Peru: Wisdom of our Elders
The Problem
From 1980 to 2000, Ayacucho, Peru was the epicenter of a long and bloody conflict between government forces, right-wing death squads and Shining Path guerrillas. Tens of thousands of mostly Indigenous people were killed or “disappeared” and one million were uprooted from their lands. Today, thousands of elderly, Indigenous Quechua women find themselves alone, impoverished, and far from their ancestral communities. They face hunger, homelessness, and Ayacucho’s freezing winters.
The Solution
MADRE provides food, family housing, medicine, and warm clothing for elder Quechua women in Peru and helps women who were displaced by the war to reintegrate into community life. In keeping with the Indigenous tradition of extended families living together, MADRE’s local partner organization, CHIRAPAQ, matches women with families who open their homes to them. MADRE helps families to cover the costs of caring for the elders. Through elder-led intergenerational workshops, the women share their traditional knowledge of Quechua culture and history with youth in the community.
The Results
- Elder Quechua women are healing from traumas of war and displacement and building dignified, meaningful, healthy lives with their new families.
- The women have moved from feeling alone and invisible to recouping their self-esteem and their rightful role as elders in the community.
- Quechua youth, who suffer pervasive cultural alienation, learn about their history and culture from the women. The workshops help young people understand their rights and connect to the women. This enhanced sense of self leads to greater social and cultural participation, translating to lower rates of unplanned pregnancy and drug abuse.
- The vitality and transmission of Quechua culture is enriched through inter-generational dialogue and learning. Communities are strengthened as historical and cultural continuity disrupted by war and displacement is rebuilt.
