Peru

Despite being a largely agricultural country, almost ¼ of the population does not manage to obtain the daily minimum caloric intake. These predominately rural individuals, classified as extremely poor and food insecure, rely mainly on potatoes and animals (llamas, sheep, and alpacas) to get by. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line, and are forced to live on the equivalent of less than $1 USD per day. The majority of sufferers are under age 18. Of the total 10.2 million children, 6.5 million live in poverty. These children face prejudice and exclusion based on their economic status on a daily basis. The country is plagued by erosion and common severe weather conditions. In addition, the economy has maintained a stagnant growth rate of approximately 1% growth for the past 50 years. Combined, these two factors make food availability extremely limited.

However, starting in 2002, Peru represented the fastest economic growth rate in the Caribbean and Latin American area, totaling 4.5%. This is encouraging, but unemployment and poverty reduction efforts must be strengthened in order to pull this impoverished country out of its financial rut. Officials responsible for alleviating this situation must overcome obstacles such as reorganization of the administrative structure and a loss of available finances in the public spending budget. Simultaneously trying to adapt and adjust to all of these huge changes makes it difficult to take effective action at this time. The government aims to improve the quality and availability of education, raise the productivity of labor, and encourage employment-creating economic growth. This has been accepted as the best, most feasible approach to curbing the poverty rate in Peru.

The country is currently recovering from an armed conflict that raged throughout Peru from 1980 to 2000. During this People’s War, it is suspected that government-backed military personnel and insurgent guerrilla forces were responsible for the torture and forced disappearances of close to 69,000 civilians. This all began in May of 1980, when a Mao-ist inspired rebel group decided to force impoverished peasants to help them in their plan to overthrow the Peruvian government. Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path To Communism), as this guerrilla task force was named, made it seem that the villagers were supportive of this movement all in their own will. Later on, the newer Revolutionary Tupac Amaru Movement also aided in this effort. For this, the army went on to torture and kill thousands of innocent peasants, specifically native Incan descendants who spoke only Quechua. This movement began to subside with the capture of leading man Abimael Guzman in 1992. However, some small faction of this once elaborate rebel force still continues on in Peru, mainly with the purpose of protecting cocaine traffickers.

As this movement began to die down, and the final corrupt president, Alberto Fujimori, fled back to his native country of Japan in 2000, a military regime took over the country. Fujimori was forced to step down from Presidency after being charged with leading an authoritarian regime and attempting to conceal the particulars of the massacre that took place from 1980 to 2000. Since then, efforts continue to transform the government into a thriving, ethical democracy.

Other humanitarian efforts are centered around bringing equality and eliminating discrimination directed toward women, children, indigenous peoples, different ethnic groups, and individuals with disabilities. Civil liberties, especially in regards to freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, movement throughout the country, and political voice are also in jeopardy. There also exist several problems surrounding labor laws, including working environments, child labor, freedom to bargain collectively, and excessive forced labor.

In a country such as Peru where 70 percent of the population is under age 25 and without adequate knowledge of STD’s and what they entail, clearly there is a flaw in the education system regarding the matter of sexual education. The amount of AIDS cases in Peru (approximately 82,000 or more) is slowly increasing, yet the topic remains taboo in society. Increasing efforts are being made to raise awareness of this disease, its symptoms, how it is spread, and what treatments are available. In this case, education is the most crucial factor in beginning to curb the amount of STD and AIDS infected citizens of Peru.

In addition to numerous food and waterborne diseases such as Typhoid Fever and Cholera, there are several other diseases that are commonly found in all of the Northern tropical part of South America. Some of these include Malaria, Tuberculosis, Yellow Fever, and Hepatitus A and B.

The most prevalent disease in the country is Tuberculosis, which affects roughly 202 people of every 100,000. However, Peru was the first country to significantly reduce its abnormally high amount of TB by implementing a strategy suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) called Directly Observed Therapy, Short-Course (DOTS). In addition to greatly reducing the number of TB cases in the country, this sharp decline that took place from 1991 to 1999 also helped to launch a strong medical research program directed specifically towards drug-resistant forms of Tuberculosis.

