Location and general information
Access to Sport - 
Gender Equality - 
Healthy lifestyle - 
Infrastructure and equipment - 
Personal developmentContext
Since 2005, the NGO Mama Alice has been working in Ayacucho, Peru, to improve the lives of children affected by underdevelopment, isolation and poverty. During Peru's internal conflict in the 1980s and 90s, Ayacucho’s rural population suffered extreme violence. Many fled their homes, settling in the city’s outskirts, where they lack basic facilities such as water, sanitation and electricity, which contributes to an increase in infectious diseases.
Unemployment has led to poverty, malnutrition, family break-up, domestic violence and child abandonment. The population remains deeply scarred by the violent conflict, and lives in a culture of fear and distrust. The indigenous population are particularly affected by poor access to healthcare, high infant mortality rates and a low life expectancy.
Facts about Ayacucho:
- 39.4% of the population live in poverty, 7.8% in extreme poverty
- 17.3% of children suffer from malnutrition, and 45% of children under three are anaemic
- 13.4 % of the population is illiterate and only 24.1% have completed primary school
- 64% of women have been victims of sexual violence, and in 33% of cases the attacker was a family member
Project goals
Mama Alice’s mission is to forever change Peruvian communities from the inside out, with a focus on educational and psychological support. The Football, Rock and Water project aims to motivate children to be more active and to improve their football skills, while connecting with others and improving their self-esteem, social skills, assertiveness and leadership skills.
The goal is for at least 80% of the 1,120 participating children to get fitter, gain a more positive self-image, improve their resilience and adaptability, learn to collaborate and lead, and feel valued and nurtured, and at least 70% to attend regularly and learn the rules of football. The aim is for 90% of the participating teachers to observe positive physical and psychosocial development in their pupils.
Project content
Mama Alice has been offering Rock and Water activities alongside football training, including intensive camps, to primary and secondary school children in Ayacucho since 2021.
The Rock and Water programme teaches children to face life’s challenges with a ‘rock’ (strong and resilient) and ‘water’ (flexible and adaptable) attitude.
In addition to constructing a football pitch, Mama Alice will provide two-month-long football and psychosocial training to 32 groups (35 children per group) of children aged 7 to 12. The project will conclude with the groups coming together for final activities and football matches between schools. All children receive participation certificates and a Rock and Water bracelet, and help to evaluate the activities.
Partner
