Experiences in Peru!

By Jessie Roberts

I arrived in Iquitos, following a childhood dream of participating in the medical practices of a developing country. When I left Minnesota, I knew very little about the people, the culture, and the Peruvian way of life. For the past four weeks, I have been able to live in the culture, practice the language, and learn from native doctors and nurses. APECA has provided me with the opportunity to work with health professionals in a health center in Belen.

When I was working in the Clinic and I first heard the compliment “Que Gordo!” (How Fat!), I thought I misunderstood the conversation, but I was correct in my translation. In a country of malnourished children, “Que Gordo” is a compliment because being “fat” is a sign of health and life. It was not until today, on a walk through the heart of Belen, that I found out that the city in which I was working, was the location of one of the largest cholera epidemics in the world.

I had a chance to visit with children in the pediatric ward of the hospital last week, where I saw the difficulties families face in recieving medical attention. We met families who traveled to the hospital but were unable to pay for the treatment their child needed. We spoke with others who had been in the hospital for so long that they had no income and were unable to care for their other children. I will never forget the last child we visited. The five year old boy was sitting on his hospital bed crying for his mother. The nurse was unable to treat the boy until someone bought the IV and medication needed for his treatment.

While Gina Low bought the supplies he needed from the hospital pharmacy, I fed him the hospital food and played hide and seek around his blanket. Sitting on the bed and talking with this child brought back memories of my frightening hospital experiences. While I wasn´t curing him of his illness, I was able to provide some fun in the scary hospital environment. He also taught me what it was like to live as a child in a poverty stricken country, where a mother with seven other children may not be able to leave her family to stay at the hospital with her sick child.

With the help of APECA, and the use of their boat, I was also able to travel to Munich for a day long medical campaign. The health center in Belen supplied the equipment and doctors needed to carry out government supported health programs. They provided vaccinations, obstetric care, dental extractions, and medical attention at the community medical post.

This medical post is generally run by a technician, but the clinic has so few supplies that many ailments are left untreated. It was a gratifing experience to be able to participate in providing care to patients that would otherwise have to travel six hours to Iquitos in a dugout canoe. While I did not grow up traveling by dugout canoe, my short experience in one proved to be very uncomfortable and unstable.

Seeing the situation in Munich, a community relatively close to the city of Iquitos, I am excited to start my next adventure in Peru. On Monday, I leave for a twelve day medical campaign. APECA will provide transportation to a Ministry of Health medical team who will provide education and medical attention to remote communities with little access to vaccinations and medications. Everything that has happened on this trip so far has been an amazing experience. I am living my childhood dream!