Problem

Young children of working mothers, (and in some cases distant fathers as well), form the bottom tier of Iquitos society.  Through financial necessities that force the absence of fathers from their mothers, there is great risk of physical and moral neglect. The existing local day care centers, ‘Huahuawasis’, are far too few and small.  The added problem is that the day care is only free to the mothers if their children do not stay for more than a few hours which results in children locked-up at home in confinement, ‘safely’ at home the entire day. Or they are left with their 8 year old brother on the street to wander all day until their mother comes home from a hard day of work with a few measly Soles (Peruvian Currency). These neglected children are at great risk of becoming street-children, drowning, child abuse, or even rape.

Exhausted by the desperate situation and the daily struggle for enough food, medicines and school fees, mothers have often little time and energy to worry about providing the rest of the basic needs for their children. A loving education with attention to the basic standards and values and/or stimulation of the cognitive, emotional and creative development – are traits rarely found in these families. As a result of lack of education and continuous struggle for survival, it is almost impossible for the children to bloom or create a better feature for themselves.  Our view is that many of these children would not be locked-up home, left to roam the streets, or abandoned at a childrens shelters if they were instead provided adequate day-care.

Objective

By providing daycare that is in a loving environment and development centered on the needs of the individual child,  El Manguaré will directly impact this alarming situation for the better and helping the children take the first steps to a better future. With the establishment of the monitoring and discussion groups for single mothers, we also indirectly help to improve the home situation of these children. It is important too, that parents are required to contribute to the daycare activities by participation, which includes practice in the education and treatment of children, which also contributes to their own self-worth. Themes of self-esteem and emotional development of the child will are also addressed. The project includes the creation of five day-care centers within the next ten years. 

Actions

• Locate and group single mothers in poor neighborhoods and organize meetings where in consultation with the mothers, a realistic plan is made for the set-up a of daycare center for their children.
• Work in close cooperation with the mothers to set-up the daycare center, whereby over time they are in large part collectively responsible for the organization and operation. Here the emphasis is on cooperation. Every mother who is signed-up with the center, will eventually pay a small fee, and shall also contribute to the care of the children by performing tasks such as preparing meals, cleaning of the center and other relevant activities for the project. In this way they are intensively involved in the project.
• Train children so they can successfully participate in the education system of the assisting schools. Younger children can prepare for school at an early stage, provided they have the appropriate educational material.  The care for the children takes place in a safe environment whereby the child can grow into a person with initiative, self-respect and responsibility for the people and world around them.

Duration and Transfer

El Manguaré will be intensively active in the set-up and monitoring of the day care for an average of 2 years. After that the daycare will be largely turned over to the mothers and the local authorities involved in the project, and from that moment El Manguaré will play only a role as monitor and possible financial supporter. In this way El Manguaré can move on to the next poor neighborhood. The objective over the next ten years is to turn over five successfully operating stand-alone daycare centers to their communities.