There are four major environmental problems facing Peru today. Those include deforestation, soil erosion, and air and water pollution. The once pristine rainforests have experienced mass habitat destruction as a result of abusing natural resources, farming, mining, logging, and the consequent construction that ensues these activities. Overgrazing of farm animals has led to massive soil erosion. The lush vegetation is not the only party that suffers as a result of all of this destruction, for indigenous cultures are also affected by a loss of habitat and resources.

Industrial and vehicle emissions from urban centers are responsible for the large amount of air pollution, particularly in Lima, the nation’s capital. Water pollution can be accredited to sewage, industrial and oil-related waste, and a scarcity of available drinking water. Runoff from mining also greatly destroys water quality. Naturally occurring phenomena, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, and landslides, further demolish Peru’s highly unstable terrain.

Next to China, Peru is the second largest fish supplier in the world. In order to support this intensive trade, which the entire Peruvian economy is heavily dependent upon, massive fishing to the point of overfishing takes place on a daily basis. Overfishing has led to a decrease in the amount of fisheries and overall fish population. However, the majority of the fish that are caught are ground up into fishmeal, which is used to feed farm animals. For example, instead of fully utilizing a recent year’s catch of 7 and a half million tons of fish, it was reduced to a total of 1 and a half million tons of exportable fishmeal. Clearly, this process is extremely inefficient and detrimental to the marine ecosystem.

Mass tourism also has a detrimental affect on the natural environment. Even the supposedly harmless, “ecotourism” has some impact on the country’s resources. From rainforests to rugged mountains to the ancient Incan ruins at Machu Picchu, there are countless reasons why tourists are drawn to Peru. In addition to this immense tourist traffic, the production of illegal plants to produce and sell cocaine also has a harmful effect on the environment (not to mention its harmful effect on the economy).

The education system in Peru is divided into three separate stages. The first begins before age 6, when the children often attend preschool, which is not obligatory. The children attend primary school from age 6 to 12 during the second level. After that, the final mandatory level is completed by the age of 15. After this, it is optional to attend a university. The children are allowed to speak their native language until age 6, where classes are taught only in Spanish.

Because of the extreme discrimination against indigenous peoples that are mostly rural dwellers, the spread of primary education facilities into these distant areas is essential in order to teach these poor individuals how to read, write, and speak Spanish. In order to exercise their rights as citizens of Peru, proficiency in Spanish, the official language, is vital. The country has experienced extreme changes as a result of an improving educational system. In the 1960’s, 39% of the population spoke indigenous languages, only half of which were bilingual Spanish speakers. In years, that number has been reduced to less than 9% monolingual indigenous speakers.

The average literacy rate in Peru of males, females, adults, and youths combined is roughly 85%. In our world today, weak education systems and literacy rates are often a hindrance to economic prosperity. Because of the recognition of this fact and the inherent value of education, both male and female teachers are highly respected in society and are capable of providing great personal advancement of any individuals that assume teaching occupations.

Abiyay - Attempts to create a more just and equitable society worldwide through alleviating global poverty. Volunteers work directly with residents of impoverished communities. Project planning and implementation in these communities aim to empower people and improve living conditions by addressing basic and immediate needs.

APENAC - The Peruvian Association of Negotiation, Arbitration and Conciliation (APENAC), founded in 1994, is a non-profit organization whose objective is to help create a society in which relationships, specifically conflict prevention and solutions, are effectively managed. Recent mediation seminars have been conducted in attempts to find resolution in areas such as labor, family, community, school, native, public and private sector consulting.

Tadepa-Peru - Directs its work specifically towards the towns of Huanta, La Mar, Huamanga, and Cangallo. Tadepa seeks to primarily improve the nutrition, health, and education statuses of these locations. In doing this, the group seeks to strengthen organizations and boost the income of individuals living in poverty. In order to convey their messages, group representatives offer individual training and consultation services, and collaborate with other organizations to develop and implement projects that further enforce the goals they are trying to achieve.

Asociación Benefica PRISMA of Peru - Aims to assist weak groups to personally improve the quality of life both for themselves and for future Peruvians.

Asociación Nueva Era-Peru - Asociación Nueva Era (ANE), founded in 1984, holds as its main overall goal to supply aid to extremely poor persons with the idea of helping individuals who are deprived in economic, social, and cultural aspects. Currently, the organization is specialized towards promoting in different markets the development of Small Agricultural Production (SAP) in the Western Coastal Region.

