Mind the Gap

"You should run in the street."

At first I thought he was kidding. I mean a 12-year old boy could not possibly be telling me to run in the street. Heck, the street was very busy, and it was not like I was taking up more than my "fair share" of the sidewalk.

HBI is fortunate to have a great relationship with two hotels in Lima. The Hotel Diego Ferre and the DeVille Inn Hotel are both located in the upscale neighborhood of Miraflores. The DeVille Inn Hotel is actually located at the confluences of the neighborhoods of Miraflores and San Isidro. San Isidro is a very upperclass neighborhood - along the tony lines of a Bel Air, California.

This morning on my run I was weaving my way through the elegant homes and private golf club of San Isidro. Because of this - I guess I did not expect that I would be chided for running on the sidewalk. Least of all, chided by a 12-year old for running on the sidewalk. However, such is the huge shift in wealth in Peru.

Okay, I know what you are thinking . . . just because people have money does not mean that they will be rude. In fact, I will admit - it is hard for me to type these words because I do not wish to come across as preaching or pontificating; and, the reality of the economic and social situation in Peru is that the divide between the rich and the poor is getting greater and greater everyday.

Just the other day I was speaking with a Peruvian physician from Arequipa who has volunteered with us for a number of years. He is a great young man who comes from a very wealthy family. He has had the privilege to travel around the world, study in Germany, and attend one of the best medical schools in Peru. He is a big barometer for our work.

Augusto was telling me that he had been in the beach town of Asia (Asia is about 200 km south of Lima on the coast; you might remember Asia as an area where HBI has done SAVE Children outreach projects with Union Biblica) over the summer months. He said that he went to a club, a disco-tech, and had to pay 200 Soles (about $60) to get into the club. He said that once he was inside the club, he was asked to pay another $500 (yes, that is DOLLARS!) to "rent" a table for the night. He was floored. He told me that he had never imagined that there would be so much wealth in Lima.

I asked Augusto where all the wealth in Lima was coming from. I told him that I understood that Lima is a city of some 12-million people - and, I just could not understand where all the money was coming from. He told me he had no idea. He said, "you can't even imagine the money that a few, very select people have. It is incredible."

This conversation really got me thinking. The wealthy of Peru are getting wealthier and wealthier - and the poor . . . well, you know where I am going with this. How can this "divide" be narrowed?

If money were the only answer for fixing the social and economic problems in Peru's poorest communities and populations - then the problem(s) would have been fixed many years ago. Multi-national NGO after multi-national NGO have poured money into creative programs and projects throughout the country. And, the extreme poverty continues. In fact, it is worsening.

So then, how does the gap between the richest Peruvians and the poorest Peruvians get narrowed. We, HBI, think that a tool to bridge the two worlds of Peru is through a massive level of volunteerism of Peruvians for Peruvians. We think that Peruvians, volunteering in medical, social and community building outreach will be the intervention to narrow the gap.

HBI, in partnership with our Peruvian NGO colleagues, is working to build a massive volunteer program in Arequipa. The goals of the program are simple - engage more Peruvian's in volunteer programs and projects and increase the understanding that we are all asked to "Mind the Gap."

As always - stay tuned to the HBI Website and Blogpost for updates. Thank you for all your support.