MIDIS is the Ministry of Inclusion in Peru (Ministereo de Desarollo e Inclusion Social). It is a branch of the Peruvian government, similar to how we have the Ministry of Defense, or the Federal Reserve. They take up an entire high rise in Lima. They have their own glasses etched with the MIDIS logo that we drank out of. We weren't allowed to bring our cameras inside.

Security guards escorted us upstairs. There was a huge, 5 story traditional nativity scene in the corner of the conference room. The room was a corner room with panoramic views of the city. They also had several different flags displayed on the outside of the building.

Currently, social policy in Peru is implemented through the Ministry of Economics. The Ministry of Social Inclusion has only been around for 1 year. Their priorities are 1. Nutrition 2. Early childhood 3. Skills 4. Economic inclusion - not dependent on welfare 5. Elderly populations

The definition of social inclusion in Peru is = exercise rights, access to high quality services, equal participation in community nationally, take advantage of opportunities presented by economic growth.

Peru was the 8th fastest growing economy in the world in 2004. There is extreme poverty in rural areas. 76% of the populations in rural areas don't have access to water, sewer, electricity, etc.

They are targeting geographic location, poverty, ethnicity. Their most successful policy thus far has changed daily operations of major actions. Politics change often here, and the current President is in favor of this work, so they need to get as much done as possible now before administration changes.

In Peru there are State (national) and regional governments, similar to how we have national and state governments. MIDIS is trying to design policy and implement programs at the same time.

They used to have a program called PRONA. It's a food program based on government transactions, but it got corrupted. It was around for 20 years before they replaced it with school breakfasts and lunches. This idea was based on a program run in the US. It is done locally and not nationally. That means locally grown food for each community to keep it healthier, more cost effective, and culturally relevant. This also promotes local production and consumption on a larger scale. Currently they want to serve 40,000 schools starting March 1.

They have built their staff up to 200 over the last year. They stress the importance of the UN and like the idea of being American. (North, Central and South America.)

We asked the rep many questions, and she only answered some of them. She felt very vague and ambiguous. We left this meeting feeling unfulfilled and curious, but it also added to our overall understanding of how Peru operates and views its people.