Malnutrition
Imagine eating only potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day.
The huge variations in weather in the highland communities, along with the problems caused by altitude and poor soil, mean that the only crops that can be cultivated are root vegetables – namely, the potato. This constrained diet is further exacerbated by the lost Inca tradition of ‘trueque’ (exchange of goods).
This leads to malnourished children suffering from all manner of problems – low body weight, small for their age, listless, lacking in energy and struggling to stay awake in class. Many of these children also have to walk several hours down the mountain to school every day, nearly always on an empty stomach. Persistent diarrhoea caused by polluted parasitic water supplies compounds their malnutrition.
The huge variations in weather in the highland communities, along with the problems caused by altitude and poor soil, mean that the only crops that can be cultivated are root vegetables – namely, the potato. This constrained diet is further exacerbated by the lost Inca tradition of ‘trueque’ (exchange of goods).
This leads to malnourished children suffering from all manner of problems – low body weight, small for their age, listless, lacking in energy and struggling to stay awake in class. Many of these children also have to walk several hours down the mountain to school every day, nearly always on an empty stomach. Persistent diarrhoea caused by polluted parasitic water supplies compounds their malnutrition.
“I spent 6 very important months working for Living Heart PERU in 2011 after being invited to set up a Sustainable Agriculture project to support the nutrition and education programmes. It was an eye opening experience for me and working in those remote communities was the most challenging and rewarding of times.” Read James’ testimonial