Protect 300 girls from Child domestic work in Peru

She is Juana, but everyone used to call her Juanita. Juanita is the older sister of 12, she is a mother, grandmother and a good companion. For 19 years, Juanita worked in the same house. At first, she did what is called "all service", until one day her employer became pregnant. Five weeks after giving birth, her employer went back to work and her husband never stopped working very late. Then Juanita started taking care of the baby and had no rest. She went to work at 9 in the morning, but never knew what time she would be off. 

A year ago, Juanita's 38-year-old son died. Juanita wanted to continue working, but could not. The sadness would not allow it. She felt bad for all the time she had lost with her own son.

A after her son’s passing, Juanita arrived at La Casa de Panchita, where she attended labor rights workshops and learned that she is entitled to a fixed schedule, as well as to social benefits and bonuses. Now she has a written contract and can spend time with her own family. Juanita feels safe and is happy to have known of La Casa de Panchita. She still feels responsible for the people he works for, but she also takes the time to be with her family. Now everyone calls her Juana, no longer Juanita. And she likes it.

Juana is one of the hundreds of women who every year learn what their labor rights are, what social benefits they are entitled to and who improve their living standard, thanks to the training provided by AGTR. You can help women like Juana improve their income, avoid exploitation and spend more time with their children.

We would like to thank you for your support and we wish you and your families a merry Christms and a wonderful new year!

Sincerely,

Blanca Figueroa

Dear supporters, 

We would like to share with you a post by a volunteer at AGTR-La Casa de Panchita, Theresa Zimmer, about one of the girls you are helping us support:

"Imagine an eight year old girl. She is thin, with long dark hair, beautifully shy eyes and is barely as tall as my hips. When she looks at me it seems like she is asking for something without saying a word. Today I had the pleasure of meeting her. Her name is Sheyla. She goes to school in San Juan de Miraflores, one of the many districts in the massive city of Lima, Peru. San Juan de Miraflores is an area where people live in small, simple, houses made of brick. [...] Every morning Sheyla wakes up in one of these houses. Together with her older sister, she takes the bus to school joining the wild traffic and the hustle and bustle of city life. After school, a few days a week, she helps her cousin who lives next to her. For Shayla, helping means, going to the market to buy fruits and vegetables or taking care of one of her baby cousins while the older ones cook. Sheyla is used to following the instructions of her family. She doesn’t have any idea of what it means to be responsible, but she is. She doesn’t think about the other things she could be doing, playing and living the life of a normal girl, she just does what is needed from her. Her shy, prying eyes seem to ask, “what do you want me to do? How should I behave?”.

You can read the full post here.

AGTR - La Casa de Panchita is taking part in GlobalGiving's Year-End Campaign. There is $10,000 in total prize money, which will be awarded throughout the campaign as well at the end of the campaign. Your donation can help us be one of the awarded organizations! Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely, 

Blanca Figueroa