Family Style Children's Home
SIR worked with the community of Villa Salvador – an area on the southern side of Lima – to build a home for abandoned and vulnerable children.  The township of Villa Salvador stretches out into the desert and down to the sea.  Some parts are well developed with roads and electricity but further out the houses become shacks and drinking water comes by truck.  These are the homes of the chronically poor.  Many have left their rural villages in search of that elusive ‘better life’ in the city.

The result of this project is Casa Hogar Ayuda y Esperanza – the Help & Hope Children’s Home. 
Casa Hogar opened its doors in 2004 and is home to 19 babies and young children. 

Increasingly Casa Hogar has been recognized by the local authority as a place of safety for abandoned and mistreated children.  Casa Hogar strives to create a sense of family that the children clearly benefit from even if their stay is short.

Country background:
Almost 20 per cent of the population live in extreme poverty.The impact of poverty is most apparent in the rate of maternal mortality which is one of the highest in the region. About one quarter of the population has no access to health services.

Population:
27 million
Life expectancy:
70 years
Below Poverty line:
49%
Development Index:
79