The coronavirus crisis is causing serious difficulties for people in the Peruvian capital Lima and other major cities. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their livelihoods since the lockdown. The consequences can also be felt in the remote Andean villages around Huancavelica. There, the young brothers Jhoel and Jhon are making an extra effort for their family and their future.
Jhoel Ortiz is sitting on his bed with his notebook open. It is school. On the stand next to him, the TV is flickering, showing what the homemade antennas on the roof are receiving. It is the virtual school lessons of the sixth primary class. The family bought the TV especially for this purpose. There must be something more exciting on the other channels. The 11-year-old resists the temptation and makes a note of the teacher’s questions. “What’s the difference between a custom and a tradition?” After the program, Jhoel switches off and sits down at the table to think about the right answers.
Since the government lockdown on March 15, Jhoel and his 15-year-old brother Jhon have been challenged. Not only do they have to attend classes on their own with the television, but the crisis has also meant that the Ortiz family’s livelihood has collapsed.
Father Valentin is already 82 and has long since stopped getting bricklaying jobs in the village near Huancavelica. Like 70 percent of Peruvians, he has always worked in the informal sector with no employment contract and no pension fund. Mother Juana, 55, looks after the house, cares for her husband and plants as many potatoes and vegetables as possible around the house. But that is not enough to survive.
Valentin and Juana both have adult children from previous relationships who send money from Lima – the equivalent of around 36 francs a month. No more money has been coming in since the lockdown. Jhon and Jhoel’s half-siblings are struggling in Lima themselves.
With the lockdown, the lower income groups in Peru’s major cities lost all income virtually overnight. With informal employment, there is no official employment contract, no notice period and no entitlement to social benefits. Even before the lockdown, many people did not have the money to buy provisions or even refrigerators. People are starving.
The number of infections in Peru now stands at just under half a million people. Around 20,000 people have died as a result of the virus. And these are just the official figures.
Jhoel and Jhon’s Cuy breeding business is also suffering from the lockdown. Even before the crisis, the two of them took part in the ADECAP program at terre des hommes schweiz alongside school. In workshops, they learn how to make traditional cuy farming profitable in order to build a long-term livelihood in the Andes.
The guinea pig species is considered a delicacy in Peru and sells well at the city markets. Since these have been officially closed, this income has also been lost. Nevertheless, the two continue to breed them, mow forage grass for the cuys and clean their stables. That way, they don’t have to start all over again after the crisis.
During the crisis, the two young people show real initiative. To make up for the lost income, they sacrifice their free time on Saturdays and Sundays and help out on another farm together with their mother. This income should get the family through the coronavirus crisis. However, this is not a long-term solution.
The money arrives just in time. Their teachers get in touch to say they would like to see Jhon and Jhoel’s homework. In order to complete the school year, they need a cell phone or a laptop – luxury goods in the Andean villages. Jhon is lucky. He can buy an old, affordable cell phone. It’s enough, even if the screen keeps breaking down. It costs 10 soles or about 2.55 francs a week to upload his homework. That’s a lot of money, especially in this situation.
Peru must overcome the crisis as quickly as possible so that young people like Jhon and Jhoel can go back to school properly and build a future for themselves with cuy breeding.
The partner organizations of terre des hommes schweiz are combating the spread of the virus with prevention and awareness-raising measures in all 10 Latin American and African project countries. You can support us here.
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