Gallery and Report: Huacanyo Peru, September 2019
Mission Accomplished!!!
The team completed their first medical mission to Peru successfully. Our team departed San Diego Wednesday September 4, 2019 for Lima very excited. Team members include Steven Bayer. PA-C a native of Colorado and residents of San Diego CA. He was most resistant to effects of the extreme altitudinal changes we experienced. Iyabo Daramola, MD specialist in general internal medicine and resident of San Diego CA, Cynthia Maria and Ceferino Fajardo non- medical personnel volunteers and residents of San Diego, Edith Uhegwu RN resident of Houston TX and Jeanine Dreyer non- medical volunteer, resident of San Diego.
We landed in Lima, Peru at 8 AM on Thursday, September 5, 2019 after a long 8 1/2 hour flight. We immediately embarked on an 8 1/2 hour road trip from Lima to the city of Huancayo. The trip was long but picturesque. We drove through high mountains on winding roads reaching a peak altitude of 15614 ft as we drove though the city of Tiquia. We arrived in Huancayo at about 5 pm exhausted as our bodies adjusted to the effects of the altitudinal changes.
We started the day early on Thursday Srptember 6. We began set up at 07:00 at our first location Collegio Cocharcas in Huancayo
We served over 500 men, women and children on Friday, September 6. A team of over 30 volunteer students from the Universidad Privada de Huancayo de Franklin Roosevelt Joined in the effort to make this event a success
The first part of the day was spent at the high school where we saw boys, girls, men and women ranging from 8 years to 85 years old. Common ailments / conditions encountered were headaches, osteoarthritis, low back pain, upper tract infections, Urinary tract infection, parasite infestation, Hypertension, visual problems , Gastro esophageal reflux disease, dermatomycosis, onychomycosis, nausea viral illness .
We packed up at about 2 PM had a brief lunch and headed to our next stop a residential facility for the elderly that housed 50 residents. We addressed their needs and made a donation of medications for their future needs. While we were at the facility for the elderly, we were approached by a nearby orphanage that housed 49 children and also provided them with medications and supplements to address their medical needs. We ended the day at about 6:00 pm and headed off to a local restaurant to enjoy the highly acclaimed local cuisine.
The success of this mission was due to the dedication, hard work of our San Diego Team and Huancayo Sponsors consisting of Mr Ruben Dario Galvan a native of Huancayo, Peru and Resident of San Diego who along with Dr. Amparo Junchaya, Professor at Universidad Privada Huancayo de Franklin Roosevelt handled all the ground logistics for both events.
In spite of the odds and biggest obstacle which was the elevation above sea level and very little time to acclimate, we feel great that we were able to accomplish this mission. The recipients were overwhelmed with gratitude.
We are indebted to many individuals and organizations that contributed to the success of this mission. Pharmacist Munis of Paradise Hills Pharmacy obtained medications for us at heavily discounted prices. Dr James Kim generously donated $1000.00 in cash. Mr Pail Hernandez also supported the mission wholeheartedly with a donation of $500.00. Patient Antonia Santos provided support in form of a $200.00 cash donation towards this mission. Our driver Maximo transported us from the hotel to the locations where services were provided and to the airport which was 60 minutes away. Justo Morales Valencia cousin of Ruben Dario’s a native of Huancayo was an invaluable help with logistics and transportation am getting last minute items needed. Apart from being our personal tour guide he also helped us source out great restaurants to eat while we were in Huancayo.
