The state of peru
3.6 million children in Peru are growing up in poverty.
While Peru's economy has consistently grown for the last two decades, but their youth in rural communities have been left behind. education access, learning outcomes, and opportunity still depend on where they were born. Here's what the data shows, and what we can do about it.
Key Indicators
Education
69%
of secondary school graduates do not continue on to higher education (Juventud).
67%
of students do not read at grade level (MINEDU).
Wellness
38%
of children live below the poverty line (UNICEF).
12%
of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition (ComexPerú).
Access
42%
of students do not have internet access at home (INEI).
58%
of secondary school teachers are not fully qualified (EL Comercio).
The Education Gap
25PTS
Rural students score ~25 points lower in mathematics than urban students in Peru's national assessments.
Peru requires school enrollment until age 16, and 94% of adults are literate, well above the world median. Behind the national averages is a stark economic divide. Rural schools often lack qualified teachers, reliable internet, and adequate facilities, and students in remote communities may walk hours each day to reach a classroom.
15X
more
Urban Lurigancho-Chosica has 244 schools, while neighnoting rural Santa Eulalia has only 16, making education access more difficult for rural families.
50%
From primary through higher education. enrollment falls by roughly half. Rural students, often pulled into family labor, drop out first.
In Peru, a child's zip code still decides their education.
Sources: Juventud (uventud.gob.pe). MINEDU (umc.minedu.gob.pe). UNICEF. ComexPerú. INEI, El Comercio. World Food Programme.
How we close the gap
JGM Competitions
Academic competitions in underserved Peruvian communities that reward effort and excellence. We show students their hard work pays off.
Educational Lima Trip
JGM Competition winners visit museums and universities in Lima. For many rural students, this is their first look at the futures they could reach.
Team Effort Scholarhsip
Scholarships that reward hard work and help students keeps studying. We ensure poverty doesn't cut a promising education short.
We turn motivation into opportunity.
Since 2017, and sharply since the pandemic, economic and educational progress has stalled. Poverty climbed back to 29% of the population by the national measure, and ~40% of rual Peruvians live in poverty.
For children, the consequences of stagnation compound: when families struggle, kids leave school to work. In rural areas, nearly 1 in 4 children works. Internet access, remote learning, and school infrastructure lag far behind what is available to children in Lam's schools. In come Andean regions, fewer than 3% of households had internet during the pandemic school closures.
The talent is there, but the opportunity isnt. JGM Innovation exists to close the the gap.
You can't fix Peru's education system.
You can change one student's path through it.
Your tax-deductible gift funds competitions, educational trips, and scholarships for children in Peru's underserved communities. $65 equips a competing student. $155 sends a winner to Lima, and we can build the perfect corporate sponsorship plan, tailored to your company.
