La Casa de Panchita exists because girls as young as 9 from the poverty of the Andes and shantytowns are forced to work cleaning, cooking and watching children in other people's homes. They are years behind in their schooling and often doomed to work in domestic service their entire life. Through workshops, psychological counseling, school support and recreational and cultural field-trips, at La Casa de Panchita we help these girls and adolescents pursue a better and dignified life.
The owner of La Casa de Panchita's original space sold the building when our lease ran out in July, 2015. Since then, we had to move twice, facing great economic challenges. We now secured a stable lease for a new home for our NGO, and we need your help to keep it going. It is the only way to ensure the future of our services for more than 300 girls (per year) exposed to child domestic work and over 400 women in exploitative domestic service.
Reaching our goal will enable us to keep offering our services at La Casa de Panchita and improving the human and labor rights of our girls, adolescents and women who work in domestic service in Peru, through education, workshops, grassroots outreach to families, legal and emotional counseling, advocacy and a mission-driven, in-house employment agency.
By keeping our "casa" open we can keep helping more 400 women in exploitative domestic work and 300 girls per year break through a legacy of poverty and servitude passed from mother to daughter because of a lack of opportunity and education. As they gain skills, confidence and understanding of their rights, they pursue an education and secure better jobs. In the long run, they will be empowered to obtain a better livelihood and set new paths future generations.
