Cambiando Horizontes Perú is an organization founded on February 18, 2020, by Anthonie Den Oudsten and Maresa Vásquez Den Oudsten, with a deep vocation for service and a strong commitment to promoting the right of children and adolescents to live and grow within a family.
The organization was established in response to the reality of prolonged institutionalization and the existing gaps in comprehensive care for populations in vulnerable situations. Our main purpose is to provide free opportunities to children, youth, and families in situations of need, contributing to their personal, social, and community development.
Among our institutional objectives is the strengthening of adolescents and young people transitioning from the child protection system to independent living, promoting the development of active, responsible, and productive citizens who can fully integrate into society.
We also promote actions aimed at ensuring the fulfillment of human rights for children, adolescents, youth, and women through accompaniment programs, training, advocacy, and inter-institutional coordination.
Our organization also works to facilitate and implement deinstitutionalization processes for children and adolescents within the protection system, promoting family reintegration, family strengthening, and the improvement of institutional responses, guided by a rights-based approach and family-centered care.
Throughout its evolution, Cambiando Horizontes Perú has grown steadily, consolidating social programs and strategic partnerships that expand our impact and reaffirm our commitment to a more just, protective, and compassionate society.
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Peru
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Main Areas of Work
Construyendo Mi Autonomía - Building my autonomy
Construyendo mi Autonomía (Building my autonomy) is a life-skills training program aimed at adolescents living in Residential Care Centers (CARs) in preparation of aging out and independent life. The program strengthens independent living skills through structured monthly sessions that combine practical and theoretical components, including life planning, financial literacy, emotional regulation, decision-making, and daily living skills. The training is delivered across six different residential care centers, with one session per month in each location. Additionally, the program includes a ludic and experiential session held at our own facilities, designed to reinforce learning through participatory activities, reflection, and real-life simulations.
Youth Accompaniment Program
The Youth Accompaniment Program provides comprehensive support to young people who have transitioned out of the child protection system. The program includes educational support, scholarships, psychosocial accompaniment, mentoring, and individualized follow-up. It aims to promote autonomy, emotional well-being, and social and economic inclusion for care leavers as they build independent and productive lives.
Uniendo Familias - Uniting Families
“Uniendo Familias (Uniting families)” is a family reintegration program aimed at children and adolescents transitioning from Residential Care Centers back into protective family environments. The program includes assessment, preparation, accompaniment, and follow-up processes to ensure safe, sustainable, and child-centered reintegration, guided by the best interests of the child.
This program is aligned with the case management methodology of the “Changing the Way We Care” approach, as well as with Peruvian child protection regulations. Its implementation focuses on strengthening family capacities, restoring the right to live in a family environment, and preventing re-institutionalization, while promoting family- and community-based care solutions.
Capacitación Especializada - Specialized Training
This program provides specialized training for staff working in Residential Care Centers to improve the quality of care for children and adolescents. The training focuses on child protection standards, trauma-informed care, rights-based approaches, and best practices for family-based care and deinstitutionalization. The program is implemented nationwide through strategic partnerships with organizations such as the Regional Government and the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations.
Acogiendo con Amor - Fostering with love
“Acogiendo con Amor (fostering with love)” is a community sensitization and engagement program aimed at churches, community groups, companies, and civil society organizations, as well as individuals with a strong vocation for service, to promote family-based care as a protective alternative for children at risk of entering institutional care.
The program focuses on raising awareness about the right of children to grow up in a family environment and encourages families and individuals to consider temporary or long-term caregiving options before institutionalization occurs. Through workshops, talks, faith-based spaces, and community outreach activities, the program fosters a culture of shared responsibility, compassion, and commitment to child protection.
“Acogiendo con Amor” seeks to mobilize people of goodwill to open their homes and hearts, strengthening community-based responses and preventing unnecessary separation of children from family life.
We asked this organization to tell us a little more about their learning and knowledge sharing practices. Here is what they said
As an organization, we are particularly proud of our work supporting adolescents and young people transitioning from the child protection system to independent living, as well as our efforts in family reintegration and deinstitutionalization. Our person-centered and family-based approach promotes sustainable alternatives to residential care, upholding the right of children and adolescents to grow up in families and supporting young people in building dignified and autonomous life projects.
Our work accompanying adolescents and young people leaving the protection system has generated the most significant learning for our organization. This experience has deepened our understanding of the importance of continuous support, mental health care, access to education, and strong support networks in successful transitions to autonomy. Additionally, implementing pilot family reintegration programs has strengthened our capacity in case management, risk assessment, and the prevention of re-institutionalization.
Cambiando Horizontes Perú integrates reflection and evaluation into its work through regular team meetings, case reviews, technical supervision, and periodic program evaluations. Lessons learned are systematically documented and used to improve protocols, strengthen staff capacities, and adapt interventions. This ensures ethical, context-responsive, and evidence-informed practice.
We actively participate in inter-institutional coordination spaces, child protection networks, and joint learning initiatives with national and international organizations. We collaborate with public institutions, faith-based organizations, civil society groups, and communities, promoting the exchange of knowledge and good practices. We also prioritize the meaningful participation of children, adolescents, young people, and families, recognizing their voices and lived experiences as essential to shaping and improving our programs.