Health Workshops and Other Adventures

Seeing as it’s unlikely the strike will end before any of my group leaves Ayacucho (it’s been 7 weeks thus far, and still going strong), we decided to organize healthcare workshops for two local elementary schools. Our first task was to teach 13 classes from grades one to six about the importance of hand washing/how to do it correctly. We made posters, organized a skit (of which I was the narrator), and just went for it. We were a little shaky at first, but by classroom #4, we were pros; “¿Porque necesitamos lavar las manos? ¡Para que no se pongan enfermos!”

Our germ, Pattie, did a great job.

Explaining the steps of hand-washing

The other half of our workshop was dedicated to teaching a group of 25 elementary school teachers the Heimlich maneuver, CPR, and what to do if a child suffers a concussion. We were a bit nervous about this part of the plan, seeing as none of us are truly certified to teach any of these things, but in a city as poor as Ayachucho, we figured that something is better than nothing—especially when it comes to basic first aid. In the end, our first aid class turned out to be the most rewarding aspect of our workshops. The teachers were all very interested in learning these techniques, and had a ton of questions to ask afterwards. It was astounding the amount of false information they had—mostly old wife’s tales about how to treat certain injuries—so it was great that we were there to “myth bust” (if you will).

Our audience for the First-Aid class

Explaining CPR

Also, a few days before we did the workshops, I was able to go to the Prison Tópico (a small emergency clinic) with one of our other volunteers, Karen, who is an RN. The first day I went, I just observed, but the following day Karen taught me how to give both IM and IV shots! It was surprisingly similar to administering shot on animals, so I picked it up pretty quickly, and by the end of the morning had done about 10 IM and 4 IV shots. Finally, some hands-on learning!!

When the weekend arrived, most of our group went to the coast (Ica, Paracas, and Pisco), but those of us that stayed (myself included) decided to go for a hike. It started out with some treacherously steep stairs, but soon more or less leveled out into a dirt road. At the very top of the hill was a little “recreo” which around here means “a restaurant with an outdoorsy theme”, so we bought some peach juice (found everywhere in Ayacucho), and enjoyed the view for a while.

Hiking!

The little hut is where we drank our juice, and the view below is all of Ayacucho

A few other exciting things have happened this week, as well. First of all, we had a (minor) earthquake here, which Laura and I decided was both scary and fun. We also went to some new places this week, namely a medicinal plant/herb garden at the University of Ayacucho, as well as a “model community.” The garden belonged to one of the University’s nursing staff, who specializes in teaching traditional medicine. Although teaching traditional medicine to nursing students may seem a little odd, the truth is that in Ayacucho, it would be ignorant not to. So many of the people here (especially those from rural areas) still rely on/believe in traditional medicine that it is necessary for healthcare professionals to know and understand these beliefs because in many cases, doctors and nurses must modify treatments in order to gain consent from their “traditionally minded” patients. As for the “model community”, this is a rural community outside of Ayacucho that has worked hard to establish quality schools, a clean and accessible health clinic, trash-free roads, and promote general cleanliness and health within households, all of which was visibly noticeable. The only depressing fact about this town was that the small clinic we visited (see picture below) was the only clinic serving 11 communities, or what are around 3,000 people. What’s more, they don’t even have a doctor, simply because the Ministry of Health claims they cannot afford it.

The only Puesto de Salud (Health Clinic) for 11 towns

Peru has "universal healthcare", and thus it only costs one Nuevo Sol or so to get various treatments.

The center of town

On a different note, I’ve decided to try (keyword: try) to go to Machu Picchu. I have bought my plane ticket to Cuzco and back, but there is a large chance I will not be able to get a train ticket to Machu Picchu itself. The train tracks have been repaired enough to allow access to the ruins, but last time I checked, the train was completely booked until May; probably due to the fact that everyone knew something I didn’t, and booked their train ticket months ago for when Machu Picchu finally re-opened. Oh well. Cuzco is supposed to be gorgeous, and there are plenty of Incan ruins to see in the Sacred Valley. (Plus, not seeing Machu Picchu this trip is just another reason to come back to Peru in the future—or at least this is how I’m justifying it to myself.)