Research has shown that music is a tremendous stimulus for the brain, and has many positive effects on health. Children from low-income families rarely have access to a music education. Help Peru is providing this opportunity to children in the city of Huaraz (Ancash region) by offering choir and guitar lessons at the music school of Sinfonia por el Peru.

Founded in Lima in 2010, Sinfonia por el Peru is a non-profit organization established by the world-renowned Peruvian tenor, Juan Diego Florez, with the purpose of providing the children and youth of Peru with musical education that complements their personal development. Through the power of music, participants gain a higher self-esteem, develop a greater tenacity to achieve goals, increase their personal creativity and are enriched through exposure to better ways of living together in society.

In order to foster these changes among Peru’s youth, Sinfonia por el Peru has established 21 music centers with orchestras and choirs throughout the country.

Recent evaluations have shown that children taking part in Sinfonia perform better in school and show greater determination in carrying out their tasks. On the other hand, children’s verbal and physical aggression towards each other diminishes, and conviviality at a family level is greatly improved. The participants have better expectations for the future: they engage less in risky behavior, they show a decrease in rates of teenage pregnancy, they undertake more hours of study, and they have a considerably higher expectation of master’s degrees and postgraduate education.

Learn more at www.sinfoniaporelperu.or/en