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Global Urban Trek 2008
Lima, Peru - City Overview
Lima, a coastal desert city, is the capital of Peru. The largest city in the country, it is estimated that about one-third of the Peruvian population (about 9 to 12 million people) resides in Lima, and the population continues to grow. Lima is home to many ethnic groups who have migrated from other parts of the country, from the highlands of the Andes Mountains in central Peru to the interior jungles of Eastern Peru. Much of the recent urban population growth is the result of political and economic instability during the latter half of the twentieth century, which created unprecedented poverty and violence in the rural highlands. Armed conflict between the Shining Path terrorist group and the Peruvian military forced thousands of campesinos (peasant farmers) to migrate to Lima looking for work and a better life.
Today this violence has ceased, but Lima has grown tremendously, and more than one-third of its population lives in shantytowns, locally known as pueblos jóvenes (young towns). These “young towns” live up to their name. New settlements are constantly cropping up on the outskirts of the city, and many lack such basic services as electricity and running water. There continues to be widespread underemployment in Peru, and 54% of the country lives under the poverty line (2003 estimate).
In addition to Spanish many Peruvians speak Quechua, Peru’s indigenous national language.
Ministry Sites: The Global Urban Trek in Peru is about inviting God to reveal himself to you among the people of Lima. It is about entering the city as a learner and a servant, with openness to seeing God and the world in new ways.
Students on the Lima Trek will be partnering with ministry organizations that seek holistic transformation in the lives of the urban poor. 'Holistic' means that the ministy touches every part of the life of the individual and community: spiritual, social, relational, financial, educational, environmental, etc.
The students will break into smaller teams of 4-6 people and will live near their ministry sites. The specific details of our ministry are still in progress; we ask students to be flexible and to enter the Trek with flexibility rather than a set of expectations. Last year we partnered with 3 ministry sites. We hope to partner with these ministries again.
Paz y Esperanza is an organization that works for community transformation in the pueblos jóvenes. Students at this site shadowed church leaders and pastors who are helping lead their churches in developing a greater understanding of the church’s role in addressing needs such as education and public health. Students participated in numerous home visits to build relationships with the local people, pray for the sick, and offer a helping hand in daily chores. They also helped with the ministry’s sexual abuse prevention campaign.
The YMCA of Peru works with children and youth in discipleship and also provides public health and education services to children and families in the pueblos jóvenes. Students at the YMCA helped with kids clubs, shadowed doctors at community health centers, participated in a community construction project, and spent part of their time living with Peruvian host families.
In their ministry teams students will have small group prayer, daily devotions, and weekly Bible studies. The entire team will come together several times throughout the trip to have fun, process our experiences, and share what God is revealing to us and doing in and through us and those we are serving.
Students who have a desire to serve marginalized populations will have the opportunity to explore this ministry and consider a long-term commitment to service among the urban poor. Students on the Lima Trek will also have the rare opportunity to work alongside people who have made this long-term commitment to the work of God in Lima. It is our hope to be a blessing to both the communities we will be working in as well as to the workers who daily lay down their lives for the gospel in Lima.
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