My Peru trip this summer was split into two sections: learning and service. The first week, which was spent watching and scrubbing surgeries, was the "learning"part of the trip. The second week, which was spent opening free medical clinics and doing health education projects, was the "service" portion.
For my service week, we stayed in Trujillo (a city in Northwest Peru). Each day we took busses to smaller villages around the area. The villages we visited were: Chicama, Chiclin, Pampas, and Sausal. These villages were all very rural, very poor, and had lots and lots of people that were in need of the free medical services we came to provide.
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| Tiny bus that all 17 of us were squashed in to! |
Our group of volunteers included 11 CHM medical students and 6 Peruvian doctors/health workers/volunteers. Each day, we would go to a different village and set up a free clinic, providing services in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Optometry, Audiology and Dentistry.
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| "Practicing lidocaine shots" |
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| Eye exams |
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| Ear Exams |
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| Measuring and weighing adorable little babies |
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| ...and bigger kids! |
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| My "office"... filling out growth charts |
Another part of the week was going into elementary schools providing health education seminars. These health education sessions were centered around proper ways for kids to brush their teeth and maintain basic hygiene. Although a simple concept, many of these children had never seen a toothbrush or been taught how to brush. We also gave them fluoride treatments. Along with the dental hygiene, we also had lots of time to let loose and play around with them! These moments were definitely highlights of the trip!
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Ashley and I w/ Daniella, one of the fabulous
Peruvian dentists on our trip! |
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| Daniella teaching kids about teeth |
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| Floride treatments! |
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