Surveying the site

Mario, one of the village governors, gave us a tour of the future playground site. The area is near one of the primary schools which does not currently have a sports ground and it is also adjacent to the grounds where a new soccer field is being built. At the moment the land is uneven and full of shrubs. But Mario, who was a star player for the local soccer team in his youth, is excited “This will bring life to the village, especially to this neighborhood. The village is growing in this direction and in a year or two the playground will be right in the middle of it. Our children don’t have opportunities like this. I can’t wait to see it built!”.

News: Mayor donates land!

Alonso, the youngest mayor in the history of Yapatera, has commended the playground project for making a big difference to the wellbeing and future of Yapatera´s children and has kindly agreed to donate 12,900 square feet of land belonging to the community for our project. The path is clear for designing our playground...

We have a winner!

The winner of the drawing competition was selected by a panel of project supporters and private donors residing in Colorado, USA. The judges were delighted by the enthusiasm and creativity of Yapatera’s children. Stefani is the artist who designed our new logo and is a 5th grade student in Yapatera´s larger primary school. She is now the proud owner of a pink volleyball and her 2 runners up are excited about their 2nd and 3rd prizes of jump ropes.

Children participate in drawing competition

In April all primary school pupils in the village were invited to participate in a drawing competition to design the logo for our organisation and project- the motto for the drawing was “Exercise is the heart of Yapatera”. The response was overwhelming with every child participating and resulting in 245 entries! The winner will be announced soon...

A village without a playground?

Yapatera, population 5,000+, is considered the largest afro-descendent community in Peru; a large proportion of its inhabitants are schoolchildren many of them cared for by aunts and grandparents when their parents are forced to find work in Lima or Ecuador. Despite its size, the village does not have a playground for children to play and exercise on. Yapatera Corazon’s objective is to build a playground with equipment such as swings, a slide, a seesaw and more for children. Attached to the children’s playground we have plans for a mini-outdoor gym for adults and youth with basic equipment. The idea is to get children and adults to have fun with exercise.

Health in Yapatera

Yapatera is considered the largest Afro-Peruvian community in the country. Families subsist on small-scale mango, lime and rice farming and remittances from migrant relatives in Lima. A recent research study found that Afro-descendent households have the greatest incidence of chronic ill health problems compared to other population groups in Peru, including indigenous populations. However, because Afro-Peruvians have only recently been formally recognised by the Peruvian state as an ethnic group there is no provisioning of particular services to this population and they are socially excluded from many state and private services. The few state health resources that are available are under heavy demand and have long waiting periods. As a result most people opt to purchase private health care, but usually only once illnesses are very advanced and families are forced to pool together to meet the crippling costs. The knowledge that small lifestyle choices, such as what we eat and how active we are, can make a big impact on our health and wellbeing, is taken for granted in many parts of the world. Yapatera Corazon´s objective is to empower people to care for themselves, their families and their communities with this knowledge.

Afro-descendents in Peru

Yapatera, is a village in Northern Peru. Most of its inhabitants are the direct descendents of African slaves who were brought to work along Peru´s coast. Slavery is still a taboo subject in Peruvian society and racism and social exclusion affect this group as much as it affects Peru´s indigenous population. The difference is that Peru´s afro-descendents have had little attention from international onlookers and organisations.

What is the "Heart of Yapatera"?

Yapatera Corazon, or the "Heart of Yapatera", is a health education project in the Afro-descendent village of Yapatera in Northern Peru. We are a group of local residents who are worried about health problems, especially the extremely high risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure) which is particular to our village. We have learned that exercise and other small lifestyle changes can make a huge difference to the quality of life here. Our proposal is to take our wellbeing into our own hands, to learn and educate about the benefits of physical activity and good nutrition, for all life stages. We plan to hold activities and workshops for women, men, seniors, children, youth and for people with chronic conditions. Our goal is a healthy, active community.