AUGUST 4, 2009.
The San Rafael Experience.
No Hiking in the Mud.
The trip to San Antonio was just not to be. Susan had told us that it would not be possible if we had any
significant rain, as the 4 kilometer walk to San Antonio after crossing the river near San Rafael would include too
much mud, too deep and slippery to navigate safely. Well, in spite of this being the “dry season”, it had now
rained every day we’ve been here, including those hard rains while we were in the Health Post in Munichis
yesterday.
We really wanted to go to San Antonio, since Susan had informed us that the residents in that area of the jungle
were some of the poorest of the Chayahuita tribe. It was not to be. Susan’s assistant, Jenor, had walked this
area a few times in the past, and was concerned for our safety. He called the village by radio very early this
morning to try to get the word to them that we could not come to their village. Communication in the jungle is
rather difficult, and we knew that those from further out in the jungle would be walking toward San Antonio –
sometimes from 2 or more hours away – and would be very disappointed.
Jenor began the slog down that trail very early, and he would spend most of today in the San Antonio area
conveying our love to the people there. He would try to figure out how to get the sickest ones to come back on
that walk and cross the river to see us.
The village at the edge of the river is San Rafael. We were able to get to San Rafael by passable clay/dirt road,
and we sat up our workspace in an old “school” building. This was a 20 X 40-foot dirt-floor single room with a
thatch roof and no doors on the openings….front or back.
The village of San Rafael is set up like many typical Indian villages: a large open green area in the center,
perhaps 100 yards long and 75 yards wide, is surrounded on its perimeter by about 25 small, thatch roof, dirt-
floor homes, the old “school” we were now occupying, and a small, block Catholic church down at the far corner.
A couple dozen chickens roamed into and out of the central open green and all of the building structures. Three
or 4 small pigs (they don’t get very big around here) rummaged around in the mud out behind our workplace,
and one scrawny cow was tied to a small tree along the edge of the green. The river ran along behind the far
side of the green, just behind the homes over there, and all of those homes were built up on stilts, as the river
rises quite a ways up during the “rainy season”.
The chickens scurried out of the way as we carried our supplies in to our new “clinic”, but they were constantly in
and around our feet all day as we worked. Our Peruvian translator, Warren, mentioned that we should watch out
for tarantulas as we were trying to string up some thin, plastic pieces on the bamboo cross-members to provide
privacy for our corner “exam room”. We were able to use the 5 thin benches in the school (that’s all the furniture
that was in there), and we had brought along 6 stackable, plastic chairs from Susan’s Hogar.
The team went to work. The dental clinic corner sprang into existence out of the 3 boxes, and the medical
corner room was set up and operational in no time. There was already a line of a dozen mothers and about 30
children waiting patiently to see us. With no electricity here, there would only be tooth extractions (no restoration
work since the air compressor could not be powered up) today.
Everyone in this area has parasites. Susan’s assistant, Flor, gathered all of them along one edge of the clinic
and began her hygiene talk. She has a large flip chart with pictures that she pointed to as she informed them of
the ways of avoiding some of the parasites. All who were not pregnant and were at least 2 years old were given
a dose of albendazole to treat most of the common intestinal parasites. This is a difficult problem out here, as
changing the habits of Centuries of Indian culture is quite difficult, but we were impressed by Flor’s compassion
and she walked the crowd through the flip-chart pictures. She then shared with them the love God (and our
team) have for them.
During the day, several patients we saw were actually from the San Antonio area; although we could not travel to
their village because of the mud, they were able to trudge the couple hours to see us.
Many of these people live their lives barefoot, and their feet are very tough. They survive in this heat and
humidity without carrying water bottles or wearing sunscreen or using mosquito spray or using nail polish on their
chigger bites or having running water or diapers or toilet paper. The dirt and clay keeps their skin dusted or
muddy all of the time.
Yet, the kids are giggly when the soap-bubble “gun” showered them, and their faces lit up when some of the
knitted bears (donated by the women in our church back home) were pulled from a bag.
Bob, Barbara, and Mary Beth sat about extracting painful teeth. Even the children were quite stoic, and never
showed the pain they were experiencing. Mackenzie and Arlen took patients behind the plastic curtain and used
one of the narrow benches for an exam table. Sometimes, it was a family of 6 all at once. Sarah and Kelly set
up and worked the pharmacy again this day, arranging all the bags and bottles, filling small baggies with
ibuprofen and vitamins, and applying the instructions on Spanish labels. (Many of the Chayahuita do not read,
so instructions for using the medicines were given by Anthony – another of our Peruvian translators – and
medication amounts had to be somewhat limited so that confusion wouldn’t lead to any harm just in case
someone took all of their drugs.) Susan’s med student nephew, Brian, did triage near the front entrance, and
Max played with kids and helped with details in the pharmacy. Brenda pulled out the coloring book sheets and
the Crayons, and soon there were 20 children working furiously on one of the benches.
