Worm Busters to the Rescue in Peru

CBN.com The city of Lima, Peru, is growing faster than its infrastructure. What that means for residents of these slums on the outskirts of the city is that many of them suffer from intestinal parasites due to poor sanitation.

Lack of running water, sewage control, and electricity makes it difficult to avoid contracting the worms. For these children, the effects are a loss of appetite, anemia, and stunted growth. Some studies show that as many as 60 percent of Peruvians are infected.

Your contributions to Operation Blessing recently provided more than 6 million doses of a worm-buster medicine called Abendazole. That was enough to rid every child in Peru of intestinal worms and the problems they cause.

Churches across the country set up distribution centers to dispense the pills. Pat Robertson paid a personal visit to this center in a slum called Pamplona Alta and even pitched in to pass out medication.

“Behind me is a line of children desperate for help,” Pat Robertson said. “We give the children toys, we give them something to eat, but more than anything, we give them the pill that will take the intestinal parasites out of them. And we’re doing it in your name, as those who support Operation Blessing.”

In addition to the physical help, these children are receiving something even better – the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
Cristel is a mother of three who lives with her family in Pamplona Alta.

“We have no water here. The electricity we don’t have. Sometimes the man who brings the water doesn’t come,” Cristel commented.

And though she does her best to keep things tidy in her dirt-floored home, it has not been easy to keep her children from contracting the parasites because of the mounds of garbage outside.

But your generous gifts to Operation Blessing mean one less worry for this young mother – and for all the children of Peru.

Partners provide practical help for families in need. This often opens hearts to receive the message of Christ. If you are not a partner, please join with us today. For a small investment of only $20 a month, you can bring help and a message of hope to people throughout the world. Become a member today!