Peru

	Progressio country representative in Lima:
	Marianela Gibaja
	Programme coordinator in London:
	Belisario Nieto
	No. of development workers currently in post:
	7
	We have been working in Peru since 1976

Progressio has been working in Peru since 1976. Peru is rich in minerals, and its economy is mainly based on the extraction and export of copper, zinc, lead, silver, iron and gold. Although mining accounts for about half of Peru's export revenue, it does not benefit the majority of the population. Mining also creates social instability and environmental destruction in a country that the UN has identified as amongst the world's top five 'mega bio-diverse' countries. Progressio and its local partners work to improve the lives of the most marginalised, including indigenous people (who form 45 per cent of the population), women and people living with HIV and AIDS.

Progressio's development workers have:

• encouraged the greater participation in the political process by women, young people, indigenous peoples and other marginalised groups in civil society organisations. This has been achieved through projects aimed at developing leadership, citizen networks and public policy advocacy.
• advocated for structural change to the present discriminatory political system; supported the decentralisation process and the 'Mesas de Concertación de Lucha contra la Pobreza' (civil society working groups engaging with government to reduce poverty); acted on the recommendations of Peru's Truth Commission to rebuild the social fabric of the country; and promoted vigilance groups to curb corruption at all levels of society and replace it with a culture of political transparency and honest leadership.
• reduced environmental damage and so improved the quality of life in impoverished rural communities. This has been achieved by projects improving sustainable management of natural resources. Progressio has helped train men and women from peasant and indigenous communities to implement these projects. This is part of wider work on advocacy and training on environmental contamination and social decay left by the mining industries.
• supported an organisation of people with HIV or AIDS and enabled their active participation in defining and implementing public policies to improve their access to medicine and information, and combat social discrimination. Progressio has also supported education strategies on HIV and AIDS among poor populations, with a focus on young people and women.

Challenges remain. By 2010, Progressio's aims that:

• local partner organisations improve their training opportunities for male and female farmers, which includes new management practices and technical systems for sustainable resource management, and an inter-cultural and gender focus.
• the majority of peasant and indigenous communities in projects supported by Progressio participate in proposals for sustainable rural development with government at a local and/or regional level.
• Progressio and partner organisations develop a network of young people and women promoting the prevention of HIV and AIDS.