Luisa and her daughter Alicia, Venezuelan refugees living in Peru. | © Victor Mallqui / HI
Luisa fled Venezuela in 2018. She lives with her daughter Alicia in the Los Olivos neighbourhood of Lima, in Peru. Alone and unemployed, with a daughter who has disabilities, she is one of the many people living in precarity being supported by HI.
HI is providing essential health care for Alicia, who suffers from infantile cerebral palsy due to bacterial pneumonia. Alone in a foreign country, Luisa and her daughter's everyday life is hard.
HI has provided them with a wheelchair and a walking frame, so that Luisa can move Alicia around safely and comfortably while she goes about her daily tasks. The little girl will also soon be attending physiotherapy and early childhood stimulation sessions, organised by the association.
Through HI, Luisa and Alicia have also received a basket of highly nutritious, non-perishable food. Their 40-kilo basket included cornmeal, black beans and oatmeal.
“I hope that HI will continue to grow and support children with these pathologies!”, says Luisa.
More than 6 million refugees have left Venezuela due to the political and socio-economic crisis that has ravaged the country since 2013. This is the largest population displacement in Latin America in recent history. Seventeen countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean host nearly 80% of Venezuelans.
After assessing the humanitarian needs of the Venezuelan refugees living in Peru, HI began supporting refugees and host communities in 2020.
The organisation runs mental health projects and provides psychosocial support and food aid for those most in need, including people with disabilities, children, refugees and the elderly
