Earth Hour : Just One Hour to Save the Earth!

This week’s blog has been inspired by Earth Hour, which takes place tonight at 8:30pm (wherever you are!)

What Is it?

Earth Hour is a global event where millions switch their lights off and use no electricity as a sign of solidarity for our planet. It’s a great opportunity to take part in something creative without electricity, like swapping stories in the dark, or doing a bit of stargazing! HOOP volunteers will be using the time to get together and play games by candlelight.

Climate change isn’t just an issue for the future, it is affecting us now. Here in Peru, plants, people and animals will be heavily affected, with dry season average temperatures expected to increase in between 0.7°C and 1.8°C by 2020 according to the Peru Support Group, 2014. 

Although Peru is just responsible for 0.1% of global CO2 emissions, it is not going to get an easy ride when it comes to climate change. According to TreeHugger.com, it was the only country achieving the ‘sustainability sweet spot’ in 2007, where it managed to balance high development without heavily consuming resources.

A few months back, Lima hosted the Conference of Parties (COP20), a global climate summit of leaders from all over the world. The outcomes of conferences like this, where climate science meets politics, are going to have a big impact on all our lives, and the future of the planet.

Thinking sustainably

Since Arequipa is bathed in sunshine for 300 days of the year, it is a big opportunity for generating solar energy. Companies like Caja Arequipa are giving ‘green’ loans to small companies who want to be using cleaner and efficient energy.

A solar water heater on the Home Sweet Home Hostel

Not long ago, there was mention of Arequipa being considered as a possible destination for a wind farm project. From living in Arequipa, I see solar panels and solar water heaters every now and again, often on hotels and hostel buildings. So it’s good to see alternative energy sources becoming more of a ‘thing’.

Earth Hour gives us the chance to think about how we can best protect our planet. These days, pretty much everything we do relies on electricity in some way, so going without it, even for just an hour, is a great way to make us think of ways we can be more sustainable in our day-to-day lives.

Get involved in Earth Hour tonight, and think about how you can live more sustainably every day - and don’t forget to share what you get up to!

By Oliver Adams

Water: Not just quality, but availability

Where’s the water?

Water is pretty important to us (okay that maybe understating it!). Although it makes up 70% of the planet’s surface, only 2.5% of the earth’s water is freshwater that we need to survive (and most of that is locked up in the polar ice caps). So making sure we have enough freshwater is a pretty big problem for many countries around the world - including right here in Peru.

In fact, Peru is one of the three most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to freshwater, with its supply largely dependent on Andean glaciers. South America contains more than 99% of the world’s tropical glaciers, and Peru is home to 70% of them. But due to climate change, the glaciers are melting fast.

This is an issue that will affect both urban and rural areas, and means we need to think of smarter and more sustainable ways of using water. At the moment, 250 litres of water are consumed per person per day in Lima according to development charity, Progressio – far higher than most other big cities in Latin America.

Back here in Arequipa, water shortages are a big concern, and I caught up with fellow HOOPster, Christian Collazos, to find out how the locals feel about the issue. Christian explained that in some areas there are scheduled water shortages from 10:00 to 13:00, and 17:00 to 20:00. Worryingly, at the beginning of 2015, the authorities announced that there was only enough water for 100 days as the local reservoir was close to empty following two consecutive years of drought. Thankfully this year’s rainy season has been back in force and we’ve seen plenty of wet days over the past couple of months!

Making Progress

Luckily, there are people working hard all around the world to think of innovative ways to make agriculture, industry, and the general public use water more sustainably. There are initiatives to train farmers to use more efficient irrigation systems, and programs funding innovative new technologies.

Some people have even called for a partnership between Peru and Ecuador, which have their rainy seasons at different times, to share water and help balance out fluctuations through the year. A particularly savvy idea came from the University of Engineering and Technology of Peru who helped create a billboard that captured air humidity and turned it into drinking water! They believe this method could be used in other areas of the world where water is scarce.

Having running water is something we take for granted in wealthy countries. While our HOOP families may not have their own household water supplies, we work with them to make sure they are aren’t wasteful and understand the importance of only drinking pre-boiled water to avoid infections. One of our future goals is to give all our families water filters so they can make water safe without having to spend money on fuel or bottled water.

The effort to sustain water is something that everyone should be part of. We challenge you this World Water Day to only use the bare necessities!

Words by Oliver Adams

HOOP gets lessons in business from some sharp Wharton MBA students!

This week we've been lucky enough to have four bright MBA students from The Wharton School on the HOOP team, who are helping us be even more effective as an NGO. The group has developed some new key performance indicators for us, to help keep us focussed on our vision of breaking Flora Tristan free of poverty forever. With such a wealth of skills and experience, we've been very lucky to have them this week!

In between meetings, presentations and an energetic workload, I managed to find a brief moment to catch up with them!

A bit of background

Eun Jung Ro, from South Korea, has more than three years’ management consulting experience. As a member of the social impact team for her last job, helping NGOs and social enterprises become more effective is a subject close to her heart.

Lesley Duong Do, from Vietnam, completed an undergraduate degree in finance. She has worked in market research and consulting. 

Rekha Marda grew up in both the US and India, before graduating from New York University with a major in Finance.  She spent four years working in investment banking. Her passion for education for children began in India after teaching English for a year.

Eunsoo Shin, from South Korea graduated from Seoul National University with a major in Pharmacy. After graduating she worked in consulting and commercial banking. Her passion for NGO activities began after working with a child education and health NGO in Nairobi.

