Global Reach: Grantee Partners

Asociación Kallpa

Context:

Peru's sound macroeconomic and structural policies, supported by favorable external conditions, have resulted in significant economic growth. The country's economy advanced at close to 6% per year during the last decade. Between 2004 and 2015, nine out of thirty million Peruvians escaped poverty, with poverty levels falling by more than half, from 58% to 22%. However, poverty incidence remains highly unequal in geographic terms, with the rural poverty rate above 50%. In Cusco, the region where Kallpa runs EMpower-funded programs, four out of every ten people live in poverty, while 13% of youth are unemployed, and 55% are underemployed. In addition, there are over 10,000 domestic workers, mostly girls aged 13-17 who migrate to Cusco propelled by their parents (to earn money), escaping family violence, or believing that they will have access to better education. 

Organization:

Kallpa- which means 'strength' in Quechua, the language of the Incas- is one of EMpower's five grantee partners in Peru. Founded in Lima in 1990, the organization works with local schools, government agencies, community organizations, and youth activists to develop and implement sustainable solutions to problems such as unemployment, abuse, and early pregnancy faced by at-risk children and adolescents. The organization has four regional offices in Lima, Cusco, Loreto, and Ayacucho. Its youth employment centers in Lima and Cusco successfully provide pathways to employment for young people (job-readiness skills training, vocational orientation, entrepreneurship training), and has expanded its reach to exceptionally at-risk youth, such as young Quechua women domestic workers who often need it the most. The program teaches participants to develop their resumes and cover letters, prepare through mock interviews, assists with job search techniques and pairs them with potential employers. The program has helped thousands of vulnerable youth to access their first job since its inception. Kallpa has a staff of 29 (24 full time and 5 part-time) who are highly committed and knowledgable in their respective areas. 

Current Grant:

EMpower’s 6th and final grant to Kallpa will help strengthen the organizations fundraising capacity, effectively supporting the resource mobilization efforts that will fund the programmes sponsored by EMpower moving forward. The grant will also help Kallpa strengthen its partnership with the public sector's night schools in Cusco, consolidating and improving the sustainability of the program that aims to strengthen the life skills and career plans of the extremely vulnerable youth that attend such schools. 

Primary Location: Lima

Website: http://www.kallpa.org.pe/

Funded Since: 2011

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