Across southern Peru, expanding early childhood care is essential for supporting child development and preventing early learning drop-off ¹. In the Arequipa department, recent data from CEPLAN and INEI indicates an 8.9 percentage point drop in net preschool enrollment—one of the sharpest declines in the country—while roughly 19.5% of young children in vulnerable migrant households remain completely out of school ² ³. Building durable early learning facilities remains a top regional priority to re-engage young families, ensure equal access to foundational care, and support early childhood milestones ⁴.
In the Arequipa region, educational infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with demographic shifts, leading to significant gaps in early childhood support ⁵. While metropolitan Arequipa serves as an economic hub, peripheral urban settlements experience widespread service constraints, leaving young families without adequate educational resources during critical developmental years. Reversing the recent regional drop in preschool attendance requires targeted investments in local educational spaces that can re-engage vulnerable households, lighten the caregiving burden for working parents, and prepare young children for formal primary schooling.
To support, HXP Builders is linking up with a local partner organization to construct a brand-new, permanent preschool building tailored specifically for early childhood development. Final details on the number of classrooms and students who will benefit are still being confirmed in collaboration with the school. By opening these new doors, the project restores early educational access to the neighborhood, lightens the load for working parents, and ensures Arequipa's youngest generation gets a strong, healthy start.
Sources
¹ CEPLAN – National Center for Strategic Planning: Early Childhood Education Observatory
² INEI – National Institute of Statistics and Informatics: Arequipa Demographic & Education Profile
³ OECD – Education at a Glance: Early Childhood Education and Care in Peru
⁴ World Bank Group – Peru Human Capital and Early Childhood Development Review