Poverty - A New Perspective

In early July 2015, I attended a life-changing 16-day service trip to Lima, Peru with 19 other students and 4 staff members from my high school Saint Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby, BC, Canada. One of our group leaders, Brother Stephen Casey, preferred to call our service trip an "immersion experience" as we were to immerse ourselves into the Peruvian culture through our service and charity.

Looking back, my immersion experience in Peru has definitely given me a new perspective of what it's like to be living in poverty. By working with the poor, we were given the opportunity to personally experience the hardships and difficulties that the majority of Peru's population has to go through every single day. In contrast to reading about poverty or hearing about it on the news, for example, experiencing poverty firsthand has allowed me to truly understand the poor on a whole new level.

Working with the poor on the hills of Canto Grande had a powerful effect on me. Early in the trip, for example, we were able to work with some of the women living in the area by helping them peel beans. It shocked me to learn that many of these women were actively exploited, peeling beans for ten hours a day, seven days a week while only earning about 8 USD per day – barely enough for them to provide food and other necessities for themselves and their families. Peeling beans was a difficult task for me, but after getting the hang of it later on, my fingers were incredibly sore after only an hour of peeling while going at less than half the speed of these amazing women. It is indeed hard to believe that many of these Peruvian women living in poverty are willing to endure such exploitation and harsh physical labor on a daily basis with almost nothing in return.

Aside from peeling beans for a few hours, we were also given the opportunity to visit two families living in Canto Grande. We first visited a man suffering from tuberculosis and, while we were there, he told us his story about how he has to walk a long distance to the hospital every once in a while in order to receive some much-needed help and medication. Amazingly, he does this despite being weakened by his illness – all in order to survive. Next, we visited a woman named Emma. She told us her story about how her abusive mother had struck her on the ear when she was younger, causing her to become partially deaf. After that incident, she ran away and ended up raising a family of her own. Both of these touching stories helped me realize how unfair life can be sometimes, especially since the vast majority of people living in Canto Grande are born into poverty – not by choice.

Similarly, it was unfortunate to learn that Peru is home to many orphaned children. While visiting a Peruvian orphanage later in the trip, we were told that some of the children living there were found alone on the streets or even inside garbage cans before being adopted by the orphanage. It makes me mad knowing that these innocent children were abandoned by their parents, deprived of the love and affection that many of us take for granted. Playing and socializing with these children, who were so happy to see us even though we were only visiting for a few hours, was undoubtedly the highlight of my immersion experience.

Lastly, we were also given the opportunity to build two houses for two different families. Our group had to carry the house's heavy wooden pieces up almost 200 steps – all the way to the top of the hill where the assembly took place. Travelling up and down these steps several times was physically exhausting, but all of our hard work was worth it especially after experiencing the joy and gratitude of these two families who now have a stable shelter they can call home.

Although we may have provided these families a roof over their heads as well as our time and service, they have actually given us so much more despite living in conditions of extreme poverty. They have given us kindness, hospitality, and affection. They have showed us humbleness, care, and unconditional love. They have given us a new perspective of life, helping me grow closer to God through their strong Catholic faith. But most importantly, they have motivated me to continue making a positive contribution to the Earth and its people. This is what Brother Stephen Casey likes to call "Mission in Reverse". In other words, even though I may have made a positive contribution to those living in poverty, these people have also made a positive contribution in my life by helping me become a better person in more ways than one.

Even though going to Peru initially felt like taking a big step into the unknown – into a culture I was unfamiliar with, far away from home – it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. By choosing to attend this trip, I've learned so much more than I've ever imagined, and I hope to come back again in the future. And even though the contributions we've made were relatively small (considering the majority of Peru's population living in poverty), I've learned that even smallest actions can make the biggest impact. I've also learned to be grateful for all my blessings – many of which I take for granted. All in all, I have gained many valuable experiences that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I will never forget the people I've met and the poverty I've seen and experienced and, because of this, a piece of me will always remain in Peru. Although I've only made a small contribution to help improve the lives of Peruvians living in poverty, this immersion experience has motivated me to continue making a positive difference in the world one step at a time.