Keeping Our Kids Healthy

Quechua Benefit is taking its anemia prevention and treatment campaigns to our Casa Chapi students who are learning at home because of the Covid-19 quarantine. Our staff is traveling to their homes throughout the Colca Valley to administer testing and treatment for parasites and anemia.

Anemia adversely affects physical development in children, and it can cause their IQ to be up to 10 points lower than a non-anemic child. It afflicts approximately 47% of school age children in Peru, but our protocol of treating parasites and administering therapeutic iron has decreased that rate to less than 10% among Casa Chapi students. In addition to regular testing and treatment, students receive multivitamins with iron to maintain healthy iron levels.

Healthy children are able to complete more schooling, which puts them on a better path to achieve their dreams and break the cycle of poverty in their families. Thank you for your support of our ongoing preventative medicine campaign.

After being tested, Romel and Emmanuel receive treatment for anemia and parasites.
  • Quechua Benefit’s nutritionist, Claudia, tests Edith’s iron level.
  • Juan is tested while his dad waits for the results.
  • Armando and Gian Franco will take iron supplements to stay healthy.

Thank you for your continued support of Quechua Benefit during the coronavirus pandemic. This is an unusual situation for the entire globe, and we appreciate your concern for our extended family and programs in Peru. So far very few cases of the virus have been reported in the Colca Valley where Quechua Benefit operates. You can keep up-to-date on the coronavirus in Peru here.

On March 16, Peru was placed in a mandatory quarantine and is expected to remain in this state until at least April 26. This was just a week after school had begun, so all the students at Casa Chapi in Chivay and the secondary school boarding houses in Arequipa were sent home. 

As soon as possible we will open the doors of Casa Chapi and welcome the students, teachers, house mothers and parents back. 

Our scheduled spring anemia campaign was also put on hold. As soon as possible, we will begin reaching more than 2,900 women and children throughout the Colca Valley with testing and treatment for anemia and parasites. Since the campaigns are operated through the schools, we have to wait until school resumes for the campaigns to begin.

 

You give families in Peru hope during this uncertain time. They need you now more than ever. Quechua Benefit is focusing scarce resources where they are needed most and will have a lasting impact. Your generosity now enables us to get through this difficult time and emerge as a stronger organization to help even more people in need.

Our work among the most vulnerable in the remotest parts of Peru will continue, but we have had to cancel or postpone several scheduled fundraising events due to the current circumstances.

Your donation today will directly impact the education, health and welfare of the Quechua people. Remember that 100% of your generous donation goes directly toward breaking the cycle of poverty among the Quechua people of Peru.

Thank you for your faithful support.

Quechua Benefit has been preparing for the Spring 2020 Anemia Campaign, but it has been delayed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in Peru. The campaign operates through schools, which have been suspended until March 30. We are monitoring the situation in Peru and will keep you informed. Your gift now provides treatment that keeps kids’ immune systems strong so they will not suffer devastating effects from the virus.

As soon as possible, anemia and parasite testing and treatment will start at Casa Chapi and move on to the communities of the Colca Valley.

Quechua Benefit’s extensive data base tracks the testing and treatment of each of the thousands of women and children throughout the region. Twice a year  campaigns reach outlying communities where medical resources and services are scarce. Patients receive services at no charge, thanks to your generosity.

Can you help us reach our goal of reducing the rate of anemia from nearly 45% in some areas to 20% by 2021? For less than $10, a woman or child receives anemia and parasite treatment. Click here to donate now.

Little ones patiently allow our staff to prick their fingers and then weigh them and measure their height.

In addition, children receive fluoride treatment, which provides a good moment to educate the children about dental hygiene as well as point out any cavities or areas of the mouth to focus on when they brush. Parents really care about this treatment. No parent wants their child’s teeth to look the way theirs do, so they want to do everything in their power to help. The engagement and interest with parents is always high for this part of examinations. 

With your help, kids will grow up healthy. Healthy kids become healthy adults who will contribute to their communities and break the cycle of poverty. Thank you for your help.

In March, after their summer break, nearly 70% of the kids at Casa Chapi were anemic. Their treatment began by dealing with the root cause of anemia: intestinal parasites. Following treatment for parasites, students received iron supplements to elevate their iron levels, and they continue their progress by taking multivitamins regularly.
Anemia graph web

Anemia affects nearly half of students in Peru. It robs them of their abilities to learn and can cause their IQ to be 10 points lower than their non-anemic peers. It also causes fatigue and affects school attendance and performance.

When students are healthier, they can achieve their fullest potential. Studies have shown that their aspirations for the future increase in direct proportion to their health becoming better. Thanks to your generosity, students at Casa Chapi receive regular health check-ups along with parasite and anemia treatment.

Healthy students will become healthy adults who can influence their communities and
BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY.

It takes many people with a variety of skills to make Quechua Benefit’s programs in Peru successful. We greatly appreciate our volunteers who use their skills and expertise to help us fulfill our mission of Breaking the Cycle of Poverty among the Quechua people.

Debra Parcheta, the founder and CEO of Blue Marble Enterprises in Aurora, Colorado, is someone who gives of herself and her skills in a way that makes a lasting impact. She recently volunteered in Peru with our anemia campaign in Picotani.

Debra designed the database that Quechua Benefit uses to collect and store data for our anemia prevention campaigns. In the last two years we have collected 160,000 data points on more than 15,000 people. This information will help us make lasting changes with our preventative medicine campaigns.

In Debra’s words: “I learned a lot about the complexity of the serious anemia problem while in Peru and the database will be modified to assist the Quechua team with recording treatments and also recording the delivery of education to the populations being served.  Education is a critical component for the high country communities. This database . . . could begin to produce some compelling reports about the disease and its treatment in Peru.”

Debra didn’t spend all her time with data on her trip. She enjoyed meeting kids and parents, and they loved getting to know her and see her technology. Debra stands 6’1” tall, and the kids thought she was a giant standing in the room with a 6’5” ceiling!

Thank you, Debra for your efforts to help the Quechua people thrive.

Just like Debra, you can use your skills and expertise to make a lasting impact with Quechua Benefit.

Click here to see opportunities for volunteering.

 

 

 

 

Quechua Benefit has initiated partnerships with local and regional agencies because together we can accomplish more. In April members of the Quechua Benefit team met with officials with a proposal to combat anemia in the remote areas of the highlands of Peru . Everyone agreed that the problem is severe (nearly 49% of women and preschool children are anemic), and joining forces will lead to a healthier generation.

Good health is the beginning of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Strategic partners from local and regional agencies join with Quechua Benefit to combat anemia in the Colca Valley. Left to right: Regional Minister of Education, Regional Minister of Health, MIDIS representative, Alejandro Tejeda and Dale Cantwell from Quechua Benefit, Mayors from Yanque, Chivay, and Ichupampa, Padre Marcos, Mike Safley, Ministry of Health representative, and Regional Mayor of Caylloma.

These government agencies agree that the devastating consequences of anemia must be stopped. They agree to partner with Quechua Benefit to serve the Quechua people in the highlands–remote areas that often forgotten. Quechua Benefit manages the anemia prevention programs.

Our donors and partners are providing financial assistance in the form of medical supplies, medical staff, community compliance.

Our partners provide 57% of the costs for anemia prevention. Together, we are striving to reduce anemia from its current level of 49% of the population to less than 20% by 2021.

Thank you for your help in creating a healthy generation. Children no longer have to suffer the cognitive and developmental disabilities caused by anemia because

when we work together we accomplish more.