Children enjoying art class at Warmi Hausi. - Photo: Fr Ed O'Connell
Warmi Hausi, (Women’s House), founded in Peru in 1997 by Columban Sister Mary Neylon, is dedicated to helping women and their children by providing them with the technical assistance necessary to flourish.
In recent years, it has faced setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and political coups, which have raised living costs while lowering living conditions. In addition, bureaucratic upheavals have made it necessary for the centre to re-educate government officials on its role. Warmi Hausi cannot work alone: it depends very much on the commitment of governments and the cooperation of the State and civil society as well as the children and adolescents themselves.
This report presents how Warmi Hausi carried out its mission in 2023 to protect children’s rights to an education, a healthy environment, and a voice in the public sphere. Working with the state, (not replacing the state), Warmi Hausi seeks to increase opportunities for young people to participate at the community and district levels and to build the technical capacity of local officials to facilitate the participation and protection of the young. Its twin focus is on rights and local management. In 2023, 14,812 boys and girls directly benefited from its initiatives, with indirect beneficiaries totalling 596,909.
One notable strategy of 2023 was the establishment of the Municipal Pre-University Academy in Ayacucho, formed in cooperation with the Provincial Municipality, to help local students prepare for higher education. With almost no higher-level educational institutions in the province, children are forced to migrate to other areas or go without. The academy, which does not charge fees, teaches students in subjects like arithmetic and verbal reasoning to the same academic level as in Lima. It also offers vocational and psychological guidance by a psychology professional.
In 2023, 25 students from different districts benefited from this program. The idea for the academy arose from the successful Study Group founded by Warmi Hausi in 2019 to help children from the districts of Lampa and Marcabamba enhance their participation in schooling.
As well as increasing their opportunities for a good education, Warmi Hausi works to reduce the violence faced by children in public and private spaces brought on by increased citizen insecurity. The peri-urban areas of Lima have become particularly violent, with house robberies and street assaults on the rise. Mothers and children in San Benito, for example, are afraid to go out on the street.
In response, Warmi Hausi has moved its activities to daylight hours and coordinated with the municipal police to accompany young people in their activities outside the centre and other community centres.
Similarly, in response to national political instability and continued aggression against human rights in social conflicts, the Ayacucho team has modified its travel schedule during times of protests in the interior of the country by moving them to the virtual space and making better use of local radio stations.
In 2023, for the first time, members of the Carabayllo Children and Adolescents organisations autonomously designed and executed a citizen initiative called “Children and adolescents improve their environment to positively impact their mental health.” The initiative carried out three actions:
- Improved a community park so the young could access a clean and friendly space
- Implemented an irrigation system for a community organic garden
- Wrote a story to raise awareness among the population of the importance of caring for the environment.
The funds for these initiatives came from CAFOD (Catholic Fund for Overseas Development of the Bishops of England and Wales). The young people themselves managed the funds and were accountable for their use and for the results of the actions, demonstrating their capacity to direct their own activities with minimal advice from adults.
Warmi Hausi’s Children and Adolescent organisations have advanced up the participation ladder by using consultation mechanisms to find out the needs of other young people. Armed with that information, they have carried out advocacy actions and designed and implemented projects to address those needs and improve their communities. This is the product of almost ten years of work both promoting children’s right to participate and exercising that right.
Warmi Hausi also worked with state organisations in 2023 to enhance the skills of adults (including teachers and community leaders) to defend and monitor children’s rights. For example, as a way of addressing mental health problems such as the impact of the pandemic, a joint plan was developed with the Parents Association and the Educational Institution No. 8184 in San Benito to implement workshops for school students on social skills. Primary and secondary students participated.
The project also developed a training module for community leaders and parents of children who participate in safe spaces to promote social skills, life skills, self-care against violence, and self-esteem. Moreover, Warmi Hausi carried out a joint action with the Ministry of Education to open an Alternative Basic Educational Centre in San Benito where parents (mainly mothers) of the project’s children, aged over 14, can complete their primary and secondary school studies. Participants received certification from the Ministry of Education and, to complement their studies, training in life skills, self-care, and self-esteem.
For the next few years, Warmi Hausi has the challenge of continuing to climb the ladder so that children and adolescent organisations will be autonomous and sustainable, thus guaranteeing the personal well-being of members and their families and encouraging them to be active citizens who contribute to their communities and their country.
Columban Fr Ed O’Connell works and lives in Britain. He was on mission in Lima, Peru for 37 years.
Listen to "Strengthening Communities - Warmi Hausi Report"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - June 2024
