Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Written by John W Wang, M.D.


Peru and its Challenges

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I came to Peru for the second time with a team of 16 (students, professors and other volunteers), from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, primarily to spearhead a medical initiative in Ancash Province, some 300 miles north of Lima.

Up to 2 years ago, Peru was just a country in South America in my conscious thought. I knew nothing more about it, save for the fact that llamas flourished there.

In June 2006, I was invited by a Prof John Duffy of the University of Massachusetts to come to Ancash Province to help assess the medical situation in some 40 medical clinics serving some 100,000 people in the remote hinterlands of the high sierras of the Andean Mountain range.

Ancash Province

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If Lima is a bustling city with 10 million inhabitants, many with cell phones, riding in cars, taxis and buses, enjoying the amenities of a modern city, these villagers in Ancash subsist on 2 soles per day, mainly on agricultural products eked out off the rough and unforgiving terrain.

These people have no running water, no electricity, no heat, and no indoor bathrooms or lavatories. They live in abject squalor and poverty, among mounds of refuse, sewage and animal dung. Their children are stunted, anemic and are malnourished, despite food aid and humanitarian efforts from the World Bank, UNICEF, WHO, many NGOs (non-governmental organizations), and religious organizations. They sleep huddled in adobe huts with just one room, with a smoky indoor wood fire to try to warm themselves. (This winter, because of an unusually cold snap, schools are starting later in an attempt to protect young children from exposure to the cold).

Medical Clinics

The medical clinics are largely bare structures with little medical equipment, staffed by nurses and health technicians. Doctors do visit but a few times each year, and then only for a few hours.
None of the clinics I visited had any microscopes or any facility for making any examination of blood, sputum or stools. The nurses see their patients, listen to their complaints, do a cursory examination, and prescribe medications, based on their best judgment.

Many of the children go on to die, and indeed, according to statistics, a good percentage of all deaths in Peru are of children under the age of 10 years. During my last trip to Ancash Province, a mother tearfully recounted having 6 children, 3 of whom are dead, and the other 3 struggling with illnesses that no one seems to be able to diagnose or cure.

The need for Microscopes

In my report to the professor, I suggested that among the many priorities, one of the most urgent, and perhaps the most effective, is to make accurate diagnoses so that effective treatment can be instituted. Millions of dollars have been spent on food and medicines for these people, but the means to make accurate diagnoses are still sadly lacking.

Microscopes are indispensable. Without them, we have no eyes to see small microorganisms and parasites.

The problem of worm Infestations

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It is easy to see that worm infestation is a big problem among the people, certainly among the children. Worm infestations are not just a nuisance, they weaken the natural resistance to disease. It is easier for children to succumb to pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, Bartenellosis, stahphylococcus, streptococcus and salmonella and a whole host of other infections that healthy people can resist.

And so children and older people die, like so many trees falling in the jungle, unheard, and unseen.


A Pilot Project

An effort has been made to collect microscopes from many sources in the United States to give to the Peruvian people. A pilot project is being launched in Ancash Province. (Ancash Province is one of the poorest regions in all of Peru). This project is slated to run over 3 years, and success will be measured in terms of improving mortality statistics, of infant mortality rates, neonatal mortality rates, weight records and scholastic achievement in school among primary and grade school children.

Positive response from senior officials

In my initial visits with senior officials in the Ministerio de Salud, the US Embassy and the US Peace Corps in Lima, I have been greatly encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response to this initiative. People at the grassroots level are also excited when they think of the possibilities, and are eager to participate in any way they can. I have had occasion to speak at the Rotary Club International in Lima recently, and the response there was electric. Good people everywhere are rallying to the challenge.

Can we deliver?

Many people have come and gone. Good intentions are not good enough. There has to be sustained effort. Days of blood, sweat and tears await us. We need to earn the trust of the people. We must be willing to live among the people, not just for a mere few weeks, but for months, and years. We must build a team of likeminded people, willing to serve without tangible personal reward. We must expect to take casualties, even deaths, among team members. If the Peruvian people see that our interest and our commitment is more than skin deep, they will rally to us and join us in this difficult struggle.

We must deliver.

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Many people have invested heavily in this project. Each of the microscopes we have collected costs around $1000.00 US (3150 new soles), and we have 44 of them, to date. We hope to collect more, so that every clinic and every high school has at least one. People have donated funds sacrificially, and we have to be accountable. They expect and deserve to see results. The microscopes have to be used with care, and we need to see that they are not damaged, stolen or destroyed. Health personnel have to be carefully trained to make full use of these diagnostic tools. The aim here is to enable the nurses to make accurate diagnoses, and base their treatment accordingly.

Looking ahead

If this pilot project in Ancash Province produces tangible and significant results in 3 years, it is hoped that the same approach can be duplicated in the other provinces and departments throughout Peru. If so, this project may extend over 20 or more years, and many millions of dollars will need to be raised, and new generations of volunteers called upon to serve, in various capacities.

If we need to call on expatriates, we also need Peruvians to respond to the challenge.

We need financiers, we need donors, we need enablers, we need strategic thinkers, we need organizers, administrators, managers, accountants, social workers, educators, and lastly, health personnel.

