Day Seven

Security and safety infrastructure is a huge factor in keeping citizens safe, and today we got to have a look into how Lima does it. This morning we were warmly welcomed by Peru's finest, they had four police dogs waiting for us when we got there, which normally would be a little threatening but they were there to give us a show. We watched the dogs run and jump around their trainers, and over the other dogs as well, which was insanely cool to watch. The entire team was just clapping and cheering for the dogs because it was so impressive. After which we got to go into Lima's head CCTV office. In the office we got to see how Peru and Lima are applying modern solutions to combat crimes, because it looked like something out of a Borne movie. We actually got to see how the surveillance officers helped ground crews navigate the busy streets of Lima, and respond to emergencies, as well as spotting crime. Overall it was one of the most interesting meetings I've been too, and it was beyond cool to see the inside operations of a security institution, as well as cute dogs.

Day Six

World Bank (IFC) Meeting February 18th, 2019 As an international financial institution, the International Finance Corporation is a member of the World Bank Group. With over 184 member states, the IFC works to encourage private-sector development in emerging markets—paving the way for foreign investment and mutual success. Junior Team Canada had the honour of meeting up with their office in Lima to discuss the mandate, goals and the missions of today’s IFC. During this meeting, we learned that the IFC takes significant risks with great amounts of success. For example, when there’s an emerging market, the IFC helps open the market up for international investment and private-sector development. As a result, this allows for the country’s private-sector economy to grow significantly in our interconnected world and helps provide mutual prosperity for both the international partners and everyday citizens. This meeting was enticing for a lot of JTC team members as a lot of us are interested or currently studying macroeconomics! It was an amazing opportunity to use the knowledge and background we’ve learnt and apply it in a real-world setting with this incredible meeting on the Less Travelled Road. See you soon!

Day Five

Junior Team Canada was back to business on Monday, starting the day off at the BusinessHub office in Miraflores to acquire further information for our respective mandates. To that end we extensively discussed foreign business development and international consultancy with Eduardo Garcia-Zapatero, BusinessHub Peru’s Commercial Director. Eduardo’s professional experience promoting emerging economies in Canada, USA, Brazil, Ecuador, Macau, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Peru left us in awe and inspires us to pursue the Less Travelled Road as future global citizens. Outside of international consultancy, Eduardo also published socio-economic reports for Peru and Canada in media like The Globe and Mail.

Day Four

We spent the day out in a less fortunate district to help the Institucion Educative Initial 765 (Ninitos de Jesus), a local public school. Isabel, our Peru Ambassador and team leader had explained how they lost their school 6 years ago, but the community banded together for support through physical labour and what little funding they could personally provide to re-build. The Peru-Canadian commerce had explained the public-school system is drastically under-funded and it was emotional to see it with my own eyes. As the school is reliant only on public funding and community support for upgrades, our task was to help level ground for extra classrooms, paint both a fence and chairs for pre-school age students. It was enlightening to see the perspectives of those in different living conditions then our own. We take so much for granted living in a nation with housing that has simple comforts like air conditioning, and clean drinking water. It was inspiring to see how a community with little money still support each other for the greater good. Ruth their principle explained that the school is successfully educating youth, they have now grown from 40 to 180 and now receives regular funding from their Government for supplies, chairs, and such. This inspiring tale has caused other communities to use this model of community education so they may help their youth get a head start in life. 

Day Three

As three teams of four and a local guide we split up in a fun and exciting learning experience of Lima’s history, monuments, and the city in itself. We explored four major districts  all of which offering a different story and learning experience. The activity was a great team building exercise that allowed all ambassadors to get to know each other on a personal level as well.  We then all documented the whole day using photographs and videos which then went into a compiled video of the day that will be displayed on the Global Vision Website and Instagram to share with all sponsors and future junior team canada ambassadors that wish to participate in future missions.