Before the pandemic, only 7% of the poorest population in Peru had access to the internet. The closure of schools has meant an additional pothole for students in urban areas of the country, which despite being very close to large cities do not have any of its advantages.
Antes de la pandemia, solo un 7% de la población más pobre de Perú tenía acceso a internet. El cierre de las escuelas ha supuesto un bache adicional para los alumnos de las zonas urbanas del país, que pese a estar muy cerca de las grandes ciudades no cuentan con ninguna de sus ventajas.
Jairo Chuquimán attends an Art class through Google Meet. He and his family live in the 30 de Octubre human settlement, in Villa María del Triunfo, in the south of Lima, where they share the payment online with other relatives to be able to connect to classes. Peru
View of an area of the Villa María del Triunfo district from the 30 de Octubre settlement. The public water network does not reach here and the residents are supplied by tanker trucks. The situation is similar in hundreds of towns with urban poverty. Peru
Jairo Chuquimán shows his homework to his teacher through a Google Meet class. Peru
Yaneth Huamaní, with her children Kevin and Giuliana in the town of 30 de Octubre. This mother was helped by her sister, who was working and studying in an institute at a distance so she could pay for the digital connection. Huamaní, who is a leader of her community, says that her son Kevin studies in a private school, but she will not be able to reach the monthly payment. He is waiting for a vacancy in a state school to transfer him. Peru
Material for students who did not complete the learning in the first year of the pandemic. In April 2020 the government announced that it would deliver electronic tablets to poor school children in rural or urban areas without internet connection or without electricity, but the purchase was canceled in July, after the press denounced irregularities. Peru
Medaly, 15, defines her time at school in 2020, the year of the pandemic, as "stressful." She was a junior in high school and sometimes the only cell phone for three students had no signal. Peru
Medaly and her sisters Nayeli, Jimena and Yamilet, who was born during the pandemic. Despite all the difficulties, Medaly preferred to help her sisters in the 2020 school year, but also passed their courses. Peru
Jairo Chuquimán attends an Art class through Google Meet. He and his family live in the 30 de Octubre human settlement, in Villa María del Triunfo, in the south of Lima, where they share the payment online with other relatives to be able to connect to classes. Peru
View of an area of the Villa María del Triunfo district from the 30 de Octubre settlement. The public water network does not reach here and the residents are supplied by tanker trucks. The situation is similar in hundreds of towns with urban poverty. Peru
Jairo Chuquimán shows his homework to his teacher through a Google Meet class. Peru
Yaneth Huamaní, with her children Kevin and Giuliana in the town of 30 de Octubre. This mother was helped by her sister, who was working and studying in an institute at a distance so she could pay for the digital connection. Huamaní, who is a leader of her community, says that her son Kevin studies in a private school, but she will not be able to reach the monthly payment. He is waiting for a vacancy in a state school to transfer him. Peru
Material for students who did not complete the learning in the first year of the pandemic. In April 2020 the government announced that it would deliver electronic tablets to poor school children in rural or urban areas without internet connection or without electricity, but the purchase was canceled in July, after the press denounced irregularities. Peru
Medaly, 15, defines her time at school in 2020, the year of the pandemic, as "stressful." She was a junior in high school and sometimes the only cell phone for three students had no signal. Peru
Medaly and her sisters Nayeli, Jimena and Yamilet, who was born during the pandemic. Despite all the difficulties, Medaly preferred to help her sisters in the 2020 school year, but also passed their courses. Peru
Leslie Moreno Custodio
Peruvian photographer, Peruvian reporter, storyteller, Peru, photojournalist