Above all, we need people with heart. If you are one of these, we say WELCOME!

_________________________________________________________________________

Dr John Wang is doing research in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. He can be reached as follows:

Home Address:

John W Wang, M.D.
One Eastbrook Drive
Nashua, NH 03060

Phone: (978) 934 3984

E-mail: johnwang_804@yahoo.com

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I am a Peruvian living in Canada. I am very sensitive about the articule. I would like to get involve or do something in order to help in this proyect.
Please let me know the best way to do it.
Also I would aprreciated if you can keep me inform with the continuation of this.

Kind Regards,

Carla Flores

I am a Peruvian living in Virginia USA. How can I help to get involve to make realize this proyect. If there is anything that I can do from this State. I am very close to th Washington DC area.
Please let me know,
Sincerely,
Carola Schaus

John,
Consider setting up a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization here in the US.  This way donations to the enterprise can be handled in monthly paycheck deductions.  This makes it more convenient for the donors and more sustainable financing for the organization.
Regards.

Hi,
I am peruvian studying in Florida.
I am journalist. I can do all I can to help from my field of study. I can write press release, tell real stories, do database investigations. Anything from Florida because I can't leave now. I am in the middle of my studies. So, send me an email.

obene002@fiu.edu

Hello Mr. Wang!
 
     My name is Holly Johnson, and I have long wished to visit Central and/or South America, esp. Peru; however, finances and scheduling have always interfered.   I would love to become involved in your projects in any way I can.  I speak a lot of Spanish, but am not fluent, and I plan to enter ULowell's RESD program in the spring.  Please send me any information you can.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Holly

Dr. Wang,

I am an expat living in Lima & have been looking for a way to get "plugged in" to the desperate needs that are apparent here.  For now I am able & open to volunteer my professional services regarding U.S. accounting & general admin functions.  I also have a connection to some of the students that are here, so any advertising that you can send me to pass along, may travel around the world & back via word of mouth and so on. 

Anxious to hear back from you, email me at sabad@email.uophx.edu.

Dr. Wang,
Thank you for your nice article about Ancash, for providing some insight about the lack of knowledge of many americans about Peru, including scholars like yourself.
If any other person  reads your article when you are comparing Lima with Ancash will assume that the average inhabitant substists with two soles per day.
Please do not put in the same context those two distinct demographics.Poverty and misery is not a unique feature of Ancash' indigenous people. Indigineous people throughout Latin America suffer the same economic conditions.

Hi Mr Uribe:

Thank you for your comment. My remark about subsisting on 2 soles per day was meant to refer to many of the poor villagers living in the high sierras in places like Malvas and Cochapeti, and even there the reference is to the sub-group that comes to the clinics, seeking medical attention.

Indeed, poverty is widespread everywhere, but the focus of the article is on the infants and children, who are not only poor, but sickly, with their illnesses often not effectively treated, for lack of a proper diagnosis.

Mr. Uribe, I invite you to join us in the battle against widespread disease and illness among children in Ancash Department. Together, we can get something done. 

Hi Dr. Wang

I am peruvian american and I would like to know where can I drop or join any place in South Florida to donate stetoscopes, and anything related in the medical field for people in Ancash or any project that will improve care for especially for children. I always knew and I am fully aware what's going on in Peru, unfortunately I even had to leave Peru in 1985 because the political situation with Alan Garcia wasn't in great condition, people suffer, frozen banks to be able to remove money.Toque de Queda, not able to go out from 7pm, no water in several areas, it was a nightmare, I visited different areas as Parinacochas, Pauza Ayacucho, sierra central and I found that there wasn't even a posta medica, where children and elderly will have access if they need to be taken care. It is amazing when will be the day that people will use family planning to prevent unwanted pregancies regardless of religion, and second when will be the day that the govermment starts to get involved with their population, to access more work for them and even sign agreement with investors to place their technology in Peru so peruvians will have a work force and they don't even need to leave Peru to migrate other countries, it is so corrupted. People is paying the consequences and this is for years!!! Please keep in touch and let me know where should I join to donate or to be able to be part of this great help towards the forgotten human being, there is no respect for the human dignity. Thanks to my parents who gave me the opportunity to look abroad and work hard to send us to private schools in Peru, but my brothers and sisters always read and did research that there was no future for us in our own country.
God Bless You and hoping one day we as peruvians will understand the philosophy to help each other and to respect the human dignity!!!

Hello Mercedes:

I can fully understand your frustration with what happened in the past.  Today, however, is a new day, and we must make the very best of it.

You, and the many other public-spirited people like you, can join us as we launch a pilot project in Ancash Department. We will use basic tools like microscopes, to help make accurate diagnoses, so that we know what we are treating. (Without microscopes, we cannot identify most organisms, and that is why medical personnel are unable to make accurate diagnoses),and treatment becomes a hit-or-miss proposition.

I plan to return to Peru just as soon as logistics are settled, and our pilot project is set to begin.  Many people are enthusiastically helping in any way they can. You are welcome to join us. If you give me your email, I will make sure you are kept informed. 

John Wang

Thank You for the information. Just let me know where in Florida state do you meet or do you know somebody?? around here??

Thanks for the information.