An exhibit of artistic projects created by Los Peruanitos (the Little Peruvians), a group of organized boys and girls from the 12 de Junio community in Lima’s Villa María del Triunfo district. Through photography and writing, Los Peruanitos explored the concepts of identity and health at the individual, family and community levels. Their projects examine themes such as community health, self-care, self-expression, and what it means to be a part of something. In the process, they have created an intimate portrait of their lives and their community.
This work was produced through a series of workshops facilitated by artist and educator Elizabeth Landesberg and nurse practitioner and educator Lauren Beaudry. In an effort combining health education and artistic practice, the workshops emphasized participation and expression in order for these young people to feel empowered to make positive decisions about their own health and the health of their community, as well as to explore their own creative voices. The workshops were carried out in collaboration with the Peruvian community organization INFANT, the Instituto de Formación de Adolescentes y Niños Trabajadores (Training Institute for Child and Adolescent Workers), and with the support of the Duke University Felsman Fellowship Program (USA). The exhibit ran from July 26-31, 2015, at the Tupac Contemporary Creation Cultural, in Barranco, Lima, Peru.
Our Community
12 de Junio is a community located on top of the hills of the Villa María del Triunfo district, close to the cemetery. It has existed for 15 years. It’s a very unified and humble community, although sometimes not very coordinated. The members of the community are mostly indigenous people from the Andes, who came to Lima out of necessity looking for land, and settled these unoccupied hills. It’s very cold here in the winter and gets very muddy when it rains. In the summer most of the population goes further up in the hills to walk around.
With this exhibit we hope that people will learn about our reality in 12 de Junio.
Water
Water is the source of life. Without water we cannot live. Water makes it possible to take care of our needs, like: washing clothes, cleaning the house, washing food; personal hygiene, bathing, washing our hands; watering the plants; drinking.
A delivery person brings water to the community 12 de Junio on a truck. Each household has a tank where they receive the water from the truck through a hose. The majority of community members carry the water in buckets to take care of their needs. When the water runs out we have to call the delivery person, but sometimes he doesn’t want to come all the way up to the community because there’s mud and the car will slip. If there’s no clean, running water, we can’t do anything that we need to do. Sometimes we go days without water to drink or to use for cleaning and washing.
The water isn’t always clean. For example, if the tank isn’t covered it gets dirty and attracts insects which produce illnesses. Or sometimes the water arrives full of dirt. To drink the water, we have to boil it so there are no parasites.
When people use water, since we don’t have a drainage system, they throw the waste water in the street. This attracts flies and can produce a bad smell, depending on what the water was used for.
With these photos you can see the problems with water we have in our community. It would be better if there was a water and drainage system. We would like the municipality to support us and help us overcome this issue.
Lack of Plants
Plants give us oxygen. We would like for the park in our community to be full of plants, and for people not to pull out the plants.
Safety and Security
There is not constant security in our community. We don’t feel protected because there are no security guards or watchmen, and there’s also not a police station nearby. We would like for there to be more security in our community.
Trash
There are not enough trash bins or dumpsters in our community. We put our trash in bags in our homes and then the bags go out on the street. The garbage collector only once a month. The trash accumulates on the corners and contaminates the environment. When you walk by the trash, the smell is infernal and there are a lot of flies. When a car passes by, all the flies get inside. When a lot of trash accumulates, some people burn it, which produces smoke and contaminates the environment. The accumulation of trash affects our health because of the smell, the insects, and the smoke. All this can make us sick.
Some people have gotten used to seeing trash every day, but we want the trash to be collected at least once a week. We also want them to put more trash bins in the community, as well as glass, plastic and paper recycling bins.
We would like President Ollanta Humala to live where we live; for him to spend a month with us so he can understand what we experience on a day to day basis.
Our Families
Representations of our families through portraits and symbols.
Self-Care
A photographic exploration of the ways we care for ourselves.
The Best Part of Me
A series of self-portraits through the parts of our bodies we enjoy and feel proud of.
I like my hands because I like playing volleyball and basketball.
Dear Fingers, You help me write and communicate through signs. I want to thank you for the advantages.
With your feet, you can go where you want, whenever you want, and with whoever you want.
My feet help me walk, play, jump, kick the ball, and many other things.
I like my hands because they are very tender and when I write with them I almost feel like I’m smiling. I play with them. I am happy with them. If I didn’t have them, I couldn’t be happy. Being that I have them, I’m happier than ever.