Unjust Realities

So I have been back in Lima for two weeks now and have time to fall back into my routine of life in Lima. Things are definitely different this time around, I feel more comfortable here, more at home. It helps that the weather is nice, I know my way around, I’m healthier and have a stronger support network. 

When I first arrived in Lima last fall, I had a difficult time settling in. One of my biggest obstacles was getting a grip on the racial, gender, and social economic injustices that could be seen in every aspect of daily life.  My social/community work analysis made the “realities of life in Peru” harder to process. I don’t like admitting this but… this time around I have noticed that I have become less sensitive to these injustices, that gut wrenching feeling that I would get when reading the myriad of news articles about government corruption, extreme violence, and violation of human rights has subsided.  Some of my Limeñan friends say that this type of desensitization is normal if you are to maintain sanity. I don’t know that I agree, nor do I think, nor do I ever want to stop questioning these injustices and harsh “realities”. 

Regardless of my level of desensitization, there are something’s that I will never fully comprehend about the priorities of the current and previous Peruvian governments. The one that I want to focus on today is lack of access to medical treatment for the poor, specifically children suffering from Leukemia. There are about 2000 children a year in Peru who are diagnosed with Leukemia, about 80% of these children will not survive without a bone marrow transplant. The potential to get access to treatment in Peru is slim. There are many faults with the current system 1) Peru does not have a bone marrow bank 2) There is limited access to free medical procedures including chemotherapy, and transplants 3) Lack of access to specialists for those who cannot afford to pay 4) Lack of government funding. A cruel example of this systemic failure is Sony’s story. Sony had Leukemia and was waiting to have a bone marrow transplant; he was 100% compatible with his brother. 

Regardless of his compatibility with his brother he died earlier this month because he didn’t have medical insurance! Where is the respect and love for children’s lives? 

La Association de Angles de los Arenales ( http://angelesdelosarenales.blogia.com/2011/febrero.php) is a Non-profit organization who supports children suffering with Leukemia and their families. They help them negotiate thru the web of medical bureaucracy with the goal of getting these children adequate access to lifesaving treatments. LAAA also acts as an advocacy group, last Monday on Feb 14^th they held a march in the downtown core of Lima. The goal of the march was to educate and bring these systemic issues to the forefront, as well as act as a plea to the Presidential candidates to make funding for a transplant centre a priority in the upcoming April elections. Things must change or else children will keep dying.

How do you process these truths without, internalizing them? How do you agitate on behalf of all of the unjust causes? Children dying from curable diseases are only symptoms of a malfunction system. How do you change the system? Some of my friends would say revolution. These are all larger questions that I don't have answers for. What I do have is the power of this blog to highlight some of the issues that the most disadvantaged face in Peru, and the organizations who are trying to create positive change in their lives. 

L.D.

Take Two

Hello Stranger

My dear followers it has been several months since I last updated this blog, I know you are all wondering what happened to Liz? What has she been up to for the last six months? A) Did she fall madly in love with a local and take off to live in a beach town? B) Did she join a “rebel” group and is now starting a revolution? C) Did she travel a bit, do some international development work, experience several levels of culture shock, get sick with typhoid fever (3 times) making her go home to Canada? If you picked option C you guessed right! As Lesley my CIDA internship coordinator at Niagara College would say “flexibility and being open to whatever happens are key qualities to a successful international internship”. Although I consider myself to be a flexible and open-minded person sometimes it’s hard to see things from this perspective, especially when you are cycling through several high and low peaks of the Culture Shock cycle all at once, causing mass confusion.

I must give props to all my new Canadian immigrant and refugees; I now know what it feels like to not fit in, feel isolated and experience self-doubt.  

Let’s do the Limbo 

I had the privilege of using my recuperation/x-mass holiday downtime to process and meditate upon my experiences in Peru. When I first arrived in Toronto I had mixed feelings about being home, it was something I hadn’t “planned”; I hadn’t planned to get Typhoid Fever ( http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/typhoid_fever/ ), who does, right especially if you got vaccinated! I found myself in a state of limbo, unsure if would go back to Peru or stay in Toronto. Unsure if I would be able to complete my internship, because of the ambiguousness of my recuperation timeline.  The opportunity of staying in Toronto was also unclear, although I had more support systems the lack of an apartment, job and unwavering cold was also very unwelcoming.  Experiencing anxiety about the uncertainty of my future, plus being sick was very overwhelming so I decided that I needed to chillout. Enjoy the holidays with my family and friends, and just focus on getting better that things would come together, and that I would be able to make the right decision Toronto vs Peru once I was physically well. This sounds logical right? Well it took me a while to figure this out, I needed to listen deep down inside and follow my inner voice something that most of us are not use to doing, including myself. I didn’t figure this out on my own, meditation ( http://www.friendsoftheheart.com/), & the support of my naturopath Rebekah, friends and family helped me get grounded. 

This Brings me to “Take Two” 

As I sit here in the airport lounge waiting to board my flight (which is now two hours delayed due to snow),  feeling well enough to eat the spiciest Indian food and confident about my choices, I embark on my newest adventure to Peru. Although some of the time I spent in Lima were very difficult with bouts of depression, cultural confusion, and sever pain and debilitation from the Typhoid Fever, I also had many positive experiences; personal, professional and cultural, which lead me to take my second leap and continue on this path of growth and exploration. 

I promise to update this blog/rant podium often. 

Much peace and love to all of you,

Liz

Lima, Peru 101-Weather

Everyone assumes that as soon as you head south and pass the equator the weather is automatically tropical, this is not the case when it comes to winter in Lima. When I left Toronto it was a toasty 38C, when I got off the plane in Lima it was 15C, but cold. You are probably asking how can it be cold at 15C? Scientifically speaking it’s the humidity! At 79%, the humidity makes it feel damp and cold.


Imagine wearing two pairs of socks, a fleece tracksuit, and a toque, sitting under four Alpaca blankets, drinking some hot tea you would think that would surely warm any cold body…NO…my friends your wrong no matter how many warm things you wear it still feels like you are wearing a layer of wet clothes that never dry.

Welcome to winter in Lima where no matter how warm and loving the people are, the weather still chills you to the bone.

Lima's winter is from April to October.