Shannon, ‘09

Hello friends

I must start with a confession. Just now did I realize that for the past many moons (months) people have been responding to my blog posts with comments. Consequently, I haven’t known if you’ve been writing comments and asking me questions- sorry! I will try and get back to those of you who asked me some questions as soon as I can.

So how do I begin with how spring break went? It was incredible, to say the least. It was amazing, eye-opening, enjoyable, I developed some really nice, new friendships, I witnessed things I had never before experienced, I was enlightened, I was angered, I was inspired… I guess I’ll just start from the beginning :o)

Those students from my “Global Health and Human Rights” class (including 2 native Peruvian UR students), along with the professor, Dr. Mayes, a pediatrician from the city of Richmond, [let’s just called him] “Sean” (even though that is his real name), and a UR ‘07 alum who went on the trip last year, left for the airport on Friday morning. After arriving into Lima, Peru early Saturday morning, we immediately set off for Dianna’s (one of the Peruvian students) house. After a short reception, breakfast, and an opportunity to take showers after a long journey, we got into our two vans driven by our two fabulous Peruvian drivers, Gustavo and Rolando, and headed for the city of Huaraz about 6 hours north of Lima.

From Huaraz, where we had stayed for the night, we headed up into “la sierra” (the mountains) to the town of Pampas Grandes where Dianna’s parents started an organization, Pan Peru, 5 or so years ago to help the rural town. We were there for two days, playing with the kids (”pato, pato, ganso”=duck, duck, goose!), distributing toothbrushes to the kids (who had never had a toothbrush before), getting a better understanding of what life was like there, etc. One day, we ran a free health clinic all day long. Two other Limenean doctors (a dentist and a gynecologist) and a nurse who are all friends of Dianna’s parents and members of Pan Peru had come from Lima with us as well, and they were crucial in having a successful health clinic. Those from Pampas Grandes who could and were able to come came. The resources were very limited, and in many cases, unfortunately the doctors couldn’t do very much without appropriate facilities and machinery. The students assisted these doctors in different shifts throughout the day while those students not assisting at the time did activities with the kids, such as planting trees, putting on a drawing contest, and painting. I had the opportunity to assist the dentist with another student for 2.5 hours. It was pretty eye opening. The dentist was a very nice man, and had come with numerous different tools, disinfectants, and medicines to reduce pain (Ibuprofen and Novocaine) when pulling out teeth, but was very limited in what he could actually do. He mostly pulled teeth out of patients that had been causing them much pain. Patients would enter the small area lit by natural light and would proceed to sit an a chair. Then he would ask them why they had come, what was hurting them, etc. There were times when, after inspecting the patient’s mouth and teeth, that he had to tell them that with his limited supplies he could not perform on them. He would have only caused greater and further damage to them. He would then ask if they were able to travel 4 hours to Huaraz, the nearest and biggest city, where there were sufficient hospitals located that could deal appropriately with their condition. Most all of them told him no, that they could neither afford to get there and back, nor pay the fee for the operation. It was sad to see him have to turn away people. Still, he could at least alleviate some of their pain by extracting the painful tooth/teeth. Basically none of these people had ever had any kind/type of dental care in their life (toothbrushes, toothpaste, 2x-a-year dental checkups, general teeth cleanings, fillings when necessary, etc.) nonetheless general health care. You can only imagine what the gynecologist and pediatrician saw. To think that because of where these people were born- where they reside, what they are able to earn (very little), and countless other factors, they are unable to access affordable health care, nonetheless any health care at all is astonishing to say the least. It’s true that the Peruvian government does send out many just-graduated doctors from Med School to rural areas for one year after they graduate, but there are not nearly enough doctors to distribute them properly throughout all of Peru, nonetheless have proper funding to provide them with necessary health items/tools/equipment. Basically, just be fortunate, those of you with health insurance/care in the US. But then again, the US has many health care problems of its own, with many people not able to access health care themselves due to lack of insurance/money to pay for it. That’s another whole story I won’t go into in here…

