Homes and Homelessness
About 40% of Peru's population lives in the coastal area, 36% live in the Andes, and 12% lives in the Amazon rainforest. Almost one third of the nation's population lives in the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area. These areas are centers for business and economic growth. Lima has both large shanty towns and beautiful Spanish colonial architecture. A common home in Peru is small and simple. Many have straw roofs and concrete walls. In contrast, there are very fancy homes possessed by powerful people in Peru which tend to look extremely modern. Slum zones are important in a few cities in Peru, and Lima is one of them. There are no definite figures on the number of slums in Lima, but in can be estimated that between 20 and 30 per cent of the population lives not just in tenements in poor conditions, but in deteriorated areas with tenements in poor conditions. Although Peru’s capital city is booming those who inhabit the outskirts of Lima live in extreme poverty with almost one third of the population suffering from malnutrition. Malnutrition is essentially what it sounds like, lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat. Though it is an issue to men and women as well, malnutrition is especially prevalent in children.
While both urban and rural poverty affect Peru, food insecurity is chronic in rural regions, where many smallholder farmers produce basic food crops at a subsistence level. For this reason and many others, people born in Lima can expect to live almost 20 years longer than those born in the southern highlands. The poorest of the poor in Peru are in the arid Andean highlands, where a large majority of the indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities live below the poverty line.
Women are the worst affected by poverty. Most rural women are poor or extremely poor, even though they play the main role in the subsistence economy. Women work in all kinds of different ways. A typical Peruvian woman does anything from agriculture, to tending livestock and engaging in income-generating activities, woman represent as much as 80 percent of a family's labor force. Not only do women work to provide the family with money they are also responsible for dealing with traditional household tasks and child care. Through there great perseverance women make it possible for their husbands to migrate in search of temporary work.
Rural poverty in Peru has its roots in:
§ High rates of illiteracy, particularly among women
§ Lack of essential services, such as education and electrical power
§ Insecure rights to land, forests and water
§ Inadequate agricultural research, training and financial services
§ Ineffective animal and plant health services
§ Poor transportation infrastructure and marketing systems
§ Lack of well-defined territorial organization and planning.
Although the Peruvian government does not do much to help the people in need there are lots of charity organizations which make trips to Peru to provide for the suffering families. In addition, many poor communities ban together to fight poverty together.
While both urban and rural poverty affect Peru, food insecurity is chronic in rural regions, where many smallholder farmers produce basic food crops at a subsistence level. For this reason and many others, people born in Lima can expect to live almost 20 years longer than those born in the southern highlands. The poorest of the poor in Peru are in the arid Andean highlands, where a large majority of the indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities live below the poverty line.
Women are the worst affected by poverty. Most rural women are poor or extremely poor, even though they play the main role in the subsistence economy. Women work in all kinds of different ways. A typical Peruvian woman does anything from agriculture, to tending livestock and engaging in income-generating activities, woman represent as much as 80 percent of a family's labor force. Not only do women work to provide the family with money they are also responsible for dealing with traditional household tasks and child care. Through there great perseverance women make it possible for their husbands to migrate in search of temporary work.
Rural poverty in Peru has its roots in:
§ High rates of illiteracy, particularly among women
§ Lack of essential services, such as education and electrical power
§ Insecure rights to land, forests and water
§ Inadequate agricultural research, training and financial services
§ Ineffective animal and plant health services
§ Poor transportation infrastructure and marketing systems
§ Lack of well-defined territorial organization and planning.
Although the Peruvian government does not do much to help the people in need there are lots of charity organizations which make trips to Peru to provide for the suffering families. In addition, many poor communities ban together to fight poverty together.
typical Peruvian home
This is a typical house in Peru. It is simple and made up of stone, mud,wood, and straw. There is no electricity or running water. Amenities such as water, electricity, sidewalks, and sewers are added gradually to villages over time. It can take as much as 30 years four a neighborhood to develop itself. The pace of development depends on the financial situations of the people residing in the village.
fancy Peruvian home
This is the home of a wealthy person in Peru. This house is most likely located in Lima. Many wealthy people in Peru choose modern style housing such as this one. The house is spacious and posses several desirable amenities such as running water, electricity, sewage, furniture, appliances, and even a fancy balcony.
slum Peruvian Home
This is a slum house in Peru. Many slum houses are constructed from whatever scraps the people inhabiting it can find or acquire. These homes have no amenities what so ever and are extremely unsanitary and dirty. The people living in slums live in severe poverty.
Another issue contributing to the struggles in Peru is that of Climate change
Check out this article: http://upsidedownworld.org/main/peru-archives-76/5167-climate-change-threatens-quechua-and-their-crops-in-perus-andes
This article discusses the effects of climate change on farmers in Peru. The drastic change in climate consists of colder winters with more snow and hotter, dryer summers. This results in crop seasons becoming significantly shorter. Such as that of the important potato crop which harvest period has been reduced from 6 months to 4. In addition, vital animals such as alpacas die due to harsh winters. These factors take serious blows to farmers income and as a result many more farmers are and will be homeless.