The past few weeks have been incredibly busy for me. I had training in the department of Ancash for a week, followed by four days of free vacation, which I spent in Arequipa with two of my best PC friends, then an HIV/AIDS prevention training in Piura. Instead of boring you with all the details of the past few weeks, I’ll share with you something that I learned at training- something that definitely made me think.
67% of kids aged 10-14 in Peru live in poverty or extreme poverty. Some live on less than 1 sol a day, equivalent to approximately $0.38.
Can you imagine living on 38 cents a day? That can’t even buy you a can of pop or a candy bar. Most people probably have more than 38 cents in their couch cushions, waiting to be sucked up by the vacuum cleaner during spring-cleaning. It seems impossible to live on such a small amount of money.
To put into perspective what one can buy with 1 sol, I’ll give you a few examples. A bottle of water costs 1 sol on the street. 1 sol would buy me a packet of 4 Oreos. If I only had 1 sol a day to spend, I would have to decide on food or water- I could not have both.
I could write about this topic and its importance, but I think you all can realize the severity of it. So I’ll leave you with a new goal I have for myself: Next time I want to complain about something, I will think about the 67% of children in Peru that have less than 38 cents to get them through the day. Maybe you should try it, too.
“It doesn't matter if the glass is half empty or half full. Be thankful that you have a glass and grateful that there's something in it.”
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
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