Most of the medical patients complained of headache and back pain, and this is certainly not surprising since
they spent their days in the heat using machetes to gather food or to clear vegetation. A couple of the kids had
some significant infections. One 12-year-old boy had just developed sudden fever and chills and was burning
up; this was most likely malaria or Dengue Fever, and we were able to get him down to the Health Post in the
next town for a test and possible medications. The Peruvian government stocks the Health Posts with the ability
to take a drop of blood and look for malaria, and the medicines needed to treat this killer disease are among the
few medicines that the shelves of the Health Post have.
One older woman (around here, “older” is someone over 50, as the life expectancy is not anywhere near what
we enjoy in America) came to the medical corner complaining of joint pains all over for years. Obviously, she
had arthritis, and she had a rather gimpy walk and deformed fingers because of it. She had heard there were
“medicos” coming to San Rafael, and she limped her way from her village to see us. As Mackenzie was
explaining what medicines she would need, she appeared quite concerned. She asked where she would need to
go to get these medicines. As she learned that we had the medicines here in the clinic, she looked even more
distressed. With some coaching, she finally confided in Mackenzie that she didn’t have any money to buy the
medications. When she was told that there would be no cost to her, she began crying.
This was just about too much for some of us…
We knew we couldn’t cure her arthritis, but we certainly were able to show her some caring and love this day in
San Rafael. Hopefully, her next month or 2 will be less painful, and the hope and encouragement we gave will
carry her spirits for a while longer.
Sometimes this work really tugs at the emotions…
As we gathered back in Yurimaguas on this evening, Susan informed us that we would be taking a short trip
down the river tomorrow to another Chayahuita village (Puerto Arturo), perhaps less than 30 minutes by boat,
and we would work there for the day. The village is right along the river, so the rains (and yes we got more rain
this afternoon – dry season? Nah.) and mud won’t keep us from getting there.
By this time, some of us have some itchy chigger bites and a few mosquito bites, and Kelly was rather nauseated
at dinner, but we think we’re doing OK with our health so far. We’re pretty exhausted after days working in the
heat and humidity of the jungle, but we’re getting better at sleeping in the sticky air, and we rather enjoy the cold
showers now.
The San Rafael Experience.
No Hiking in the Mud.
The trip to San Antonio was just not to be. Susan had told us that it would not be possible if we had any
significant rain, as the 4 kilometer walk to San Antonio after crossing the river near San Rafael would include too
much mud, too deep and slippery to navigate safely. Well, in spite of this being the “dry season”, it had now
rained every day we’ve been here, including those hard rains while we were in the Health Post in Munichis
yesterday.
We really wanted to go to San Antonio, since Susan had informed us that the residents in that area of the jungle
were some of the poorest of the Chayahuita tribe. It was not to be. Susan’s assistant, Jenor, had walked this
area a few times in the past, and was concerned for our safety. He called the village by radio very early this
morning to try to get the word to them that we could not come to their village. Communication in the jungle is
rather difficult, and we knew that those from further out in the jungle would be walking toward San Antonio –
sometimes from 2 or more hours away – and would be very disappointed.
Jenor began the slog down that trail very early, and he would spend most of today in the San Antonio area
conveying our love to the people there. He would try to figure out how to get the sickest ones to come back on
that walk and cross the river to see us.
The village at the edge of the river is San Rafael. We were able to get to San Rafael by passable clay/dirt road,
and we sat up our workspace in an old “school” building. This was a 20 X 40-foot dirt-floor single room with a
thatch roof and no doors on the openings….front or back.
The village of San Rafael is set up like many typical Indian villages: a large open green area in the center,
perhaps 100 yards long and 75 yards wide, is surrounded on its perimeter by about 25 small, thatch roof, dirt-
floor homes, the old “school” we were now occupying, and a small, block Catholic church down at the far corner.
A couple dozen chickens roamed into and out of the central open green and all of the building structures. Three
or 4 small pigs (they don’t get very big around here) rummaged around in the mud out behind our workplace,
and one scrawny cow was tied to a small tree along the edge of the green. The river ran along behind the far
side of the green, just behind the homes over there, and all of those homes were built up on stilts, as the river
rises quite a ways up during the “rainy season”.
The chickens scurried out of the way as we carried our supplies in to our new “clinic”, but they were constantly in
and around our feet all day as we worked. Our Peruvian translator, Warren, mentioned that we should watch out
for tarantulas as we were trying to string up some thin, plastic pieces on the bamboo cross-members to provide
privacy for our corner “exam room”. We were able to use the 5 thin benches in the school (that’s all the furniture
that was in there), and we had brought along 6 stackable, plastic chairs from Susan’s Hogar.
