Peru: A Land Of Contrasts

Shodona Kettle (aka Shae Kay) reflects upon her time spent on a Platform2 trip to Peru, where she explored the beauty, strife and hardships of the Ventanilla people...

Its diverse landscape is breathtaking: the snow-capped Andes, the lush tropical Amazonian rainforest, the serpentine coastline and the dry soils of the desert, Peru is truly a land of contrasts. However, the contrasts do not end there. Akin to neighbouring Brazil and Bolivia the disparities in society are shocking; over half of the population lives in poverty, 23.9% of whom lives in extreme poverty [1].

In spite of moderate economic expansion those at the lower ends of the earning spectrum in Peru are not reaping the benefits. In fact, in ‘barrios pobres’ (shanty towns) like that of Ventanilla, the poorest district in Callao, households are seeing no significant gains. As a volunteer Community Development Worker in this region with Platform2 [2] I gained valuable insight into the magnitude of the problem first-hand.

'... Ventanilla is a paradigm of the bitter after-taste of internal strife; a people left disempowered by various political and economical injustices, a people left to grapple with barriers of class, colour or citizenship...'

In the 1980s and 1990s, terrorist activities [3] mainly in the Andean Highlands caused migratory fluxes of destitute people giving rise to nascent barrios; a far cry from their former fincas (large agricultural property) or the affluent districts of Lima.

My host family like others in Las Flores or Pachacutec, feel that Ventanilla is a paradigm of the bitter after-taste of internal strife; a people left disempowered by various political and economical injustices, a people left to grapple with barriers of class, colour or citizenship - but, a people who deserve to be involved in the decision-making processes on how to provide sustainable development for themselves. So, aren’t their voices worth listening to?

A conversation with project leader Señor Mamani and our driver Carlos informed me that despite the ever-growing macro-economic statistics, those on the fringes of society like themselves can just about make ends meet. Mamani continued: “What we earn in a day doing construction work here in Pachacutec (around S/. 20 nuevo soles, roughly £4.52) is nothing compared to the salaries of an engineer and the like in Lima.”

“There is so much to pay for” Carlos chimed, as “40% of income is spent on transport into Lima or wherever you have to go to find work… the rest (of the money) is for your family.” Internal corruption is also a real fear and hindrance, as tax evasion by certain ‘bosses’ leaves workers unable to afford access to public services like health and education - vicious catch-22. Reflecting over these dismal circumstances, such people as Mamani and Carlos believe the government needs to do more to support those with a low income.
 
Such a ruptured social system foregrounds the problems for those not only in Peru, but for many in the underprivileged regions of Latin American continent as a whole. Extra efforts are required to eradicate the apparent injustices. As whilst poverty reduction strategies are in place, Peru still has a long way to go before all of its citizens feel the graces of a prospering economy.

Words and photos: Shodona Kettle (Shae Kay)

Disclaimer: This article is written by Shae Kay, and is not necessarily reflective of Ctrl.Alt.Shift or Christian Aid views.

To find what Christian Aid is doing for Peru, please click here [4].
To read more Ctrl.Alt.Shift blogs from Peru, click here [5].
For more information on Platform2, visit www.myplatform2.com [2]