Why will this be a valuable experience for you?

Lesley: “As someone coming from a developing country, education and poverty eradication is a topic that is dear to my heart. I greatly value this opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the organization and the community.”

Eun Jung: “I love that I can apply some of the skills I learnt from consulting towards educating children and contributing to the community.”

Rekha:  “I am really interested in helping educate children, so feel really great about helping HOOP deliver on its mission of alleviating poverty through education. By working on the project, I am getting the chance to learn more about the workings of education non-profits. This will be very valuable to me in future volunteer experiences.”

Eunsoo: “I want to learn about Peruvian culture and meet people here. For me, I strongly believe that I cannot say that I know Peru after just visiting Machu Picchu, without interaction with Peruvians!”

What attracted you to work with HOOP?

Rekha: “I really liked how professional and competent the management of HOOP is. During my first few conversations with Alison, I was struck by how knowledgeable she is and how well HOOP is run, particularly given its small scale.”

Eun Jung: “I have so much respect for the staff and volunteers at HOOP who live up to their passion and beliefs – they are a true inspiration.”

Lesley: “This is my first time in Peru and South America in general. I feel really lucky to not only have the chance to visit the place, but also to work with an amazing and committed team, to bring a positive impact to the community.”

What are your first impressions of Arequipa and Peru?

Lesley: “I am so glad to have Arequipa as the first city I visited in Peru. Everyone that I have met has been truly friendly, welcoming and helpful. I also got a chance to visit a family in the Flora Tristan community and to see how much they value education and the work that HOOP is doing.

Eun Jung: “The best part so far is when I visited a family - I felt so lucky to be able to contribute to the community of such warm, wise and confident people.”

Eunsoo: “Arequipa is a beautiful city. I don’t think I can forget the beautiful scenery of the Plaza de Armas at night.”

Working alongside the girls has been an absolute pleasure, and we can’t wait to put into practice what they have taught us this week! We wish them all the best with the rest of their MBA!

Written by Oliver Adams

Closing the Gender Gap in Peru

With International Women’s Day taking place tomorrow, in this week's blog we’re putting the spotlight on women’s issues and progress towards gender equality in Peru.

What are the traditional gender roles in Peru?

Traditionally men and women in Peru and Latin America have conformed to ‘machismo’ and ‘marianismo’ gender roles. ‘Machismo’ is the idea that men are supposed to be seen as the head of the household and expected to live up to strong, masculine characteristics. For women, marianismo characteristics reflect femininity, modesty, purity, faithfulness and submissiveness.

But do modern Peruvians still conform to these gender roles? While there is huge diversity within the country, machismo and marianismo ideals are still very much alive, especially outside of the cosmopolitan urban areas and in more traditional communities.

The existence of these roles is troublesome as it creates a divide between women and men. The kinds of issues that can arise from traditional gender roles are widely documented, and are by no means restricted to Latin America. Women all over the world tend to shoulder the burden of care for the young and elderly, take on the majority of household work, earn less money, and are more likely to live in poverty. Issues such as violence against women and child marriage infringe on human rights and stop women from living secure, fulfilling and happy lives. Worryingly, figures from the World Health Organisation show that 49% of women in provincial Peru have been subjected to physical violence from a partner, and this could be partly a consequence of the machismo vs marianismo gender roles.

Are things changing?

Fortunately, things are changing. Women’s groups are doing great work across the country towards creating a fairer gender culture based on equality. There is also evidence that the gender gap is closing. According to the ‘Global Gender Gap Report’, which tracks gender based disparities and progress, Peru has jumped up 35 places since 2013.  This shows signs of truly meaningful advances in a number of sectors such as political empowerment, health and survival, and educational attainment.

Peru has seen new programs that hope to increase opportunities of entrepreneurship for women, and attention is being placed on increasing the number of female private sector workers, which has already increased by nearly a million people since 2001. (OECD)

Positive signs can also be seen with the life expectancy of Peruvian women rising above the global average over the past ten years. Casa Maternas (maternal houses) have also become more common in rural areas, supporting women who would otherwise give birth at home without a skilled attendant. Measures such as this have the potential to drastically reduce the number of maternal mortalities.

Closing the gender gap in education is another big challenge in Peru, especially rural regions, where 10% more of boys are literate and  a third of girls never finish primary school.  This however is being addressed through programs by the Peruvian government and UNESCO.

Education is something obviously close to our hearts, and our work at HOOP is enabling more girls (and boys) in impoverished areas on the edge of the city to be educated. 53.4% of mothers in the community didn’t finish primary level education, and our English and business programs are offering them a chance to enhance their skills, confidence and knowledge.

One of the HOOP mums joins the parent's association meeting

Gender equality is increasingly being seen as one of the keys to bringing communities out of poverty, so we aim to create an equal playing field amongst the boys and girls, as part of our wider vision of breaking the cycle of poverty in Flora Tristan for good.

One only needs to spend a very short amount of time at the HOOP school to see the enthusiasm and excitement for learning, where good education is considered a luxury but should be a right!

Social change doesn’t happen overnight, and takes awareness, compassion and advocacy from men and boys as well as women and girls. There is still a long way to go with regards to gender equality and rights for women, but there are definitely reasons to be optimistic for women in Peru.

Written by Oliver Adams

Images by Tom Hornbrook