Pilar Nores De Garcia: Sowing Stronger Communities in Peru

Pilar Nores de Garcia was born and raised in Argentina where she studied economics at Cordoba National University. She is currently pursuing her Masters in social & economic development. She became a Peruvian citizen when she married Alan Garcia, the current and former president of Peru. They met when he was a student at the Sorbonne in Paris and have four children. Garcia was the youngest president in Latin America history at age 36 when he first served from 1985-90. In 1992, she and her family were forced into exile because of a coup by the military that took place under the direction of the then Peruvian president, Alberto Fujimori, and fled to Colombia and then France. They returned to Peru in 2001 following Fujimori’s resignation from the presidency. Her husband began a second five-year term as president in 2006. During both terms as First Lady, she has dedicated herself to help neglected children as well as working with mothers through soup kitchens and mother’s clubs. The First Lady has a rich family legacy of leadership. Her great-grandfather founded the newspaper “The Principles.” Both her grandfather and father served as president of the University of Cordoba in Argentina, one of the most prestigious universities in South America. Her father was also governor of Cordoba, Argentina. The First Lady’s Instutituto Trabajo y Familia (ITYF) was established in 2002 to work with the youth involved in urban violence in Lima where it worked with high school students, teachers and parents. As of 2006 the Institute took on the challenge of implementing the Sembrando (which means ‘Sowing in Peru’) program with the aim of promoting the development of extremely poor high-Andean communities while respecting their traditions. Its goal is to work with more than 5,000 communities that have more than one million families.There are multidisciplinary teams working in the areas of: medicine, agriculture & livestock, education, psychology and social development. The first stage was launched in 14 rural centers with 1,800 families in the province of Cajabamba in August 2006. The objectives are to foster productive & social development of the poorest sections of Peru including: reducing infant malnutrition; strengthening the communities in both urban & rural areas; providing legal, technical & administrative advice; unemployment, extreme poverty and family disintegration, and preparing the citizens to work in a competitive world as leaders with entrepreneurial capabilities. OPERATAION BLESSING IN PERU A massive, devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Peru on August 16, 2007, killing hundreds and injuring thousands more. It was centered in the town of Pisco which was 80% destroyed. Operation Blessing International (OBI) partnered with Peru’s Department of Civil Defense to help distribute tons of goods and aid housed in the city of Chicha. It is estimated that 10,000 people a day were reached with critical supplies of food, water & medicine. Water trucks carrying 1,000 gallons each made rounds every hour to communities with no water. Truckloads of building materials were purchased to help families construct temporary shelters & repair damages. At a relief camp in Pisco providing housing for 1,200 victims, OBI worked with the Peruvian Army to construct latrines. OBI teams are still identifying communities in need and working with the Peruvian government, local churches and international relief groups to keep supplies moving. Last Thanksgiving Pat Robertson visited Peru as OBI completed its second & largest anti-parasite campaign distributing 2 million Albenadazol pills (effective against pinworms, roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, etc) in a single day to 2 million residents throughout the country. Intestinal parasites can cause physical pain, bleeding, affect cognitive ability & consume 25% of a person’s food intake, causing malnutrition and other severe, chronic health problems. They can also lead to death if untreated. Parasites are contracted by walking barefoot on infested soil, eating unwashed food & drinking contaminated water. An estimated 2,000 local churches (each treating 1,000 people) & thousands of volunteers participated in this latest campaign & were assisted by Peru’s Ministry of Health. OBI & the World Health Organization are launching a long-range initiative to distribute 2 million Albenadazol pills every 6 months for the next 3 years. REGENT UNIVERSITY PROVIDING ENTREPENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING IN PERU In September 3,400 young Peruvian entrepreneurs completed their first training session in entrepreneurship designed and led by Regent University’s School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship (GLE). This national training program called “The Kingdom Entrepreneurs” was held August 30 & 31 in Lima & resulted from an offer from Pat Robertson to President Alan Garcia last fall. This first 10-hour, two-day module titled “God’s Ideas” was held at 3 locations including two large Peruvian churches, Agua Viva (Living water) & Camino de Vida (Way of Life). The second module will be held in November & will focus on how to formulate a business plan. The third one will focus on how to manage & Lead a new business enterprise. Five of the participants, whose projects are deemed outstanding and most feasible, will receive grant funding to initiate their entrepreneurial endeavors. On Sept 28 GLE hosted a breakfast with Peruvian Congress members to identify what they can do as legislators to foster entrepreneurial & business development in their country.