Project Launch:

In Salas, a rural district located in the northern part of Peru mothers and children have been reporting to the local health center with eye problems, muscular spasm, asphyxia, respiratory illnesses and burns as a result of cooking over an open flame. Additionally, the community views men as the most important part of the family and women as objects, only to be kept in the house. Therefore, most women do not have great self-esteem when it comes to their homes and health, as well as their children's health. The Healthy Homes and Improved Cookstoves project aims to construct 30 improved cookstoves for households. The project is a partnership between the local government (contributing more than 1/3 of the project's costs), the beneficiary households, the local health center and World Connect. Not only will installing improved cookstoves help to improve the health of mothers and their children, it will also increase the self-esteem of the women in the community.