Project Launch:

The community of Huamachuco is the capital city for the province of Sanchez Carrion in the region of La Libertad in Peru. An urbanized city and rapidly growing in population, the largest growth is among youth between 12 and 23. Issues of teen pregnancy, increasing school drop-out rates, use of alcohol and drugs, and lack of leadership are paramount. A $500 grant from World Connect's Kids to Kids Program in 2011 supported the Youth Group of Murals, Art, and Health or Grupo Juvenil MAS Murales, Arte y Salud in combining a focus on health issues with art programming. Students ages 11 to 17 met to discuss important health themes and the possibility of interpreting those themes in a mural and then worked together to paint a storytelling mural.