Third world poverty is not real, can not be fully comprehended until you see it in the flesh. Last summer I traveled to Peru not expecting to witness and be so moved by what I saw. Our service work centered in the isolated agricultural village of Hucan Huasi where poverty is epitomized and destitution is not a word, but an existence. The kids toil from sunrise to sunset with minimal food and extreme malnutrition. Many have to walk miles to reach the school which is not much more than a tin building with dirt floors. Peru, which has the worst education system in the civilized world, also has a government that is apathetic and indifferent to the conditions of its people. With promises of a new school never materializing, the only relief the government provides is an expired bread roll and a juice box to the children who yearn for protein and clean drinking water. The Peace Corps sends volunteers who teach about health, nutrition and hygiene. But there is little they can do without financial resources.
Yet the people of this town have an unbreakable spirit and a resiliance I had never seen before. Their trust and warmth towards us was unparalleled and I left admiring them more than anyone in the rich and materialistic world from which I came.
With the cooperation of Academic Treks your donations will go directly to the peace corp volunteer currently working in Hucan Huasi. It will be allocated to the purchasing of supplies, restoration of the school, and betterment of the lives of the children who were not blessed with the opportunities and good fortune many of us possess. |
