We have been having our conversations here for three years now, Lou, and it occurs to me that others may want to know something more about the lives of the children we have been working with. It is hard for Americans to know where to begin and how to help those who live in poverty in another country. Sometimes our initial solution is to give money to any need we see. But that’s not always the best solution. I think we need to understand more about the lives of those who live in poverty and then look for the most appropriate solution.
Alicia and her brother
LOU
Yes, I recognize that many times giving money is the first solution of Americans. Their money is important but it is also important to extend social ties despite the distance because this would allow them to know exactly how their money is used. Here children are appreciative for the help that some Americans with kind hearts have given a present or project organized through El Buen Pastor or Common Hope. Although I recognize that there are poor zones with more extreme poverty exist in Lima or Peru, God has made our work in the zone of San Genaro. We don’t know how will continue in the future but the work done until now is how God has been able to help us. 
View of the sea from above the house of Alicia
JANIS
My first thoughts leaving Arequipa on my first trip to Peru related to “how easy” it would be for me to simply pay for the needs I had encountered. I realize this comes initially from a “good place” in American hearts, but the more I see the needs resulting from material poverty I begin to look more carefully at how those things can be resolved. 
Alicia taking a nap when she was traveling to the Camp in Canete
LOU
As I said, the Americans have good intentions in helping but is not only money, we must also help them “fish” for themselves so they are able to do it alone. We have children that they should know their stories. They are like children everywhere have problems but the difference is that they are also poor. 
A poor street in the zone
JANIS
Yeah, you’re right. Material poverty presents a lot of complications. And, it is clear in the Bible that Jesus meant for us to meet their needs since they are the “least of these” he talks about in Matthew 25. But as you say, simply giving money to resolve a need isn’t the best way many times. We have to be willing to be involved in their lives and model how they can learn to help themselves. But I hope our readers will enjoy becoming better acquainted with the realities of some of the kids we work with every week. Tell me about Alicia…how is she’s doing? 
She is shy teenager. She dislikes photos
LOU
Alicia…, if you see her the first time she is a 15 year old teenager that appears to be as young as 12. She is very short in stature for her age but she is a teenager that uses her own strength to help her family. Since she was 12 years old she has taken care of the children in her neighborhood. I have known her since she was a little girl and I have seen her grow and I know that if she had the resources she would have a better future. She actually has only one year left before she finishes school and then she will need to help her parents, a brother and grandparent that lives in the same house. 
View of the zone
JANIS
What will Alicia do after she finishes school this year? 
LOU
She wants to be an engineer. But in the summer of 2010 she had the opportunity to study secretarial work. 
Alicia (green) with a Camp friend
JANIS
Well, she at least will have training for some kind of work. What is the process to study as a secretary? 
Many times the poor have to climb stairs like these to their houses
LOU
Some representatives from an institute went to her school and they gave her the opportunityto study only Turing the summer and she atended these classes. But she wants to be an engineer.
Alicia (green) with El Buen Pastor Church Girls
JANIS
Well, that is a great opportunity. I imagine the process to be became an engineer involves more requirements. What is required for her to study at a university there? Do you know how much it would cost her each year? 
The houses are built above one another similar to stairs
LOU
I know that education here is bad in the public schools. So that after she finishes high school, Alicia will have to enroll in an academy to be prepared for the admission exam at a university and this will take a minimum of six months to one year to complete. The cost of an academy for the best kind is 160 soles and after that her father will have to pay for the admission exam. And if Alicia is admitted she have to pay the costs of books, transportation, photocopies.
JANIS
Well, that seems like a lot of expense for a poor family. From your perspective what are some practical ways we could assist Alicia but allow her to participate as she secures her education.
Street of the zone
LOU
I believe that Alicia is a good student and I believe that if she has support she could achieve a professional career. I believe that her parents could pay for half of her total education when she finishes school and begins to study engineering. She would need assistance for the other half. 
JANIS
How many opportunities do students like Alicia have for scholarships? Do those exist for students, even good ones, in her circumstances?
LOU
Well, scholarships exist here but many times the poor don’t know how to qualify for one of them. Besides they have to have excellent grades. Alicia’s parents don’ t know how to do this. 
JANIS
What kind of life will Alicia have without the ability to continue her education?
LOU
I believe that Alicia intends to study something that will require little time and in this manner obtain a better job so that afterward she can secure a better career later. Or she could work in what she is studying now as a secretary pero her size is very small and it would prevent her from obtaining a job. Another alternative is that she travels to the highlands and she is able to work there but the salaries in this area are very low. 
View from the top of San Genaro
JANIS
Well, giving youth like Alicia a chance to continue their education and create a better life for them takes a lot of effort since there are limited resources financially. I always think of the possibilities for students like her who would be able to change not only their own lives but that of their families if they simply had the chance. It is true that changing her life could impact many generations in the future. 
Alicia taking jewelry making classes at Common Hope
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