Creating Healthy Communities

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.

Children in the highlands of Peru live on the margins. Their families struggle to make a living with their alpaca herds, and many children do not live near a good school. They spend their days among the alpacas, never learning to learn to read and write. But with your help, life can be different for them.

A good education provides the path for smart and capable children to grow up and become the agents of change for their communities. Casa Chapi is a school for these at-risk children at no cost to their families. Because of your generosity, children at Casa Chapi can reach their potential and BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY.

100% of your donation to Casa Chapi provides curriculum, tutoring, housing, nutritious meals, and the chance for each of these precious kids to have a better future.

Join our efforts to make a lasting impact! You can
Donate to the kids at Casa Chapi
Create a Facebook fundraiser for Quechua Benefit
Volunteer at home or in Peru

 

 

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.

Today Dante is a 7th grader at Casa Chapi in Arequipa.

Dante and Siomera’s mother takes them to the eye clinic.

Siomera’s face was unforgettable. Quechua Benefit volunteers Dick Miller and Jim Gallagher first saw her as they boarded a bus on their 2014 trip to Lari, Peru. Siomera stood barefoot in a plain dress by the adobe hut she shared with her parents and eleven siblings. Her tangled hair framed her angelic face. That picture was engraved in their minds.

Using just a snapshot, the Quechua Benefit team searched for Siomera for two years. Upon finding her, they tested and treated the family for parasites and anemia. Casa Chapi offered to enroll the children in school, but their mother Yola hesitated. After a visit from the local priest, Siomera’s parents allowed her older brother Dante to attend Casa Chapi.

Dante arrived at Casa Chapi quiet and shy. His crossed eyes made him avoid people’s gazes and hindered his learning. A surgery could correct his vision, but the thought of surgery worried his parents.

After some time to think about it his parents consented, and Dante had surgery at PAZ-Holandeza Clinic in Arequipa. The whole family is very happy with the results, especially Dante. He’s talkative and happy, and with a smile on his face he returned to Casa Chapi. He was anxious for everyone to see him.

Dante’s vision was improved along with his view of himself. He can now achieve his fullest potential. Dante and his parents say, “Thank you!” for your generous gifts to help them.

Siomera now attends Casa Chapi, too. She is in second grade, learning and growing thanks to your generosity. This little angel brought help and hope to her whole family.

And it all began with a few volunteers who were willing to go the extra mile to rescue a little girl in the highlands of Peru.
Your generous contributions to Quechua Benefit bring hope and healing to many families like Dante’s and Siomera’s.

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.

Quechua Benefit’s “Juntos Combatiendo la Anemia” Campaign continues in the remote highlands of Peru. The campaign has already visited the Districts of Callilli, Cabanaconde and Picotani, where 1,760 children and pregnant women have been tested and treated for anemia. On May 6 the campaign begins working in the Caylloma District. 1,729 preschoolers, school-age children, and pregnant women in 8 towns will be tested and treated for anemia and parasites. 

Since 2016, Quechua Benefit’s program has reduced the average anemia level in Caylloma from 47% to 25%–IN JUST TWO YEARS! This dramatic 47% reduction in anemia is a result of a two-step treatment protocol:

1) Providing Albendazole once every six months, and

2) Testing every child’s hemoglobin on each visit and treat those afflicted with anemia with iron supplements.

“The biggest obstacle facing global health is a failure of delivery,” said Dr. Paul Farmer, Harvard School of Public Health.

With your help, Quechua Benefit is overcoming that obstacle. We are uniquely prepared to deliver anemia prevention services to thousands of people. Will you join our campaign today? Your gift of $80.00 will treat 10 children or pregnant women for an entire year. Click here to donate.