Peru - History and Demographics

Peru is located in western South America and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. In size, it is almost twice the size of Texas, but is just slightly smaller than Alaska. The climate of Peru varies from tropical in the east to dry desert in the west with temperate to frigid conditions in the Andes mountains. The terrain also varies depending on location. In western Peru you experience coastal plains which rise to the high, rugged mountainous terrains of the Andes in the center. In eastern Peru the Andes give way to jungle lowlands of the Amazon Basin.

Peru is known for being the home of the once prominent Incan Empire, which was then captured by the Spanish conquistadors in the early 1500’s. Peru was under Spanish rule until it gained independence from Spain in the early 1800’s. It is now under democratic leadership and has experienced many economic ups and downs in the past 25 years. In terms of economy and natural resources, Peru is the world’s second largest producer of silver and the third largest producer of copper.

Bountiful Children in Peru

In May 2011, a group of volunteers from the Bountiful Children's Foundation went to Peru and screened children for malnutrition in Cusco, Juliaca, and Juli. They found many malnourished children, especially in Juliaca where they enrolled 60 children alone. In 2013, Chiclayo and Piura, the first areas of northern Peru, were screened. In these areas many children were malnourished as well. In 2014, a few interns from BYU and several native coordinators and volunteers helped screen children and initiated the program in many other areas of Peru. As part of this work, we have identified new areas that have malnourished children and have established communication with local leaders in these areas to begin programs when resources are available. Some of these areas include Huanuco and Pucallpa.

In Peru, we are currently using two types of supplements. "Sprinkles" or "Sparky" is a micronutrient supplement produced by the World Health Organization and supplies adequate Vitamin A, iron, and zinc to growing children. We also give soy flour or powdered milk to supplement the caloric intake of children and to supply adequate carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Also, where available, we employ the government run health organizations to measure children and supply caloric and micronutrient supplementation as well as to de-worm children.