In 1959, in the Peruvian capital Lima, Gérard Protain, a French priest, was helping rag-pickers, who were Peruvians living in deprived areas, to work as a team and help each other. Their hard and thankless work on El Montón rubbish dump enabled them to earn a living and help even poorer people by building humble homes and nurseries for abandoned children. In 1961, this community merged with the friends of Emmaus, who welcomed foreign volunteers to staff these nurseries, under the name of Emaús del Perú.
