1.

“by trying to help poor people in developing countries, the rich

world may actually be corrupting those nations' governments and
slowing their growth.” (Swanson, 2015)

I semi-agree with this statement because it all depends on how the humanitarian
effort goes about its work. With my personal experience I have seen only benefits
associated with humanitarian work. I can understand where this is coming from but I
have only experienced how humanitarian work brings together and educates a
community.

2. “Peru’s poverty rate increased last year for the first time since
2001, rising one percentage point to 21.7 percent, according to
government data.” (Cespedes, 2018)

I witnessed this first hand in my experiences. The poverty rate was surprisingly
high when I went to Peru. However, it didn’t affect the people's happiness, they were
extremely humble and happy for everything they had. That is one of the many reasons I
fell in love with the people, and a reason I try to be happy for all that I have.

3. “In 2017, 375,000 Peruvians joined the ranks of the poor, which
state statistics agency Inei defines as an individual surviving on
less than 338 soles ($105) per month.” (Cespedes, 2018)

This was extremely hard to see, watching people on such low income was
devastating. It was hard to see them have to make so many sacrifices just to feed their
family. Another source that I read was stating about how the average income was less
than $2 a day. Think about how difficult that would be to survive on that budget.

4. “According to this estimate, moreover, poverty in urban areas is

around 15%, and poverty in rural areas is 44%. This inequality is
enormous.” (Arboccó, 2018)

It was weird seeing the transition between city and rural. Something we would
consider to be rural was considered urban to them, so that puts into perspective how
the rural looked for me. In further support of the fact that 44% in rural populations are in
extreme poverty is my personal account of these instances.

5. Deaton argued that foreign aid can weaken this relationship,

leaving a government less accountable to its people, the congress
or parliament, and the courts. (Swanson, 2015)

This is a very good point to make if the foreign aid and humanitarian work is
simply pumping money into a struggling country. However, when it comes to my
experiences with humanitarian work, I will have to disagree. We included the people
alongside us so they could learn these basic skills to further not only their community’s
economic growth, but that of the countries as well.

Works Cited:

Swanson, A. (2015, October 13). Why trying to help poor countries might actually hurt them.
Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/13/why-trying-
to-help-poor-countries-might-actually-hurt-them/

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

Arboccó, J. (2018, August 11). Poverty in Peru, the latest statistics from the state. Retrieved from
https://www.alainet.org/en/articulo/196354