Otra Vez Peru!

 

 

People ask me “So, why are you going to Peru again!!” People have heard about the great work and people in Peru, the cold showers, the food, but maybe I have not talked enough about why this is so important to me to leave my family and my country behind and work for 2 weeks!

I can sum it up; moral courage, learning and Miss Rumphius!!

Moral Courage: The Foundation for Moral Courage sums it up nicely…. We believe that when one individual stands up for what is right, this singular act of courage can save lives, serve as a catalyst to counteract injustice, and leave its mark on history. Each of us therefore has within us the capacity to protect and enhance basic human values – to do the right thing in a moment of crisis, because it is the right thing to do. http://www.moralcourage.org/ht/d/sp/i/176/pid/176

I really believe we are so blessed in this country and access to health care, is a human right for all people across the globe!! Therefore, it takes an act of moral courage to make a change!

Life Long Learning: This is such a learning opportunity, professional and personally to go through this experience!! I love to learn and facilitate learning for students. What a wonderful learning experience that is experiential and meets a community need! Students have a great opportunity to think about health care in this country in the context of a global community.  I believe I have a responsibility as an invested member of the learning community to provide students this type of learning experience.

Miss Rumphius: Hmmm, you say. It’s a children’s book authored and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Miss Rumphius visited faraway places. She realized she had a calling to do good in this world and make the world a more beautiful place, be a good citizen and be connected in her community. You will love reading Miss Rumphius!

Vamos a regresar a Peru en una semana.

Saludos,

We are off to Peru in one week. The students and I are still busy writing exercise manuals, translating exercise manuals (I’m not translating!!!), buying equipment and setting up schedules in Peru. Thank you to many of you for the donations- financial, clothing and school supplies. I am purchasing therapy balls, yoga mats, communication devices for kids who are non-verbal. Father Ruly will be very happy to have the clothing for the kids. Father Ruly is the parish priest in Huarmey. He supports the Village Empowerment project.  Supplies are kept at the paraoquia, we borrow the parish truck and generally work very closely with Father Ruly in Huarmey.

I am finding I feel very different going to Peru this year versus last year. Last year I didn’t know what to expect so my role was to be flexible and figure it out as I went along. This year I know what to expect and students are coming with me. I feel more responsiblity – responsilibty for plannning and planning learning experiences for the students and responsiblity to the people in Peru that I will be working with. I also know how it feels to have cold showers for 2 weeks. I know what’s it’s like to use el baño del mundo (bathroom of the world). I know what it’s like to be careful and thoughtful about everything you eat. I know what it’s like to go without electricity. I know what it’s like to be without my use of language. There is a women, Lyvier Conss, that volunteers to translate for me! She is a godsend. Smart, funny, and fluent in both english and spanish.

We fly out June 1st. around noon. We arrive in Lima around midnight on June 1st. We spend that night in Lima. On June 2nd we take a 5 hour bus ride north to Huarmey, Ancash Province. It could take longer if the driver wants to stop for dinner! You can do a search at google maps to see where Haurmey in the Ancash Province. http://maps.google.com/. My brother asked me if Peru was a long and skinny country and was it next to Chili. I wasn’t sure, so I had to do my homework. Peru is next to Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia, and Brazil. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean. Here’s another web site if you want to navigate and found a little more information about Peru. Homework and references, sounds like a teacher!http://www.peru.info/perueng.asp

As we say, Muchas Suertes! Deirdra

 

 

“Measure twice, Cut once”

Many of you know me and know my husband, Stephen. Our brains are wired differently. I have learned from his engineering brain about taking extra time in preparations. Taking the extra time helps in positive outcomes, “Measure twice, cut once”. I even read directions now!!! So, let me tell you about the preparations for our trip. We have had several preparation meetings on campus with the faculty, students and volunteers who are going. Profesor Duffy has been doing this a long time. Each time folks go we all learn a little more.

Profesor Duffy buys our plane tickets and handles a lot of the logistics of getting there! Muchas gracias to Profesor Duffy! We have had many emails to the folks in Peru. My spanish is not good, so my emails need to be translated! Muchas gracias to Rafael!

Packing is tricky, we have little room to bring belongings. We need lots of things like hand sanitizer, sleeping bags etc. We bring a lot of equipment and supplies for the solar electricity. We are also bringing equipment for the kids in the special education school and the prenatal exercise program. It’s winter in Peru in June, Hace Frio. It’s cold. But not too cold. Maybe 50 during the day. Lots of layers of clothing help!

Equipment will be necessary to the success of our work, so we are raising funds, ordering equipment, and preparing training manuals. My students are doing part of the work as part of a course. So, they have to  finish up their projects for a grade, but translation takes time, so the beat goes on.

Medical care prior to the trip is important. We need shots prior to leaving to Peru – yellow fever, typhoid, malaria medications, TB and Hepatitis A, B, and C. The Centers for Disease Control is a great resource for finding information out about travel and medical needs. http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationPeru.aspxIn addition we have prescriptions for antibiotics and altitude sickness. We go up in the mountain 3,200 feet about sea level. We are in our last few weeks of getting ready. I have more measuring to do! Deirdra

Hola Peru!

I am off to Peru on June 1st, 2008 with the Village Empowerment Project from University Massachusetts Lowell. Students and faculty from UML, and other volunteers have been participating in the Village Empowerment project in the communities surrounding the city of Huarmey, Peru, since July 1997.  To read more about the Village Empowerment project, please visit the website http://energy.caeds.eng.uml.edu/peru-07/index.shtm.   This year, two physical therapy students and two Community Health students will accompany faculty members myself, Dr. Deirdra Murphy and Dr. Nicole Champagne.  The physical therapy students’ focus will be to put into action a prenatal exercise program , provide a gait training manual for Peruvians living in remote villages and provide rehabilitation services to children and adults in peru.  We hope to bring with us ample equipment to assist in implementing these programs.  The community health students will create a community assessment tool that can be used in developing countries to assess needs and evaluate strengths within the communities visited. They will also develop and implement a water safety curriculum. Integral to the experience is developing an interdisciplinary perspectives on increasing quality and access to health care for individuals in Peru .The team members will depart for Peru June 1^st,  2008 and the trip will last approximately two weeks.  Students are soliciting donations for the special education school and children in Peru.

The Wish list includes:

Clothing from infants to school age children

Velcro sneakers

Math workbooks

Coloring books (Spanish)

Crayons, markers

Money to purchase Equipment prenatal exercise class equipment – yoga mats and therapy balls.

Crutches and other assistive devices

Bubbles

Augmentative Communication Equipment

The students and I will be providing you updates on our trip! Please enjoy our travel with us… Thanks to all who have supported us and are wishing us well!