequalities which still plague much of Peru have left the children in a vulnerable state. For many children life hangs in the balance as the everyday is battling serious issues surrounding health, poverty and violence.

• An estimated 18,000 children under five die every year, more than 80 per cent during the first year of life, often from preventable causes (UNICEF, 2005)
• 25 per cent of children under five – some 750,000 children – are stunted (UNICEF, 2005)
• 60% of the children living in Peru live in poverty (INEI, 2008)
• According to UNICEF there are more than 3 million working children in Peru (UNICEF, 2008)
  
• Every 2 in 10 children between the age of 6 and 11 years work (UNICEF, 2008)

Children are often blamed and at the receiving end of family disputes so much so that the streets appear as a better alternative than the family home. Too scared and afraid of another episode of violence, the children run to the streets for the comfort and refuge they so badly seek.

Issues facing Peruvian street children:

Urbanisation: Children - and sometimes whole families - migrate from rural areas to cities in search of work and/or a better quality of life. This trend is increasing and leads to overcrowding, unemployment and homelessness in Peru's cities.

Violence: One research project found that 73% of the street children they interviewed cited family violence and child mistreatment as reasons for taking to the streets (Consortium for Street Children).

Poverty: Due to the high and persistent levels of poverty, Peruvian children are often sent out by their parents to earn money on the streets. This might be by selling sweets or crafts, begging, performing acrobats, or in one of many other ways.

The Consortium for Street Children's State of the World's Street Children: Violence report (2007) states that:

Sexual abuse, violence, and emotional neglect exist at all levels of society, but children who live in maternal deprivation and in fragmented communities may feel they have nowhere to turn but the street. (p.17).

The report also suggests that most street-living boys in Peru are children who had become 'scapegoats' in their family; blamed for causing conflict and stress, and maltreated when their families were going through a crisis (p.17).

Peru - Facts and Figures

• Population: approx. 29,180,900 (CIA July 2008)
• Population living below the poverty line: 44.5% (2006)
• Official language: Spanish and Quechua
• Other languages: Aymara, and many Amazonian languages
• Life expectancy: 69 years (men), 74 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 nuevo sol = 100 centimos
• Main exports: Fish and fish products, copper, zinc, gold, crude petroleum and by-products, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton, Guinea-Pigs
• External debt: $32.83 billion (CIA 2006 estimate)
• Environmental issues: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

History:

Peru’s history of political instability after gaining independence in the 1821 has been responsible for the economic and social instability it continues to face presently. Years of successive governments changing from democratic rule and military dictatorships have hindered substantial progress and everyday life has continually been left with serious uncertainties. The unhappy relationship between politics and people saw the country embroiled in a bloody war against Maoists rebels who dissatisfied with the government killed 69,000 people. Along with constant political unrest it has also experienced natural disasters and was particularly badly affected by the "El Niño" weather phenomenon in 1982-83 which drove the country into further turmoil.

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