The Hunger Project’s work in Latin America focuses on rural and indigenous communities, where there is the greatest concentration of hunger and poverty.
Peru is the fourth most populous country in South America with a total population of 28.5 million, 48 percent of which are indigenous. The Hunger Project works in partnership with Chirapaq (Center for Indigenous Peoples' Cultures of Peru), an organization founded by both Andean and Amazonian people.
Though the 12th largest economy in the world, Mexico faces high levels of poverty in rural areas and states with large indigenous populations. Within the estimated 25.2 million people in rural Mexico, 57 percent live in poverty and 28 percent live in extreme poverty. The Hunger Project has been active in Mexico since 1983. We carry out a gender-focused capacity building strategy in rural municipios in four states.
Bolivia is the most isolated and poorest country in South America. Indigenous groups, mainly Quechuas and Aymaras, make up 62 percent of Bolivia's population. In Bolivia, The Hunger Project works in partnership with Fundación Acción Cultural Loyola (ACLO) to empower indigenous communities to be active participants within Bolivian society.
The expansion programmed in the three states where we are working, Durango, Zacatecas and Chiapas, has created an intense phase of mobilization in those regions.
The Hunger Project works in partnership with Chirapaq to strengthen and empower a network of 30 indigenous women's organizations. Primarily under women's leadership, these organizations have promoted access to opportunities and the exercise of women's and indigenous rights.
During 2007 and the early months of 2008, Bolivia has faced critical challenges in two arenas: political unrest and civil strife surrounding the process of constitutional reform; and severe drought and floods resulting from La Niña/El Niño Cycle.
