This past Saturday, I helped out at my first medical campaign! We rotate locations for the campaigns, and this week’s took place locally in the neighborhood of El Patron de San Sebastian, a few minutes walk from El Jardín.  After packing up all of the medications from the pharmacy, we drove up to the site to set up the tent where the patients would see the doctor. Michael went around the neighborhood with a megaphone announcing the free medical campaign, which succeeded in attracting a large number of people. For the next four hours, I created a list of arriving patients with their ages/weights, helped make sandwiches for the patients, observed the doctor, and chatted with local families and kids.  

One family in particular is in great need of help, and I spent a long time talking with them. The mother cleans for our volunteer apartment, and also manages a market near El Jardín. One of her sons attends El Jardín, so the family is connected closely with the volunteers and Rosa and Mario. The father has vasculitis, and hasn’t been able to work for the past three years because of it. The medicine that would stabilize his condition, but not cure it, would cost over 600 soles, far more than they can afford. The only option for treatment is a kidney transplant, but they would need to find a donor first, and then get on the waiting list. The whole situation really saddens me – the father is only 38 and will probably die soon, leaving his three young children behind with absolutely no hope for education beyond elementary school. Stories similar to this are plentiful where I currently live. The magnitude of poverty is overwhelming at times, and has occasionally left me questioning the effectiveness of my own efforts when the need is immensely greater than we can ever hope to provide for.

The next day, Sunday, was Inti Raymi, which is the largest festival of the year in Cusco. People come from all over, including Lima, to watch the festivities. Inti Raymi takes place at Sacsayhuaman, the old Incan ruins above Cusco. Thousands of people covered the hillsides to watch the traditional dancing and llama sacrifice that ended the festival. I will try and put up pictures from this next time I post.

Yesterday, the pharmacy volunteers and I traveled to a small village called Occopata, which is an hour outside of Cusco. A kindergarden there is currently suffering from an outbreak of scabies, and lacks any means of treatment. We examined the children to determine who was infected (using gloves since scabies is very contagious) and then applied a topical treatment. More medication was distributed for future treatments. Most of the children only spoke Quechua, an original language of the Andes, so it was fairly difficult to communicate with them. In Cusco, nearly everyone speaks both Spanish and Quechua, with the exception of some older folks who just speak Quechua. 

This Thursday, we're leaving for a three-day trip to Puno, a city about 9 hours away from Cusco. It's much colder there than in Cusco, and children die from the cold every winter. We're planning on having a medical campaign there, and will also try and collect clothing in the next few days to bring with us.