The FIrst Lady of Peru visits a family who received an adobe oven. The ovens help ventilate carbon-filled smoke out of the house.

PERU – The reality for people living in the Upper Andes of Peru is grim: every day thousands are exposed to prolonged smoke inhalation, one of the leading causes of early death for residents of the region.

Most families use open flame fire pits inside their home to cook meals as well as heat their house. But with no chimney to ventilate, the carbon-filled smoke covers the walls with black soot while doing even more harm to the lungs of the families breathing in the toxic air.

"The walls of the homes are black," said Jordan Durso, OBI’s Latin American director based in Peru. "So you can imagine their lungs."

The Peruvian government says the intake of smoke is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day and many children are becoming seriously ill as a result of the smoke.

Each two-burner oven costs approximately $30 to build.

To help combat the growing epidemic, OBI has partnered with the First Lady of Peru to buy materials to build custom-made adobe ovens with metal chimneys and distribute them to affected families.

Each two-burner oven costs approximately $30 to build. The wood is efficiently burned in an enclosed area surrounded by adobe and a chimney vents the smoke outside the home.

OBI plans to make weekly trips to villages and deliver a total of 1,000 ovens, providing a simple and lifesaving solution for families.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Whether it's the gift of an adobe oven, building cisterns or supporting schools, your support is helping make a difference for those in need. You can be a part of equipping impoverished families by making an online donation toward life-changing programs with Operation Blessing.

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