“I feel like this is a second chance for me and this time I will do better.”
Quarantine and physical distancing measures, necessary to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, generate job losses and reduce the economic income of individuals and households. The loss of income affects above all the population that is in a situation of poverty and vulnerability. In our region, labor markets are often precarious with a high proportion of informal jobs which has become endemic.
Rising Inequality
The sudden and intense spread of Covid-19 in the Latin American region has dramatically exposed and amplified the presence of inequalities and inequities. The pandemic breaks into a complex economic, social and political scenario of low growth, increased poverty and growing social tensions. In Peru, the structural inequalities that characterize our Latin American societies and the high levels of informality and lack of social protection are exposed. Due to this, the great structural gaps in the region have become evident and exacerbated and currently, we are experiencing a moment of great uncertainty in which neither the form nor the speed of exit from the crisis have yet been outlined.
A big Impact to the Vulnerable Community
Mario Huillca, is a man born in Marampaqui who is in charge of a large family. He has suffered the effects of the coronavirus, not only economically but also physically. During this time, the family could only eat what they had stored at home. It was impossible to have monetary incomes because there was no way to sell the products at the local fair. The children could not go to school for two years and did not receive online classes either, due to lack of devices and internet access. Almost a year ago, when he contracted the coronavirus, his relatives were very scared, fearing that death was coming to take him. He had very serious symptoms to the point of not being able to breathe and coming to believe that this was the last episode of his life. After two weeks of suffering and treatment through the Peruvian Ministry of Health, he finally recovered and later, when the vaccine arrived in his town, he was able to access it and thus avoid further contagion.
Life gives many lessons, especially in moments where it is in danger. Mario learned that effort, desire, a good attitude and optimism are the perfect combination to get ahead. He says “I feel like this is a second chance for me and this time I will do better”.
A matter of Choice
According to Dr. Tedros, director of the World Health Organization (WHO), "ending the pandemic is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice and the choice is in our hands." Therefore, the WHO calls for a global effort to vaccinate 70% of the population in all countries by mid 2022. Reaching this goal will help end the acute phase of the pandemic and allow countries to reopen.
End of Covid-19 Pandemic
Tomas Pueyo, an engineer who predicted the behavior of the pandemic, in his article ‘Coronavirus: Game over, it’s time to start living again’, believes that the world and the times we are entering are no longer a continuation of the last two years. We should think about the coming months in the same way that we should think about the coming decades. However, this will be counterintuitive. We have behaved differently in the last two years. New habits have appeared and these are difficult to break.
According to McKinsey & Company, the vaccination and its respective reinforcement, proved to be important in the protection against Omicron. People believe that the risks of contracting COVID-19 are not important enough to change their behavior. This could be due to vaccination status or the desire to overcome the pandemic. Some governments, such as Peru, maintain or strengthen public health policies, including vaccination mandates.
Over the months, governments have imposed smart measures to stem the impact of the virus without hurting the economy. Some want to continue with these measures, although the end of the pandemic is in sight. Now citizens distrust the government because in the past it has not generated trust in the proper management of their rights. The economic reactivation for the most vulnerable is imminent, even if the government maintains those measures.
Social Inclusion
At Con Corazón we practice inclusion without exception, working with sustainable strategies and tools that lead to the reactivation of the Marampaqui beneficiaries. This through our community projects that favor economic reactivation. If we take care of the environment that surrounds them, we will have a better quality of health and therefore greater ability to focus on economic activities that directly benefit their homes and the community in general.
As the pandemic has had a greater negative effect on the most vulnerable populations, there are calls not only to build back better, but also to build back more justly. Doing so requires strong and continued political leadership across governments to correct entrenched and structural social inequality.
Giving Perspectives to the Community
In Peru, due to informality, losing your job means looking for another source of economic income, such as selling sweets on the corners and/or even stealing, which has become endemic, just to bring a little bread and feed the family. Just as in many other places in the world, millions of Peruvians who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, without social support, as well as millions of others whose well-being is threatened by the uncertainty and political conflict that exists, deserve to regain the peace of mind to look to the future with hope.
One of the programs managed by Con Corazón is microcredits. This consists of facilitating a money loan to the people of Marampaqui to buy guinea pigs and/or trout. This must be paid without interest, after a reasonable period of time. In other words, once the breeders start selling the guinea pigs and trout in the local market, they will be able to return the money.
Mario gets up very early in the morning to do multiple activities. He and his family graze the alpacas they have, taking them to places with fresh pastures. The children also collect mushrooms that grow under the only pine forest in front of the village. The women cut the green grass to take to the guinea pigs' shed and feed them. The still small trout live in water wells, built by the family, and they are fed with products that they acquire in the local market. When the weekend arrives, the entire family prepares the products that are ready to be sold at the fair in Tinke, a town near the inter-oceanic highway that connects Cusco with the Peruvian jungle and reaches Brazil.
Saturdays, local farmers from all over the area, sell directly its production in the market of Tinke. Consumers find a very diversified offer and quality, at much more affordable prices than those offered by other distributors, as well as a new relationship with the producers, more direct, which allows them to better understand the quality and origin of the products purchased.
March 2022
