Is it really any better?

Peru: 90 percent of Peruvians feel country's growth has not helped them

For almost 15 years HBI has worked and traveled to Peru. Our organization has spent an enormous amount of time in a variety of economic sectors - from the very wealthy of Miraflores and San Isidro - to the desperately impoverished of the high Sierras. One thing that has been painfully obvious over the last couple of years is the growing divide between the wealthy of Lima and Arequipa and the increasing levels of poverty amongst the people of rural communities.

As this divide grows greater and greater it will be ever more important that organizations work to create programs and projects that help to bridge this tremendous division. More and more emphasis must be placed on creating effective and sustainable models of infrastructure and professional development for Peruvians to assist the marginalized segments of their population.

Pasted below is a news article that appeared on the daily website "Living in Peru" (see: http://www.livinginperu.com/). The information outlined in this brief articles confirms the long held assumptions of many social scientists and social justice activists - the economies of Latin America (and more specifically Peru) are growing like "gang busters", but the impact of this massive economic revolution is not penetrating down to the people who need it the most.

Author: Israel J. Ruiz - "Ninety percent of Peruvians feel the country's economic growth over the past several years has affected them very little or none at all, revealed a national poll carried out by CPI polling firm.

• According to the survey, 71.9 percent of the people polled throughout the Andean country affirmed that Peru's growing economy had "not benefited Peruvians at all", while 19.3 percent of those polled stated it had benefited them "little".

• Polls showed that more people outside of Lima (78.6%) felt they had not been affected positively by the country's growing economy.

• 68.6 percent of residents surveyed in Lima assured they had not benefited from the country's improved economy.

• On the other hand, there were more people in Lima (23.6%) than in provinces (13.6%) that said their livelihoods were "a little better".

• CPI's survey revealed that only 3.5 percent of the people living in Peru that were surveyed said the country's growth had had a positive effect on their lives.

The study also showed that the main problems Alan Garcia's administration had not solved were poverty, low wages and unemployment. It was reported that more people living outside of Lima made these complaints. 1,443 people were polled in 24 of Peru's regions."