About
MEJORC is a non-profit organization that strives to bring rural communities in Peru a better life by providing education and resources to its residents. Based in Portland, Oregon, MEJORC was founded in 2007 from a simple idea. For more information, see History.
Our current focus is on the Cajamarca, an area in northern Peru; however, we hope to expand to reach additional areas through a partnership with a Peruvian nonprofit in the near future.
Rural communities in Cajamarca call themselves los pueblos olvidados, or the forgotten towns, because they recieve little help from governement or other organizations. The number of children who attend school are few, and even fewer finish. Also, health centers and hospitals are very scarce. In one district there is just one health post, staffed with a doctor, an obstetrician, and two nurses, serving 27 communities.
Most concerning to MEJORC is the lack of basic health knowledge in these communities. Many families do not understand the importance of hand washing, teeth brushing, eating nutritious meals, or even the harm that smoke-filled kitchens does them and their children.
MEORC is reaching out and providing necessary resources to the people of these communities. We accomplish this through the training of local youth and adults in the basics of disease prevention, first-aid, and family values. With this knowledge health promoters are better equiped to plan community health projects, be community leaders, help improve health habits, and decrease family violence. With encouragement they may help develop a community action plan to improve health, which we are then able to support either financially, through increased training, technical assistance, or by providing appropriate conections to other organizations which specialize in the type of project proposed.