Los Amigos is a faith-based organization dedicated to supporting programs that improve and transform the lives of the poor of Chimbote, Peru.

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Programs & Services

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitative programs in Chimbote help to improve physical, social, and mental health. Programs include:

Youth centers
For young people in poverty, it can be hard to maintain a sense of hope for the future. Many young people become hardened by what they’ve seen and experienced. Some A youth center in Chimbote turn to drugs, crime, gangs, and/or violence. Four youth centers have been built in Chimbote and offer young people a safe place to gather where they can study, play games, watch television programs, and do art and/or community projects. These youth centers were built or refurbished largely by gang members themselves, who have taken great pride in their ability to contribute. In 2007, more than 1,000 young people used the youth centers as a safe gathering place.

Physical therapy rehabilitation center
Due to poor nutrition, lack of prenatal care and poor living conditions a higher-than-average number of Chimbote residents are born with physical deformities.  Los Amigos operates a small physical therapy center in the Corazon de Jesus parish facilities.  Through the use of donated equipment, therapists are able to provide needed treatment for many individuals, thereby increasing mobility and decreasing pain.

An employee of the mission poses with a “discapacitado,” or physically challenged person, who receives help from the mission. The Matt Talbot Center
The Matt Talbot Center, named after a famous Catholic recovered alcoholic who lived in Ireland in the early 1900s, offers inpatient intensive drug and alcohol treatment to up to twelve male addicts at a time. Treatment includes therapy sessions, psychological counseling, classes, and assistance with work programs to better prepare the patient for the outside world. The center opened in 2007 and in that year treated 97 men.