Country Facts
History: Peru had a rich cultural life thousands of years before Pizarro turned up in funny clothing. Wander around colonial cities that echo the legacy of Spanish conquistadors, explore the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, visit the lost city of Machu Picchu and ponder the enigma of the Nazca Lines.
Peru also boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in South America. The beautiful Peruvian Andes issue a siren's call to top-class trekkers. These mountains are also home to squillions of indigenous highlanders, who still speak the ancient tongue of Quechua and live a traditional way of life.
Location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Size: slightly smaller than Alaska
Population: 28,674,757 (2007 est)
Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Ethinic Group: Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%
Language :Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
Religions: Roman Catholic 81%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, other Christian 0.7%, other 0.6%, unspecified or none 16.3%
AIDS population: 82,000 (2003 est)
Literacy: 87.7%
Unemployment rate: 7.2% in metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment
Population below poverty line: 54% (2003 est)
Government: constitutional republic
Economy (Agriculture & Industry):
Economy: asparagus, coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish, guinea pigs
Industry: mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas; fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing
Currency: nuevo sol (PEN) (3.15 Soles=1 USD)
Culture
Family life: Peruvian families are tightly knit. Their households may include parents, children, grandparents or other extended family and often domestic servants. The elderly are looked after within the family.
Traditionally, the family life of Hispanic mestizo people (who are half Native and half Spanish) were typified by strong male authority figures that controlled family life and the public presentation of the family unit. The wives organized the home and trained and supervised domestic help. Today a great number of women head households and contribute to the economic life of the family.
Food:
• The Pacific Ocean provides Peru with a wide variety of seafood, particularly for those who live near the coast.
• Ceviche—fish, shrimp, scallops, or squid marinated in a lime and pepper mixture—might be considered one of the country's national dishes, due to its overwhelming popularity. It is often served with corn-on-the-cob, cancha (toasted corn), or sweet potatoes.
• Salads in this region are also common, particularly huevos a la rusa (egg salad) and palta rellena (stuffed avocado).
• Meats and fresh fruits and vegetables are the basis of the tropical Peruvian diet.
• Bananas, plantains (similar to the banana), and yucca (similar to a yam
• Inhabitants of the tropical region also enjoy a variety of fish, wild game (such as boars, monkeys, pigs, deer, and chickens), and plenty of rice.
Sports: For Peruvians the most popular sports are soccer and volleyball, followed by bullfighting, horse racing
Arts: Peruvians have a rich tradition of romantic literature and expression. The Peruvian folk culture has produced an array of myths, songs and dances that entertain people from around the world. Painting and sculpture were highly developed with the famous Cuzco school in the 17th and 18th centuries. Modern Peruvian art forms tend toward the abstract, exemplified by Fernando de Szyszlo and the sculptor Joaquin Roca Rey.
Holidays
• July 28-29, Independence Day Celebrations
• August 30, Santa Rosa of Lima
• October 8, Battle of Angamos
• November 1, All Saints' Day
• December 8, Immaculate Conception
Customs/Courtesies
• They like people who are honest, who make direct eye contact when they speak, and who show that they are confident by giving a firm handshake.
• Once they know one another, people greet each other by shaking hands and women or people of the opposite sex will kiss one another once on the cheek. Men, and male colleagues will never kiss, unless it is a child and his father or uncle.
Orphans and at-risk children
• There are almost 50,000 orphans in Perú.
• 17,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS.
• 66% or 6.5 million of all children in Perú live in poverty.
• Over 10,000 street children live in Lima and the number is growing.
• 50,000 children are at-risk due to child labor, sexual exploitation, and teen pregnancy among other issues.
• There are 33 government orphanages in Perú.
Buckner in Peru
In 2005, Buckner was sought out by the Peruvian government to establish a foster care and transitional services program. Additionally, Buckner crossed the borders of Perú for the first time with staff and church teams starting to minister with the boys and girls in eight of the 33 government orphanages.
Buckner services and country support include:
• On-going humanitarian aid through Gift from the Heart program and Shoes for Orphan Souls.
• On-going mission trips throughout the year ministering to the children in orphanages in Lima and Cuzco.
• Internship program where volunteers participate four weeks out of the summer assisting in-country staff with activities and recreation for children in the orphanages.
• Pilot foster care program in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Family Welfare.
• Transitional Social Services program for the girls leaving the Santa Rosa orphanage.
Typical mission trips include
• Church Group Trips
• Shoes for Orphan Souls Trips
• Medical Mission Trips
• Construction Trips
