Peru

Winter 2008

Lea and Myrtha returned after a 10 month project from Lima, the capital of Peru.  They worked in various children's home there. It was not very easy for them to put Floorball kits to use. First of all, there was a problem of finding a suitable place to play and then, these were also not very safe places for women to be in. The city of Lima has 10 million inhabitants with about 8 millions of them living in poverty and/or in slums. After many empty promises, postponements and patching together of various possibilities, they finally managed to carry out a two-hour training sessions at a school on the edge of one of the most difficult slums every Thursday towards the end of their stay. The children were very motivated when it came to playing Floorball. It was rather difficult to put a training schedule in place as they were not used to training, but when it came to playing, they were very happy to participate. The enthusiasm that children show here is quite commendable, we hope that the training will continue despite the harsh climate. Lea and Myrtha are in contact and they hope that these play sessions evolve into regular training sessions. It would be great if the Floorball kit could be used at different locations so that some kind of a championship may be organized. 

Autumn 2007

The first two months in Lima were very disturbing, chaotic and grim. This meant that the Floorball equipment lay idle for the first month. It was in October that we finally started playing in the Rimac slums. Most houses are in a bad shape, it is very dirty and rather dangerous. Many metal and wood shacks are coming up on the desert hillocks. It is not easy to set up anything here. My main problem is that I cannot go on my own to the park in Rimac where we have our Floorball sessions as the place is frequented by child gangs and a presence of one or two men is required as a precaution. The children are quite enthusiastic about Floorball. This game was almost unheard of in Peru. Till now, our sessions include ball control, passing and above all a game of Floorball.

Facts

Geography
Area: 1,285,216 sq km
Three zones: Coastal strip with cities and industry – agricultural highlands – and jungles.

Economy
Climate, cholera and guerilla unrest led to the collapse of the fisheries and mining industry.  Over 40% of the inhabitants live in extreme poverty. 

Religion
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Christians (90%, others 10%)