Around 30 thousand migrant children and adolescents will have access to quality education in Peru

Save the Children, in partnership with World Vision, UNESCO and RET Americas, promote inclusive education with equal opportunities for those who come to Peru looking for a better future.

According to the Regional Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, there are an estimated 830,000 migrants and refugees in Peru. However, the figure may be much higher since not all migrants manage to regularize their immigration status. In general, the migrant population in Peru is made up of 52% men and 48% women, of which 19% are children and adolescents.

The limited economic and social resources available to the migrant and refugee population seriously affect the education of children and adolescents. Migrant and refugee children and adolescents face challenges for their insertion in the Peruvian educational system. Approximately 67,957 of them are not registered in the system of the Ministry of Education.

They are also vulnerable to physical and mental health problems, as well as bullying and physical and psychological violence. 40% of Venezuelan minors presented emotional changes upon entering our country, including headaches, altered appetite, crying and outbursts of anger. More than 50% entered the country without having entered or completed the school year. In this way, the risk of repeating the school year and even abandoning the educational system increases.

Given this complicated scenario, Save the Children seeks to promote inclusive education with equal opportunities for migrant and refugee children and adolescents in Peru. Through the multi-year educational inclusion program, it is expected to reach 30,000 refugee children and adolescents in our country.

The program, led by UNICEF, is developed in North Lima, South Lima and La Libertad in alliance with RET Americas, UNESCO and World Vision; and began its activities in October 2021 and will end in December 2023. It should be noted that in La Libertad the program is executed by Save the Children in partnership with World Vision. Save the Children in particular will intervene in the districts of La Esperanza, El Porvenir and Trujillo. And work will be done at three levels: initial, primary and secondary.

Migrant children and adolescents are expected to have greater access to quality education and be able to continue studying until the end of their school life. Likewise, it is sought that they develop the necessary aptitudes for life and achieve social and emotional learning. Finally, authorities and officials are expected to improve decision-making on educational access and inclusion based on available data and evidence.

As part of the program, educational kits with complementary school learning material are delivered. As well as provision of cash transfer to families of children and adolescents to ensure school attendance.