A child’s job is to learn and grow. Yet children with disabilities often require extra support to reach developmental milestones and receive an education. In Peru, families often struggle to find help for their children with special needs, especially in the country’s rural and underserved urban areas. What’s worse, these families often face discrimination and exclusion. The isolation from others and the stress of caring for their child’s needs can strain caregivers’ mental health.

Without skilled, compassionate support, children fail to learn and grow as they should, and families feel overwhelmed and unseen. But for CMMB, these families are not invisible. We are focused on equipping them with the local support they need to thrive.

Rehabilitation with Hope

CMMB Rehabilitation with Hope Occupational Therapy Session.

In 2012 and 2014, respectively, CMMB launched a project in the regions of Huancayo and Trujillo, Peru, called Rehabilitation with Hope. We provide children living with physical or cognitive disabilities with access to comprehensive therapies, including physical, speech, and occupational therapy. Depending on their unique needs, some children also receive equine and aquatic therapy. With this extra help, young people learn how to move their bodies, memorize the alphabet, identify colors, and more.

Our care goes beyond the child. We also bring loving support to families and caregivers, teaching them how to build resilience and show compassion to themselves as they advocate and care for their children. We train community health workers to support families and integrate them into the community. And since good nutrition is vital to children’s growth and a family’s overall well-being, we also demonstrate how to prepare nutritious meals and techniques to help caregivers feed children who have trouble swallowing or using their hands.

Despite progress, far too many families in Peru remain unsupported and isolated. But we are encouraged by steps in the right direction. In recent years, Peru has enhanced policies that reduce discrimination and increase support for people with disabilities.

At CMMB, we remain as committed as ever to connecting families to community-based care. We are proud to share this story about Gerald, a child in our Rehabilitation with Hope project. Therapeutic support and his mother’s love have helped him flourish.

Gerald’s Story: From Worry to Hope

Gerald and his mom participate in a Rehabilitation with Hope Project activity

The biggest joy in María’s life is being her son’s mother. For her entire family, Gerald is “our center of happiness,” she said. But when María compared Gerald to other children his age, he seemed to be developing much more slowly. As they doted on Gerald, her family members shared her concerns. “The whole family was worried about him,” she told us. “Because we noticed that he wasn’t making progress.”

At first, she wasn’t sure where to turn. María and Gerald live in Trujillo, a city on Peru’s northern coast. Here, specialized health services are often lacking, especially for families who have children with disabilities. María was also concerned that Gerald was not getting enough nutrition. In Peru, malnutrition and anemia—a condition that causes fatigue and weakness—are widespread, especially among young children. If a child does not get the right nutrients, they may experience stunted cognitive and physical development.

María wanted the best for Gerald’s future. And thanks to CMMB’s Rehabilitation with Hope, she found the help he needed close to home.

Once Gerald began working with CMMB-supported therapists, he started crawling, a huge milestone for a child who had struggled to move like his peers. As his therapists encouraged socialization with other children, his communication skills improved, too. “Since joining Rehabilitation with Hope, we’ve seen a huge change,” María said.

Gerald’s nutritional health also improved. When he entered Rehabilitation with Hope, he had low hemoglobin, a sign that he was at risk for anemia. After CMMB-supported community health workers provided nutritional support, his hemoglobin numbers improved.

Today, Gerald is walking. “Every day, he’s been improving,” María shared. Two years after he joined the project, CMMB-supported therapists continue to work with him, designing activities to improve his fine motor skills and teaching him new skills, like identifying colors.

For María’s family, CMMB’s loving care has turned their worry about Gerald into pride. “We feel proud of the child we have by our side, it makes us feel happy… we thank God every day that the therapies have helped Gerald make progress,” María said.

February 2026 footer