Sandra Zea Grade 11 School of Information Technology @ Eastside The poorest of the poor in Peru are in the area of Andean highlands, where the majority of the indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities live below the poverty line. There is an insufficiency of food, water, shelter, medicine, and a lack of technology. Much needs to be done to address the poverty that is plaguing the community. A large amount of people are living deprived of clean water. People who live in the high Andes must boil their water to get rid of bacteria and avoid sickness. One of the ways that people acquire water is by using glaciers. Los Andes are mainly covered by glaciers which people in the area could benefit from. In the past few years, Peru’s glaciers have decreased over 20 percent, clearly diminishing the water flow to the country’s coast.[1] The majority of people rely on the glaciers, but due to the change of climate, glaciers are vanishing and people are running out of methods to get water. Oxfam, an international organization that helps find solutions due to poverty, visited Peru and they stated, "As a glacier decreases in size, its ability to provide this service decreases.”[2] Due to the impact of shrinking glaciers, Los Andes are in need of clean water to be able to survive throughout the rough situation they’re in. Farmers face droughts every three to five years. They try to cultivate as much as they can so there’s food for the following year.[3] Peru’s traditional crops such as beans, barley, quinoa, potato and maize are being adversely affected due to increasing high temperatures in the High Andes. Potatoes are extremely important to the farmers and because of the change in weather; the potato growing season has already shrunk from six to four months. The soil is getting drier as years pass by. As the temperature rises, plant pests and diseases increase among the population. The curator of the CIP germplasm bank, Rene Gomez stated, “I estimate that in 40 years there will be nowhere left to plant potatoes in Peru’s highlands”.[4]. In addition, houses in Peru are constructed with the use of adobe bricks. However, cities more likely have buildings made out of stones or bricks.[5] People’s homes are defective in Los Andes, and roads can’t bear circumstances such as earthquakes with the magnitude of 8.0 like in 2007.[6] Landslides occur frequently and it makes it challenging for the people to survive. Transportation is highly important because people need a better way to get to their destination rather than walking miles. In 2014, there were about 250 deaths due to the poorly built roads. A traffic police officer who has been around Peru for 6 years stated, “Drivers, bus owners and the authorities cite a variety of causes, from lack of regulation to bad roads.”[7] To sum it up, homes need to be built with superior equipment, and roads need to be constructed using the latest technology for the safety of the villagers. In Los Andes of Peru, people use several herbs as medicine to maintain themselves in a healthy condition since it’s very difficult to obtain medicine. For example, one of the most common herbs they use is la coca. La coca is used for various reasons such as reducing muscular exhaustion, relieving hunger and thirst, increasing endurance, helping relieve pain from rheumatism, treating external sores, headaches and alleviating respiratory problems due to the high altitude The herb can be used in tea or it can be chewed. In addition, they use shirapoco for cough relief, chilca for bone fractures, and membrio for vitamin C and nutritional purposes.[8] Children are the ones that get affected the most from living in Los Andes. John Vidal a Guardian’s environment editor had visited a village of Los Andes and made a report of what he observed. He interviewed several people and a woman named Angelina stated “Our children get ill easier. They get pneumonia and bronchitis”. In addition, more hospitals need to be built in order to conserve the healthy life of others. Outdated technology could be the main reason preventing Los Andes from developing a better life style. For example, hospitals, roads, and schools are in need of technological improvement. Incorporating access to the internet with computers will allow schools to provide an elevated education. Obtaining education could lead students to have a career and opportunities in life. The Compassion Child Development Center stated, “There are few schools and a tremendous lack of teachers. These forces make it nearly impossible for children in the Peruvian highlands to earn more than a grade-school education.”[9] Additionally, hospitals need to update their equipment in order to save more lives. Furthermore, roads have been a critical problem to the civilization. Deaths have been increasing lately according to the traffic police officer. Improving roads with superior technology could benefit the villages by increasing traffic safety. There are several solutions to improve the lives of the people in Los Andes. For example, Medicina Para Los Andes is a program to assist people with their needs and to have medical checkups. The volunteers provide general care for 80-100 children. They check their weight, height, blood pressure, temperature and their heart rate. They also provide medical materials and training on how to use them.[10] In order to make a change in Los Andes, more programs like this one are going to have to be created The government of Peru has provided some funding to help provide those in need with food and clothing, but what is really needed is help from private institutions. The people of Los Andes have a great knowledge of medicinal herbs and roots. Universities and pharmaceutical companies should be encouraged to send researchers to study the natural remedies used by the local people. In exchange for their knowledge, the locals would be appropriately compensated. Furthermore, since there is a great demand for organic and natural remedies, the farmers of Los Andes could cultivate local herbs and roots to be used as organic supplements. A whole new cash crop could be developed. This would help provide the locals with jobs and stimulate the economy. In addition, although it might be seen as controversial, farmers could, experiment with genetically modified plants bioengineered to withstand the harsh conditions and short growing season of Los Andes. Yes, there are ways to make a positive change for the people of Los Andes, but it will take time and dedication to see progress. In the mean time, the inhabitants of Los Andes will struggle to exist living at “the top of the world.” 1. Finding Water. 2. Oxfam’s Opinion. 3. Life Resources in High Andes. 4. Cultivation Obstacles. 5. Architecture. 6. Environmental Difficulties. 7. Poorly Built Roads. 8. Use of Medicine. 9. Insufficiency of Teachers. 10. A program for Los Andes.