The team went to work. The dental clinic corner sprang into existence out of the 3 boxes, and the medical
corner room was set up and operational in no time. There was already a line of a dozen mothers and about 30
children waiting patiently to see us. With no electricity here, there would only be tooth extractions (no restoration
work since the air compressor could not be powered up) today.
Everyone in this area has parasites. Susan’s assistant, Flor, gathered all of them along one edge of the clinic
and began her hygiene talk. She has a large flip chart with pictures that she pointed to as she informed them of
the ways of avoiding some of the parasites. All who were not pregnant and were at least 2 years old were given
a dose of albendazole to treat most of the common intestinal parasites. This is a difficult problem out here, as
changing the habits of Centuries of Indian culture is quite difficult, but we were impressed by Flor’s compassion
and she walked the crowd through the flip-chart pictures. She then shared with them the love God (and our
team) have for them.
During the day, several patients we saw were actually from the San Antonio area; although we could not travel to
their village because of the mud, they were able to trudge the couple hours to see us.
Many of these people live their lives barefoot, and their feet are very tough. They survive in this heat and
humidity without carrying water bottles or wearing sunscreen or using mosquito spray or using nail polish on their
chigger bites or having running water or diapers or toilet paper. The dirt and clay keeps their skin dusted or
muddy all of the time.
Yet, the kids are giggly when the soap-bubble “gun” showered them, and their faces lit up when some of the
knitted bears (donated by the women in our church back home) were pulled from a bag.
Bob, Barbara, and Mary Beth sat about extracting painful teeth. Even the children were quite stoic, and never
showed the pain they were experiencing. Mackenzie and Arlen took patients behind the plastic curtain and used
one of the narrow benches for an exam table. Sometimes, it was a family of 6 all at once. Sarah and Kelly set
up and worked the pharmacy again this day, arranging all the bags and bottles, filling small baggies with
ibuprofen and vitamins, and applying the instructions on Spanish labels. (Many of the Chayahuita do not read,
so instructions for using the medicines were given by Anthony – another of our Peruvian translators – and
medication amounts had to be somewhat limited so that confusion wouldn’t lead to any harm just in case
someone took all of their drugs.) Susan’s med student nephew, Brian, did triage near the front entrance, and
Max played with kids and helped with details in the pharmacy. Brenda pulled out the coloring book sheets and
the Crayons, and soon there were 20 children working furiously on one of the benches.
Most of the medical patients complained of headache and back pain, and this is certainly not surprising since
they spent their days in the heat using machetes to gather food or to clear vegetation. A couple of the kids had
some significant infections. One 12-year-old boy had just developed sudden fever and chills and was burning
up; this was most likely malaria or Dengue Fever, and we were able to get him down to the Health Post in the
next town for a test and possible medications. The Peruvian government stocks the Health Posts with the ability
to take a drop of blood and look for malaria, and the medicines needed to treat this killer disease are among the
few medicines that the shelves of the Health Post have.
One older woman (around here, “older” is someone over 50, as the life expectancy is not anywhere near what
we enjoy in America) came to the medical corner complaining of joint pains all over for years. Obviously, she
had arthritis, and she had a rather gimpy walk and deformed fingers because of it. She had heard there were
“medicos” coming to San Rafael, and she limped her way from her village to see us. As Mackenzie was
explaining what medicines she would need, she appeared quite concerned. She asked where she would need to
go to get these medicines. As she learned that we had the medicines here in the clinic, she looked even more
distressed. With some coaching, she finally confided in Mackenzie that she didn’t have any money to buy the
medications. When she was told that there would be no cost to her, she began crying.
This was just about too much for some of us…
We knew we couldn’t cure her arthritis, but we certainly were able to show her some caring and love this day in
San Rafael. Hopefully, her next month or 2 will be less painful, and the hope and encouragement we gave will
carry her spirits for a while longer.
Sometimes this work really tugs at the emotions…
As we gathered back in Yurimaguas on this evening, Susan informed us that we would be taking a short trip
down the river tomorrow to another Chayahuita village (Puerto Arturo), perhaps less than 30 minutes by boat,
and we would work there for the day. The village is right along the river, so the rains (and yes we got more rain
this afternoon – dry season? Nah.) and mud won’t keep us from getting there.
By this time, some of us have some itchy chigger bites and a few mosquito bites, and Kelly was rather nauseated
at dinner, but we think we’re doing OK with our health so far. We’re pretty exhausted after days working in the
heat and humidity of the jungle, but we’re getting better at sleeping in the sticky air, and we rather enjoy the cold
showers now.
| Part of the work each day included Flor presenting information about parasites and safe eating and drinking practices when she met with groups of patients and families. She talked to them about the love of God... |
| Bob and Arlen relax with our friend (translator Warren) down by the river that runs past San Rafael. |
| Washing dishes in the muddy river behind one of the thatch roof homes of San Rafael. |
VIDEO FROM TODAY...
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