NGOs reports vs. Reality

Indigenous Peruvians’ real-life challenges

Abstract

This research explores if NGOs accurately document the socioeconomic and environmental issues Indigenous Pe­ruvians face. The study draws on previous literature on environmental challenges and focuses on socioeconomic challenges affecting Indigenous people. Additionally, the research contributes to previous studies as some researchers argue there is a disconnect between development organi­zations and target communities and propose the outsiders’ theory claiming that development organizations lack the cultural awareness to understand the needs of target com­munities. The study uses thematic coding to find the seven main issues documented in NGO reports. These seven top­ics served as the basis for formulating open-ended questions to conduct 45-minute interviews with ten Quechua speakers to then analyze the transcripts through two rounds of the­matic coding. Socioeconomic issues are the most pressing issue for Indigenous Peruvians, as these people lack access to basic services. Consequently, Indigenous people leave their communities looking for better jobs and educational opportunities in cities. Furthermore, socioeconomic issues make Indigenous people more vulnerable to environmental challenges as Indigenous migrants are usually poor, and cli­mate change disproportionately affects people facing pov­erty. The project will help to close the gap between NGO reports and real-life challenges to allow researchers to ex­plore policies on how to address the connection between so­cioeconomic challenges and environmental