We provide young women living on the streets of Peru with critical health care.

Why we care: With no trusted adults to turn to, gang violence, sex trafficking, and sexual assault are a constant danger for street youth.

How we’re solving this: Our local partner in Peru supports vulnerable young women in accessing the health services they want, need, and deserve.

“We cannot develop as a country without addressing the poverty and discrimination that adolescents face.” – Giovanna Sofía Carrillo, INPPARES

Marisol is a 17-year-old living in Villa El Salvador, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Lima, Peru. After becoming pregnant two years ago, she was abandoned by her boyfriend and family. Fearing a life with a child on the streets, she found her way to INPPARES, our local partner in Peru, where she was able to access the health services she needed.

In a country where more than half the population lives in poverty, Marisol’s story is not unique. It’s hard enough for young women to access sexual and reproductive health information and care. Now imagine the added challenges faced by a girl in the slums of Lima.

With no trusted adults to turn to, gang violence, sex trafficking, and sexual assault are a constant danger. Many have no money to pay for food, much less health care, and the risk of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections is high.

“They don’t have resources,” says 24-year-old Bernado, a peer leader who works with street youth at INPPARES. “Sometimes people tell me someone got killed. Or I see a young girl who hasn’t finished high school and is already pregnant. It’s tough.”

INPPARES has a proven track record of reaching vulnerable youth with crucial information and services, but they don’t limit their work to simply providing contraceptives or testing for HIV. Young people in vulnerable circumstances are also supported in becoming agents of change in their own lives and in their communities.

Your support will support the expansion of INPPARES’ work with young women living on the streets in Villa El Salvador. The funds will cover the cost of providing high quality sexual and reproductive health services – including contraceptives, HIV and STI testing, and counseling – and trainings for health providers to ensure the needs of vulnerable youth are adequately met.

Will you help get young women off the streets of Peru?