Health Bridges International

  • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • Model
    • Pillars
    • Our Team
    • Our Founders
    • Board of Directors >
      • Dr. Wayne Centrone | President
      • Dean Boyer | Vice President
      • Lee Centrone | Treasurer
      • Dr. Robert Gehringer | Medical Director
      • Benjamin Grass
      • Margaret Hendrix
      • Stephen Manning
      • Tracey Chernay
      • Patrick Flanagan
      • Monte Roulier
    • Partners
  • Documentary
  • COVID-19 Updates for Perú
  • Projects
    • Training >
      • NRP Train-the-Trainer Program
      • Programa de Reanimación Neonatal
      • Materiales de Programe
      • Blog de RCP Neonatal
    • Consulting >
      • Girasoles Home for Abandoned Youth
      • Girasoles Sanos Cycling Team
    • Connecting >
      • Anemia Prevention and Treatment Project
      • Ines Project for Medically Fragile Children
    • Serving >
      • Team Perú Outreach
  • Get Involved
    • Updates
    • Corporate Support
    • Qualified Charitable Distribution
    • Support the Girasoles Sanos Homes
    • Targeted Funding Requests >
      • Anemia Project
      • Guardian Angel Program
      • Compassion Fund - Vida y Compasión
      • NRP Train-the-Trainer
    • Volunteer
    • Events >
      • A Bridge to Change Event
      • A Bridge to Hope Event
      • 2020 A Bridges to Change Benefit Dinner
      • Adventure Run
    • Contact Us
    • Donor Impact Reports >
      • Donor Impact Report 2016
      • Donor Impact Report 2017
      • Donor Impact Report 2018
      • Donor Impact Report 2019
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • Model
    • Pillars
    • Our Team
    • Our Founders
    • Board of Directors >
      • Dr. Wayne Centrone | President
      • Dean Boyer | Vice President
      • Lee Centrone | Treasurer
      • Dr. Robert Gehringer | Medical Director
      • Benjamin Grass
      • Margaret Hendrix
      • Stephen Manning
      • Tracey Chernay
      • Patrick Flanagan
      • Monte Roulier
    • Partners
  • Documentary
  • COVID-19 Updates for Perú
  • Projects
    • Training >
      • NRP Train-the-Trainer Program
      • Programa de Reanimación Neonatal
      • Materiales de Programe
      • Blog de RCP Neonatal
    • Consulting >
      • Girasoles Home for Abandoned Youth
      • Girasoles Sanos Cycling Team
    • Connecting >
      • Anemia Prevention and Treatment Project
      • Ines Project for Medically Fragile Children
    • Serving >
      • Team Perú Outreach
  • Get Involved
    • Updates
    • Corporate Support
    • Qualified Charitable Distribution
    • Support the Girasoles Sanos Homes
    • Targeted Funding Requests >
      • Anemia Project
      • Guardian Angel Program
      • Compassion Fund - Vida y Compasión
      • NRP Train-the-Trainer
    • Volunteer
    • Events >
      • A Bridge to Change Event
      • A Bridge to Hope Event
      • 2020 A Bridges to Change Benefit Dinner
      • Adventure Run
    • Contact Us
    • Donor Impact Reports >
      • Donor Impact Report 2016
      • Donor Impact Report 2017
      • Donor Impact Report 2018
      • Donor Impact Report 2019
  • Blog
  • Donate

Calle 16 - by Wayne Centrone

19/11/2018

Comments

 
Picture
The HBI office is in the community of Magdalena, in the vast city of Lima. Our office sits just a couple of blocks from the ocean. It's a great location, with cool afternoon sea breeze and a pleasant smell of the ocean. I really like the area. And, it is changing. Only a few years back, this area and the neighborhood directly to the north (San Miguel) were “up-and-coming.” They provided a safe place for middle class families to raise their children. Now, the coastal communities are being overrun with condo developments. It seems every other block has a new construction project. This has brought tremendous change.

One area of San Miguel that has seen much growth and development is around Calle 16. With a direct vista to the ocean and an unobstructed access to a wide green space that runs along the cliffs above the coast, the area around Street 16 is prime for development. However, the area is marked by a large concrete structure that runs a square city block. The facility is the Maranguita Detention Center; and it is one of the most notorious juvenile prisons in Perú. The government officially refers to Maranguita as theCentro Juvenil de Diagnóstico y Rehabilitación de Lima or the Youth Center for Diagnosis and Rehabilitation of Lima. Whatever name it goes by, Maranguita has a notorious reputation for street youth. It is a place that brings shivers of fear when mentioned. And, Maranguita is a facility caught in a challenging situation. 
 
Maranguitasits at the nexus of the change in the city of Lima and a growing recognition to the need for newer approaches to juvenile rehabilitation and justice. It is a place hindered by a history of fear, and pressed by a future of modernization. In many ways, it represents the challenges of Perú. Challenges that Perú faces as it moves further and further from their “developing nation” past and closer and closer to their modern image as a leader in Latin America and one of the top travel destinations in the world.  Perú is in the midst of a number of changes – and Calle 16 is a part of this evolving new story. But it is not the only story that demonstrates the massive changes.
 
The changes are everywhere, but what’s most challenging to understand is the increasing difficulty many communities and people are experiencing in the face of the changes. This morning I went for a run. Most mornings I run south along the coast - today, I ran north. I’ve wanted to run to the community of La Punta (the point) for years. The challenge, to get to La Punta from our office, you need to go through a very dangerous neighborhood - La Perla District. 
 
La Perla is a community stuck in a time warp. It reminds me of Lima 20 years ago. Broken windows and crumbling buildings are the norm. The density is a bit overwhelming - with people literally stacked on top of one another in makeshift housing projects. Certain neighborhoods in La Perla are so dangerous that while running, I was instructed by more than one person toward other routes. In fact, a woman literally stopped me while I was running and walked me for a good 5 blocks out of the neighborhood.

Yet, La Perla is only a few kilometers from the wealthy neighborhood of San Miguel. La Perla sits on the same coast and has similar views of the Pacific Ocean. And, there are no condominium projects. There are no widespread efforts to repair the crumbling sidewalks and potholed streets. Rather, the children of La Perla that live in the neighborhood of San Judas Tadeo, suffer disproportionately from malnutrition, anemia, communicable diseases. Unemployment is so much higher than the sister neighborhood of La Punta (only 2 kilometers further north along the coast). And the people who make their lives in the community of La Perla die on average 15-20 years earlier than Lima citizens living in more affluent neighborhoods.
 
So much is changing in Perú. And, yet, so many Peruvians are unable to feel the impacts of this economic wave of development and prosperity. One thing my morning run showed me, the work of HBI is only just beginning. HBI focuses on advancing the health of communities of need – recognizing the challenges that exist now and will exist well into the future. We know that sustainability is one of the most important – and incredibly challenging – goals of our work. And as Perú and Lima changes, pockets of disparity exist. This means our work must continue. Must grow.
 
This morning I went for a run. I ran through one of the wealthiest waterfront development districts in Lima and through one of the poorest. I went for a run this morning and I realized how incredibly important our work is - today . . . and well into the future. 


Comments

    HBI Blog

    The HBI Blog is a rotating journal from our staff. Our Blog is a series of messages from the field, insights from our work, and lessons in service.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT Health Bridges International, Inc. 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.