Project Launch:

Simply walking through the small community of San Juan Bautista in Peru in 2010, one could easily see that the everyday practices of personal trash management have led to large-scale environmental degradation and contamination. Much of the community lacked a basic awareness of the dangers of poor trash management and disposal. What the community needed was a change of mind and best route to a community change of mind was through its young people. Project Niños Verdes, supported with a grant from World Connect in 2011, focused on educating the youth of San Juan Bautista in better methods of caring for the environment and their own health. At the beginning of the 2011 school year, 40 students were invited to join the very first eco-club at Genero Huamán Acuache elementary school, which worked on recycling campaigns, art project, and compost maintenance. Through both classroom lessons and hands-on education, positive customs and practices relating to the disposal of trash and the reutilization of recyclables and organic materials were ingrained in the participants. The overall goal of Niños Verdes was to show the community that a clean environment is easier to achieve than one might think and the impact of a cleaner environment has important effects on everyone’s health and well-being.