Niños del Arco Iris (Children of the Rainbow)
Cusco, Peru

Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy and A&K Peru have joined together in the Sacred Valley of the Incas to assist Niños del Arco Iris, or Children of the Rainbow. Children of the Rainbow provides a home for seventeen abandoned children. A Day Centre supplies a hot meal, medical care and an educational program for another hundred extremely deprived children. In the Occupational Education Centre, eighty young people have the opportunity to obtain a diploma in English as a Second Language and Tourism, or become a certified carpenter, electrician, tailor or seamstress.

Abercrombie & Kent's support is directed to two outreach projects: Healthy Families and Communities in Action.

The Healthy Families project works with two to three families at a time, chosen from among the poorest communities. The project provides families with beds and teaches them the importance of having girls sleep separate from boys, as often an entire family with eight or nine children, including teenagers, sleeps in one bed. Families are taught to use soap, shampoo, comb and toothbrush, and helped to build an area in the house where they can wash their hands and bathe.

Communities in Action focuses on health initiatives in local villages, including the use of liquid nitrogen in the treatment of warts, which spread easily among children and constitute a health concern.

For children exposed to many risks as a result of deep poverty, Children of the Rainbow brings hope for the future.