But to continue with the trip, our time in Pampas Grandes was special and really rewarding. We taught countless kids how to brush their teeth with toothbrushes, we played games with them, and really just got to love them, laugh with them, and give them some inspiration (I hope). They really inspired all of us too. I think that’s what I enjoyed most about being there. Also, to see the other students (despite their ability or non-ability to speak Spanish) interact with the kids and the general population was really encouraging and inspiring. Don’t worry, pictures are all located below

To move on, it took another two days just to get back to Lima as the drive out of the mountains of Pampas Grandes to Huaraz and then from Huaraz to Lima was more than an 8-hour trip with numerous bathroom stops included (and food stops too, of course!). However, when we got to Lima Wednesday night, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at one of the UR Peruvian student’s grandma’s house. It was a warm “welcome back” to Lima, and the dinner and people/conversation all led it to be a very special time. From there, we went to see a performance showing traditional Peruvian dance. It was great! It was a very interactive show where there would be a song/performance by the dancers followed by a song where everyone would be able to get up on stage and dance, and so on and so forth. The next day, we enjoyed private talk/information session with a Peace Corps representative in Peru, as well as another private talk with a member of US AID who’s located in Lima, Peru. All of us benefited greatly from these talks, as we were able to ask questions of our liking and envision ourselves in international volunteer and/or career positions after finishing college. After these enlightening talks, we visited an exhibition on Tuberculosis and its effects on all scopes and areas of the world and human life: history, art, literature, etc., at the Peru’s National Library. It was in part sponsored by “Socios en Salud”, which is a group started by Paul Farmer and Partners In Health, a US-based organization that serves in the US (Boston area, I believe), Russia, Haiti, and Peru. They’ve especially been working with cases of Multi-drug Resistant Tuberculosis in the slums of Lima. Paul Farmer is so important because he was the one who was the source of inspiration for this class and the trip with his book “Mountains Beyond Mountains” to Dr. Mayes and several of his students. So indeed, you can see why this visit was so special :) Afterwards, we went out to lunch at a Chifa buffet. “Chifa” is basically Peru’s version of Chinese food, and it is more than delicious. The last day blew by, and before we knew it we were leaving the UR student Dianna’s house to go to the airport after a goodbye party by the members of Pan Peru and her family. All in all, the trip was an amazing experience, as I’m sure you can tell. The people in the group really got to know one another and develop close friendships, we were able make a difference in Pampas Grandes, learn a lot about life in another country and even the drastic differences that exist between standards of living in different parts of a single country, and see how we can come back to Peru (or anywhere else in the world and of course, even the US!) and get involved in continuing in our passion to the betterment of life for all of humanity, not just those who are the wealthiest, as a vast number of the world’s population lives on less than one US dollar a day. Can you even imagine?! I can’t. I think the trip also encouraged and inspired us in seeing that much fulfillment can come from lives of service and dedication to others, not just always trying to further yourself, which in my opinion is much of what we learn growing up. Maybe that was the biggest lesson after all. We’ll see. 

And now!!! Here are a plethora of pictures below, all captioned by yours truly (who else would be writing this anyways??), from the trip. ¡Disfrutan de ellas! 

 Long line of students on the plane leaving Miama to go to Lima!

 Glimpse of Lima from the van while driving.

 UR students and our two fantastic drivers, Rolando (on the left) and Gustavo (on the right) taken in front of Dianna’s house before leaving to Huaraz.

 Slums of Lima on the mountain sides.

More slums on the very outskirts of Lima. I’ve been informed that these are actually called “invasions”, where people come from different regions to Lima, hoping to have a better life, and they literally “invade” the land that is privately owned and build houses, etc. Then, Peruvian law says that if you’re on a land for more than 10 years, regardless of whether you owed it or not at the beginning, it’s yours. Now, you’d think, “Why don’t the people who own the land just take these people to court and kick them off their land?” Well, the judicial system in Peru is [I guess] incredibly slow and inefficient, and many times it’s not possible to get this done in 10 before the law kicks in. Also, it usually takes the government around at least 10 or so years to bring public services to these people and those in similar positions, so they go without electricity, water, etc. for that long. It’s hard to even imagine how hard life can be there….

