Empowering Better Health
On September 8, the Integral Ecology Initiative partnered with the Santa Julia Health Center to host the first in a series of educational talks addressing social needs for the residents of the UPIS—La Florida area of Piura, Peru. Nutritionist Tatiana Lizama Nima led the session on Optimal Nutrition with Simple Resources and shared practical guidance on healthy eating habits using affordable, locally available foods. Nearly a dozen men, women, and children attended.
La Florida is one of Piura’s “expansion zones,” informal settlements in the rapidly growing urban periphery of Peruvian cities. The area has been especially hard hit by climate change. Residents face challenges with housing, water, food security, and health services—issues that compound daily struggles and increase vulnerability.
Through the Centro Pastoral San Vicente de Paúl (CPSVP), the IEI provides access to critical services for La Florida residents. This work seeks to build a community that recognizes our interdependence and ensures access to essential human needs like clean water, nutritious food, and healthcare so individuals and families can thrive.
The event also included a prayer and reflection led by Sister Liduvina Domínguez to mark the Feast of the Virgin Mary’s birth and remind participants of the deep connection between faith, community, and care for one another.
Nutritionist Tatiana Lizama Nima and Sister Liduvina Domínguez lead a day of learning and reflection for residents of Piura’s La Florida community.
Marching for Justice
On August 29, representatives from the CPSVP joined community members in Piura, Peru, in a March for Justice in honor of Xiomara Huertas Santiago, an 18-year-old university student who was the victim of femicide. The March began at Plaza Tres Culturas and ended at the Judiciary of Piura, where hundreds of families, friends, and members of women’s rights groups demanded accountability from local leaders and raised awareness about violence against women under the slogan #NiUnaMenos (“Not One Less”).
Xiomara was reported missing on August 19, and four days later, her body was found buried in her home’s animal pen. The prime suspect—her uncle-in-law—remains in custody. Her case is one of several femicides in the Piura region this year alone.
The intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender, femicide, like all gender-based violence, is rooted in systemic inequality and cultural norms that devalue women’s lives. In Peru, femicide is considered a serious crime and carries severe penalties, but advocates say more prevention, protection, and accountability are urgently needed to tackle the root causes of gender-based violence.
Participation in this march reflects CPSVP and the IEI’s deep commitment to the values at the heart of integral ecology: the defense of human dignity, the protection of the vulnerable, and the interconnectedness of all struggles for justice. Just as integral ecology teaches that the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor are one, the cry for justice for Xiomara and for all women facing violence is inseparable from the call to build communities of care, equity, and solidarity.
By walking alongside the people of Piura, CPSVP bore witness to the principle that true ecological conversion is also a social one—demanding a world where no life is disposable and justice is a shared responsibility.
Rosario Valdivieso (CPSVP IEI Representative) and Ana Sulma (CPSVP Executive Director) join hundreds of other activists in Piura to demand justice for victims of gender-based violence.
ACT WITH US FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
After hearing about the work of our community in Peru, we invite you to reflect on your own experiences. How do you care for others? What injustices do you stand against?
Thank you to all those who participated in our recent Sustainability Engagement Survey. We look forward to sharing what we’ve learned in a future IEI update.
