Everybody farms in the countryside around Cajamarca. What little land people have is used to grow potatoes and rear a few animals, but production is low, and it’s a tough market. What makes life even harder are the unpredictable rains caused by climate change, the soil degradation and range of pests which destroy whole harvests. The result is that many families are left struggling to survive.
And yet this is a community that is bursting with potential. People here love life and are determined not just to survive but to improve their lives. They want progress and to see their potential fulfilled, just like the rest of us.
Join with them in their journey and you’re guaranteed a front row seat as real transformation takes hold of a community in need.
The story of Warmis
Warmis - our partner at work in the area - started in 1999 when members of a church in Cajamarca town decided to visit the surrounding countryside for the first time. There they witnessed the needs of the people and realised they could help. So they did, straight away.
Twelve years on and Warmis has grown from its early days running workshops for women and children, helping them learn to read and write, grow in their Christian faith, and develop handicraft skills. Today the Tearfund partner understands how important farming is for the community, and so they equip farmers to cope with climate change and make a living from the land. The team provides farmers with seeds, fertilisers and the means to protect the crops from pests. They’re also teaching farmers new irrigation techniques, so they’re not so reliant on the rain.
The work of Warmis sprang from the church, and now it’s returning to its roots...
In Cajamarca, as in many other places around the world, the traditional role of the church has been to help people spiritually – to pray with and for them, and to help people learn more about God. This is vital work, but it’s not the whole story.
God calls his church to love people holistically – in thought, word and deed, to help bring transformation materially as well as spiritually. At Tearfund we call this Integral Mission, and it’s precisely what Warmis is putting into practice.
Of course Warmis is continuing its great work of empowering families to improve their lives through its workshops and farming resources, but it is also now incorporating this exciting new strand of work with local churches. And it has a plan...
- To strengthen the capacity of 300 more families, enabling them to develop and implement sustainable agricultural practices to increase income and improve food security
- To strengthen the capacity of 450 vulnerable women, helping them support their families better and contribute to family income.
- To nurture the development of 400 disadvantaged children through practical and educational activities.
- To strengthen the evangelical church so it becomes more involved in the fight against poverty in Cajamarca.
And this is why this is a great time to invest in work like this across Latin America. This is an ideal opportunity to see for yourself the powerful transformation that can flow out from the local church. Join us and you will feel the change for yourself.