Sean, the Richmond pediatrician, talking to a young Peruvian boy (who’s 7 years old)selling food on the side of the road with his family members during one of our pit stops. 

A very popular Peruvian dish called “Arroz con Pollo” (Rice with Chicken) that we ate for lunch on our way up to Huaraz.

Group picture on the side of the road!

A view of the gorgeous mountains on our way up to Pampas Grandes from Huaraz. Pretty incredibly breath-taking scenery, no joke.

Mario, a UR student, talking with a native Peruvian woman who lives up in the mountains with her family. She approached our group when we stopped for a bathroom break/picture stop in the mountains. First, she asked us for money, and then when she found our there was a doctor with our group, she started telling us that she had been experiencing great pains in different areas of her body. This is when she’s telling Mario or her pains and where they are in Spanish-Quechua (the language of the Incas that many, mostly those people living in more rural areas of Peru, still speak today) and he’s translating to the rest of us what she’s saying. We could only do so much for her, and when Sean, the doctor, asked her if she’d be able to go down to Huaraz and get help, she said she could not afford it. Yet again, another case where lack of money does not enable people to get the health care they need and deserve.

A picture of two UR students with several of the kids of Pampas Grandes, having fun

Traditional, regional dances performed by many of the kids of Pampas Grandes the first night we arrived. So cute

A view of Pampas Grandes and where it’s located, looking downward. You can tell how high we’re up by noticing that we’re even higher than the clouds! This was taken during the tree-planting time.

Planting trees with several members of Pampas Grandes (including their mayor!), the kids, and UR students. Members of Pan Peru wanted that the kids of Pampas Grandes would each be a part of planting a tree, and that they would return to care for it and make sure it was growing properly. This was also an attempt to plant trees to help ward-off the effects of erosion and to help fight against deforestation.

Lauren, a UR student, congratulating one of the winners of the drawing contest with a beso (kiss) and a prize.

What I ate for lunch one day- cuy!!!! (guinea pig) Yummm!!! Haha, I know it’s kind of freaky considering it’s a pet and all in the US, but really, c’était pas mal (it wasn’t too bad at all).

Myself with 3 other UR students. 2 of the students had come to relieve myself and Lee of our long shift with the dentist.

Some of the people waiting to be seen by the dentist.

Me and Lauren (who happens to be one of my roommates!!!) playing with two of the girls of Pampas Grandes. We had a really fun time to say the least- obviously!!!!

Pan Peru presenting Dr. Mayes, and 3 UR students (2 native Peruvians and another alum from the trip last year) with a plaque listing the names of all the students who came last year, thanking them for their efforts to come and the services they provided.

3 cute and wonderful kids from Pampas Grandes who wanted me to keep taking pictures of them again and again in different positions and with different objects (by the flowers, or by this wall or that wall) This picture however, was initiated by me.

Some UR students playing with some Pampas kids, having fun.

A view of Pampas Grandes in the morning. Beautiful, no?

A picture of one of the two tables of UR participants at dinner in Huaraz after leaving Pampas Grandes. The food was probably the best we had on the whole trip (in my humble opinion, at least)

Me posing with two other UR students and our drivers, bidding them farewell at the airport!

So I know this was a long post and took a while to read (trust me, it took even longer to put it together!), but I hope you all learned a lot from it and maybe even became inspired yourselves to get involved in similar projects (not necessarily going to Peru, but in the vast amounts of other areas that exist). I promise, it doesn’t take that much and doesn’t have to be something huge like this. I think reaching out and helping those in need are a lot more simple than we often times make them.

And with that, goodbye!!!! Have a good week!!!!

Love,

Shannon