“Poor, not delinquents”

Peru
Even it Up

Sara Torres, 45 and mother of two, lives in a informal neighborhood in the south of Lima, Peru. Located on a hill, Nueva Rinconada – Pamplona Alta, the settlement she lives in started 15 years ago.

Sara points out to a huge concrete wall that separates it from the adjacent posh-y neighborhood. “This is the wall of shame. We are poor, not delinquents.” For her, this wall is an outright symbol of the social exclusion she and her neighbours have to fight against.

The first step toward inclusion would be access to water, says Sara. Here, none of the houses are connected to the water system. Instead, Sara and her neighbours buy water from water trucks. Everyday, in Nueva Rinconada, you can see people transporting water in buckets, through the steep stairways that runs up the hill. A network of hoses and pumps runs though those stairs, from water fountains installed at the foot of the hill.

In addition to being a burden for the inhabitants, this whole water distribution hustle costs them 3 times what they would pay if Nueva Rinconada was connected to the water system.

But because this is an informal neighborhood, it would require political will from the authorities to fix the issue and provide basic infrastructure.

“We feel invisible” says Sara.

Photo: Percy Ramirez / Oxfam

Take action!

We live in a world where a select few have more money than they could spend in several lifetimes, while millions of people around the world struggle to have access to food and water or send their children to school. Join Oxfam’s Even It Up campaign, to call on world leaders to end extreme inequality.

Read more about our campaign here: https://act.oxfam.org/international/even

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“Poor, not delinquents”

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