But there are other less quirky, and much more tragic observations. The streets are littered with garbage, 70% of the police force is corrupt (not to mention corruption higher judicial and political levels), many streets aren't paved, and the ones that are are littered with wide and deep pot holes, etc. As I walk to and from work everyday and I see all of these problems in play, it is hard not to feel overwhelmed with the task at hand. I find myself wondering what I would do if I were the President, the Mayor of Chiclayo, or even the Chief of Police. I've only been here a week and a half, and I'm certainly no expert when it comes to political or social science, but it seems to me that if Peru, or any other country for that matter, wants to improve on its current state, the only true long term solution is to invest heavily in its young people.
Here's the thing: every government ends up spending money on young people. If you ignore the needs of children and adolescents, you end up building juvenile detention centers, hiring more judges, paying more defense attorneys, expanding the police force, and so on. The adolescents who were ignored at the front end will pass through the system, learn to fear the police, develop no real life skills, contribute little if anything to society, and many will never really leave the penal system, costing the government a fortune in the process. This type of investment does make sense for anyone involved, not for the government and certainly not for the child.
The alternative would be to invest heavily at the front end, to develop preventative programs for young people where they can develop skills and a sense of self worth. This would include investing in the community, encouraging various outreach programs and making sure that adolescents feel they have a place in society. The idea is to get creative when it comes to finding solutions to these problems. For instance, Chiclayo has a lot of kids who have dropped out of school in order to work and support their family. They also have a major problem with littering and garbage in the street. The government, or a private non-governmental agency, could start a series of after-school jobs that involved trash collecting.
There are a million reasons why this would work. First, the agency would have to pay well, which would make the trash collecting jobs highly desirable. A 15 year old kid who works his hands to the bone driving a mototaxi all day long will be lucky to make $20 a week here. What if he found out that he could make $40 a week by picking up trash for 2 hours a day after school (which only amounts to $4 an hour)? These types of jobs would only go to at-risk children who would have to drop out of school otherwise. Now we've found a way to keep those kids in school, clean up the streets, and plant a seed of change in the culture that says its ok to litter.
There are problems with my idea, of course. But the idea isn't to find fool-proof solutions that will solve all our problems right this second, the idea is to be having ideas, to be thinking of new and creative ways to approach these issues. Maybe there is no government agency who is going to hire kids to clean the streets, but what about a neighborhood coalition pooling together some money to hire a couple of troubled kids to clean their streets? What if each of us invested just a little bit of time to think about solutions, or to ask a local school if they needed volunteers? Maybe an increased effort on our part is the solution.
It's not a sexy solution with photo-ops and ribbon cutting ceremonies. It won't present immediate results, which of course doesn't bode well for elected officials whose eyes are fixed squarely on the upcoming elections. But investing in our young people is the best way to make sure that we have a better tomorrow. I'd love to hear what you think.
3 comments:
You hit the nail on the head. Education is the key to ending poverty, however, kids won't go to school if they have to sell trinkets to make enough money for the family to eat. There is work to be done, there are people who need jobs, there is money. Education is not only the key to ending poverty, but the key to world peace
MOM
Your comments are so interesting, because I remember having those same thoughts when I was in Philadelphia and Camden, NJ. I am sure the poverty there is much worse than the poverty here, but it is still extreme poverty. It gets to the point that survival is the most important thing and if survival means crime or corruption that is the way it goes. I love your thoughts about cleaning up. I always thought in Philly, there are so many run down homes, trashy streets, etc..that if the government put money into paying people to clean up their own neighborhoods instead of welfare it would give some dignity to the people and give pride and ownership in the neighborhood. Better yet, since the greatest pressure was on the youth and we know education is a key to opening doors and and ending the cycle of poverty and corruption, why not give kids these jobs if they attend school. Then the kids are in school, they are cleaning up the neighborhoods, and getting the money that them and their families need. I think ignoring the need of the family is the mistake that most people make. To ask these kids to not support their family financially is not realistic. Anyway I thought I would share a few quick thoughts. I have thought about this a great deal and it is a large reason that I went into school administration. I think it amazing that you are looking for answers to the problem. Most people just want to blame the people and not help. Keep us posted.
I agree - what a good post. I thought your ideas were great!It's true - we need to give children opportunities and experiences that will help them develop self esteem and the belief that they can do anything they want.
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