RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Institutional care for children is a global phenomenon. Despite its advantages, common threats have been described. In Peru, more than 70% of institutionalized children/adolescents have living parents who cannot take care of them. The study aims to understand the care/rearing of institutionalized girls in Arequipa, Peru. METHODOLOGY: Ethnographic design, with a sample integrated by 27 institutionalized girls. Data collected based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The analysis followed the Method of Constant Comparisons. RESULTS: Five main themes were found: (a) The little house (foster home) is better than my house; (b) They take care of me-even when I am sick-; (c) But . . .; (d) What I have lived is what I am; (e) Happiness fits in this little house. DISCUSSION: An ethnography of care/rearing practices could be helpful for a better understanding of the dimensions of the life of institutionalized girls living in developing countries.