Instituto de Desarrollo Integral de los Pueblos del Peru, Idin Peru - The group aims to help the poor without discrimination against different religions or races. Current projects being conducted include providing better education, decent work, and also the development of a river zoning project in the Putumayo River.

La Casa De Panchita - The main goal of this group is to assist domestic workers to ensure that their rights are respected and to give them hope for a brighter future through education and leadership training. The actual facility, located in Lima, helps young women with work, health, and emotional problems to find secure jobs that allow them to continue with their education. Presentations are also given at night schools that discuss legal rights, family planning, fighting discrimination, and several other topics.

Lumen Sapientiae Initiative of Peru - Seeks to enhance community social and economic levels via hands-on training activities. Training is specialized for teaching natural skills in food processing technology. The desired outcome of this program is to make the trainees self-sufficient small business entrepreneurs. There are also small business entrepreneur classes offered at the Social and Economic Development Training Center.

Paraiso 2000 - The main mission of this group is to enhance the living conditions of the Native Americans living in neighboring highlands. Targeted areas include educational, cultural, technological, and ecological aspects.

Planfami-Puno, Peru - Dedicated to providing basic and reproductive health information and services to adults and adolescents that are at a reproductive age and who live in Northern and Southern regions of Puno, Peru. Educational and medical services are provided through coordination with local governments, organizations, and public and private institutions.

South American Explorers - By spreading knowledge of the great continent of South America through diffusion of information and cross-cultural exchange, this organization aims to improve social, economical, and environmental conditions. It mainly functions as an objective informational database, and is used by travelers to network, participate in volunteer programs, and plan activities.

Global Volunteers - The main mission of this non-governmental organization (NGO) is to promote peace by allowing volunteers to gain a wider appreciation for other cultures by directly volunteering in communities abroad. Volunteers participate in human and economic development programs in over 100 communities located on six different continents. Projects are directed towards orphaned and vulnerable children, senior citizens, people in need of medical services, and constructing/repairing community service centers. The organization receives all of its funding from volunteer registration fees. No professional training is necessary. The program in Peru involves providing housing, food, education, and medical care for abandoned babies, children, and adolescents.

Pro-World Corps - The mission of this group is to promote social and economic development, and create strong communities with compassionate, worldly citizens. Pro-World Corps offers study abroad and volunteer programs. Some of the volunteer programs include internships that cater to each volunteers’ skills along with community needs.

La Casa De Panchita - Also a charitable organization based in Lima, this group provides education and leadership training to domestic workers to promote a brighter future. The actual facility helps young women that are afflicted with work, health, and emotional problems, to find secure jobs that allow them to continue with their education. Presentations are also given at night schools that discuss legal rights, family planning, fighting discrimination, and several other topics. Volunteers tutor women and young girls who are domestic laborers on Sundays and organize campaigns to train previous domestic laborers to counsel at-risk youths who are domestic laborers and live in slum areas. Volunteers should be proficient in Spanish.

Muir’s Tours - This non-profit group began in 1999 as an organization devoted to raising funds to enact projects to benefit communities in Nepal, as well as the Nepalese community in the UK. It has since broadened its horizons to include several other countries in its scope of work. Projects in Peru include teaching mostly English classes as a second language, with a few opportunities to teach other classes open to those who are proficient in Spanish. Most teaching facilities are located in Cuzco.

The Student World Assembly - This in a non-governmental, non-partisan group that aims to globally represent young students via online and international collaborative efforts. An online assembly allows for students to exchange views in a forum, become more educated on worldly issues, vote on these issues, and even attend international conventions. By spreading knowledge of these worldly issues through youths by word of mouth, this group hopes to raise the overall global awareness of issues at hand and take action to help alleviate these issues.

Cross-Cultural Solutions - This group promotes acceptance of other cultures, increasing global issues awareness around the world, and with the combined effects of these two, inspiring people to personally take action in making the world a better, more peaceful place. The three core values of this group are shared honesty, respect, and integrity. Projects take place all over the world, and include uniting people from all walks of life in group projects which will thereby foster cultural interaction and acceptance.