Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Peru is indeed another world and the absolutely most intriguing country in South America. I have loved every minute of the time I have spent there - except for the few days I stayed in Pisco.

I remember when the earthquake happened almost 2 years ago. I know that Canada, like many other countries, donated money and supplies for those poor people. To go there in 2009 and see many of them facing their third winter still living in Oxfam tents and makeshift clapboard houses, left me wondering what became of the world's relief effort.

I stayed only 3 days, not able to understand how the people who live there coped with the smell of decomp still present in the concrete and piles of rubble. I watched them sweeping and washing down what remained of sidewalks - almost compulsively. And I was left to wonder where these people went for spiritual and mental solace. A common place for this is the grave site of a departed love one. But the cemetery in Pisco could offer nothing but a reminder that not even the dead were safe during those horrible 3 minutes in August, 2007.

It seems to me that tourism in Peru is a gold mine. There is so much about your country that is unique and so intriguing; spectacular beauty and preserved cultures. The world rallies in a time of natural disaster but years later, the ordinary people that the donations were meant to help still suffer.

Editor's Note:  Although the world's donations to Pisco and other regions that were devastated by the earthquake were extremely generous, there is still much work to be done in the area.  To this day there are many charitable organizations making monthly or even weekly trips to rebuild houses and schools.  If you or anyone you know is still involved with earthquake relief in the Pisco region, please provide your contact information for volunteers in the comment section below.  Although stories of an earthquake from 2007 are no longer fashionable in the world media, the people of that area still need our help.

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I am from Pisco. I've been living in Florida, USA since 2004. Since the earthquake, I've visited Pisco twice, and it is really painful to see the city where I was born in that condition. As the author of this note said, the donations have been generous, unfortunately the changes are not visible. The reason? I heard, it involves the government. In the other hand, I believe non profit organizations are doing as much as they can, but more help is always needed. As a "Pisqueña" I really appreciate the time that the author took in order to talk about this.