Lima is located on the coast of Perú. It is a very dry place during the summer but in winter the weather can go down to 12°C (or 53 °F). This may not seem extreme but in most of the shanty towns it is because of the following reasons. The poorest communities of Lima are located on the hills around Lima, 300 to 500 meters above sea level, where the fog from the sea gets stuck all day long from June to September. During these months, it drizzles almost all day and the humidity at night gets to 100%. The houses are made out of cardboard, plastic roofs, broken recycled wood, and leftover corrugated plastic. Of course, there is no heating or enough firewood to warm up.
Most people use thin blankets or pieces of newspapers or cardboard to cover from the cold nights. Obviously, it is not warm enough so most of them get sick frequently during the winter season. Reciprocity NGO seeks to help families with a winter blanket for each member of their family to keep warm at night. A good winter blanket costs from 15 USD to 20 USD on Peruvian markets. With a small donation like this, you can literally save a life during this winter.
Note: The Ministry of Health states that more than 400 children die every year due to breathing problems like bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia, etc. This number is definitely underestimated. Combined with the food crisis as a result of the pandemic, specialists forecast that this winter this number will be much higher.
