Unusually long and heavy rains wreaked havoc in the Peruvian Andes earlier this year, reducing many villages and outposts to rubble. The damage was severe enough to shut down Machu Picchu, the country's most popular tourist site, for several months.

In April, the Rumichaca Lagoon in northeastern Peru, swollen by the persistent rains, overflowed into a ravine, sending an avalanche of mud and rocks hurtling into the small city of Ambo below. In moments, more than 25 people were killed, about 50 injured, and 500 rendered homeless.

In the wake of the disaster, volunteers with Caritas Huánuco, the local branch of Caritas Internationalis, immediately began preparing ollas communes, or communal pots of food, to feed the survivors. But the massive destruction of agriculture in the district has stunted recovery efforts. Now, months later, the need for aid continues.

A grant of US$8,000 from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) is helping Caritas continue to care for Ambo’s schoolchildren, who are among the catastrophe's most vulnerable victims. The funds provide enough food for nutritious meals for 70 children between the ages of 5 and 17, five days a week for three months. After three months, local funding will be in place to continue the program.

"Providing healthy, nutritional meals to our school-age population enables them to pursue their studies in better conditions and improve their academic performance," said Jorge Richard Lozano Benancio, who is administering the Caritas's food program." Our social commitment is permanent, but this financial aid will enable us to improve and ensure the nourishment of the children in the aftermath of the disaster."