By: Devan Moore

The motorcycle powered cart, carrying 3 “gringo” passengers, bumped its way across
the malconstructed bridge towering over the dry riverbed in Nauta, Peru. This bridge is one of
the many obstacles and dangers young children must cross to go to school. The cart came to a
harsh stop in front of the sight for a new school that is aimed to alleviate the burdening
uneducated youth in the community and providing those children with a school closer to them
for their own safety. Nauta is a struggling town in northern Peru, where the only access to this
small town comes from either plane or boat. The native people face constant poverty and no
assistance from the local government on a daily basis, only making an average of two dollars
per day(Banerjee, 2007). Not only are their wages extremely low but the poverty rates are rising
as well (Cespedes, 2018).

I was with The Eagle Condor Humanitarian Group, a group of no more than ten people,
whose main goal was to alleviate poverty through self-reliance training. The purpose of our two-
week trip was to construct a school and library from the ground up, to help provide local
education as well as new jobs and local employment. Within this school we would provide
commodities that we take for granted everyday of our lives, yet so many of these people have
only dreamt of having the ability to use these resources. These include laptops with internet
access, professionally educated teachers, and a consistent food schedule. It was a daunting
task and something that seemed impossible at the time, but a group of volunteers each with a
shovel and a bucket went to work to help these people. The school was constructed in an area
of town that consisted of self-constructed houses and extreme poverty rates. The local people
were included and required to work with us when building this school, that was due to the hope
that we can come to not only help provide them with what they need but teach them how to
acquire what they need. Just like the old saying, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” We accomplished the goal of teaching the
locals how to build and be self-reliant.

It was extremely hard work but we finished in time to see the school in use. Seeing the
kids’ faces and knowing that they have access and the resources that are needed to reach their
full potential I learned so many lessons. My eyes opened wide to the massive world that we live
in. This was truly one of the best experiences of my life and something I will want to continue. I
gained a new perspective of how we all walk on the same ground, the same dirt, and the same
foundation. We are all human beings and all have the same needs, so why not those with more,
give back and help these human beings gain those human needs.
Word Count: 511

Works Cited:

Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2007). The Economic Lives of the Poor. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2638067/

Cespedes, T., & Taj, M. (2018, April 24). Peru poverty rate rises for first time in 16 years:
government. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peru-poverty/peru-
poverty-rate-rises-for-first-time-in-16-years-government-idUSKBN1HV2L2