Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- Surco, a district in Lima, Peru has begun an effort to end the cycle of children begging in its streets.

Neighbors are being encouraged not to give children money for the sale of candy or stunts performed on street corners, due to the fact that the money goes to unscrupulous adults that make money off of the children.

The Mayor of Surco made this announcement in a meeting with children at the Santiago Apóstol sporting facility, where he launched the "Say No to begging" campaign. The campaign has been programmed to begin during Surco's Children's Week.

"We have seen a large quantity of children asking for money, with adults behind them, who transport them and leave them at street corners, this is nothing but child abuse. They come from Villa María del Triunfo, San Juan de Miraflores and a small amount are from Santiago de Surco," stated the Mayor.

Surco's Mayor explained that around 250 children circle the district's streets, moving from one street to another, depending on police and serenazgo presence.

"The first thing we are going to do is make neighbors aware. There would not be children in the street, nor would people take advantage of them, if we didn't give them money," stated the Mayor. He added that motorists would be educated, due to the fact that they are the ones that give the most money.

Del Mar explained that the "Say No to begging" campaign was directly related to a service project headed by Surco's Municipality, which provides children with lunch on a daily basis. "We are currently feeding 150 children, but we would like for there to be more," stated del Mar.

The Mayor stated that if neighbors wanted to help the children, they could do so through the Municipality's service project. He added that other districts could take part in the campaign and suggested that it could be applied nationwide.