Peru
In Peru, Oxfam's focus is on human rights, sustainable livelihoods and reducing people's vulnerability to disasters.
Between a rock and a hard place
Peru is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. Remote villages in the mountains regularly are faced with the possibility of rockfalls and landslides. In the rainy season, communities often experience flash floods.
We have a hard time in the rainy season. All of a sudden there can be a storm in the hills and you never get any warning. Water comes rushing down. It's very dangerous and people can be dragged away in the current, animals are often swept away.
Luis Mamani Paredes, Sandia
How Oxfam is helping
We train young volunteers to help them to be prepared for and better able to cope in the event of a disaster.
[I've learnt about] first aid, how to evacuate someone during an alert, and how not to get upset. If you get upset you'll upset the people you're trying to help, so when you go to a disaster, you have to keep calm.
Basty, disaster prevention volunteer
Coffee co-operatives
The livelihoods of millions of Peruvians depend on the coffee industry.
However, falling prices and a lack of money to invest in their land have meant many struggle to earn enough to feed their families and meet their basic needs.
How Oxfam is helping
We support coffee associations where farmers join together to sell their coffee in larger quantities – and so get into larger, more secure, and more profitable markets. Farmers belonging to these associations benefit from shared production and marketing advice.
We started with very small, very limited funds. But given the producers' response, Cepicafé now has a portfolio worth US $1.2 million.
Santiago Paz, General Manager of Cepicafé, an assocation supported by Oxfam
Other development work
- Helping secure the human rights of poor Peruvians
