Wow!
Almost 9 months already since our return from Peru. What an amazing journey it was. For most of us, the trip ended on August 25th, after 8 amazing weeks in Peru. The last few days of travelling allowed us to spend some time in the gorgeous cities of Puno and Arequipa while doing all sorts of outdoor and cultural activities. Really, by the end of our trip, we were feeling quite at home in Peru and were a bit sad to get back to Montreal...
In the few months following our trip, we had ample time to rethink about our experience in Peru. We will definitely keep great memories of the people we met, the situations we experienced and the lives of those we crossed. Hopefully, the trip will have allowed us to become more sensitive and more open-minded medical students. Hopefully, we will have brought a little something, a meaningful contribution to the patients of the Hogar San Pedro.
Whereas for most of us, MSAHI 2009 is now referred to in the past tense, Jessica and I are still very much "living" the McGill South America Health Initiative. Since our return, we have been working hard on developing the second stage of the initiative: MSAHI 2010. In fact, in the months of June, July and August, 2 groups of passionate medical students from McGill and Université de Montréal will be continuing the project and leading it towards a greater and more sustainable dimension.
New elements will be added to the project this year, including a physiotherapy program and a new partnership with a local pediatric orphanage. It is extremely heart-warming to see how positive the employees of the Hogar San Pedro as well as our partners here in Canada are at the idea of the project continuing on a long-term basis. Also, Jessica and I will be completing a 3-week clinical elective course with one of the doctors we met during our outreach campaign last summer. We are very much looking forward to learning the basics of Peruvian public health and epidemiology with 3 doctors who are currently employed at the Peruvian ministry of health. Our return to the region of Ricardo Palma, will allow us not only to complete a formal part of our medical education, it will also allow us to better monitor and coordinate the MSAHI project as well as meet up with all the good friends we made in Peru last summer.
In conclusion, this last blog entry for MSAHI 2009 might mark the closure of an adventure for most members of the group. However, for the initiative itself and for some of us, it is much closer to a new beginning than to an end. Hopefully, MSAHI will continue to grow and thrive in the years to come so that many other blog pages similar to this one can be written in the future.
Adios!
Nicholas Chadi,
Founder and coordinator of the McGill South America Health Initiative
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Friday, August 21, 2009
Jungle, Titicaca, Arequipa and more!
A quick little entry to say that we are all still having a blast in Peru. We are all coming back from a short trip to Lake Titicaca, close to Bolivia, where the weather was definitely a little chilly, but the scenery was absolutely amazing! We had a chance to stay in families with natives inhabitants of the isla Amantani : what a cultural experience. We also had a chance to sail on Lake Titicaca, walk on floating islands and see a bit of the city of Puno. For the rest, the girls have had a chance to go for a nice trekk in the Cañon de Colca where they saw the flight of gigantic condors. Some of them got a little ill on the way back, but everything seems to be better now that we are all comfortably installed in our hostal in Arequipa (a gorgeous city with amazing shopping and restaurant!). Nick just came back from an amazing 4 day trip in the natural park of Manu in the Amazon jungle: what an experience! Tons of animals and a great stay in jungle lodges, rafting, ziplinine, hiking and more.
We are now approaching the end of our trip, with only 4 days left before we get back to Canada. We are all a little sad because we are getting so attached to Peru... Last plans: a few days more in Arequipa, where the weather is so nice. Trekking for some, rafting for others and eventually a plane or bus back to Lima to catch our flight to Montreal on the night of Monday to Tuesday. If all goes well, we shouls be back in Montreal late on Tuesday the 25th...
More pictures to come... (Internet access isn´t as easy these days...)
We are now approaching the end of our trip, with only 4 days left before we get back to Canada. We are all a little sad because we are getting so attached to Peru... Last plans: a few days more in Arequipa, where the weather is so nice. Trekking for some, rafting for others and eventually a plane or bus back to Lima to catch our flight to Montreal on the night of Monday to Tuesday. If all goes well, we shouls be back in Montreal late on Tuesday the 25th...
More pictures to come... (Internet access isn´t as easy these days...)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Machu Picchu
From snowy mountains to the Peruvian jungle, passing by the dry tundry, we can say that the past 5 days gave us a great taste of the Peruvian wilderness. We will definitely have tons of pictures to share when we come back... But for now, we are heading in a few different directions, with Claire going back to Canada, Nick heading to the Peruvian jungle and the other 5 girls going to Puno. The next few days will probably be a bit more relaxing after this intense camping experience!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Cuzco!
Our flight to Cuzco was great: the scenery was breathtaking: mountains piercing the clouds at sunrise... We got to Cuzco in good time and met up with 4 other friends: Corey, Chloe, Lauren and David, who will be joining us for the trekk.
More news to come and hopefully more pictures!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Farewell Hogar San Pedro...
Already 5 weeks have passed since we first set foot in the Hogar San Pedro. So many things have happened, so many good memories. The 2 last days at the Hogar were no different, or even, they can definitely qualify as the grand finale.
Yesterday morning, one of the patients at the Hogar San Pedro, Fortunato, got married. It was absolutely amazing! Him and his wife looked gorgeous and most of the patients at the Hogar attended the wedding. The sun was shining, the patients were all dressed up, the employees too: what a great experience. We were also so happy for Fortunato, a charming young man! The wedding was followed by a great lunch at the Hogar with the married coupled, their 2 children and their family. As volunteers, we decided to help out with the service in the kitchen and we ended up working really hard, to make sure that everything was nice... The organization of everything was a little chaotic, but in the end, we got to taste a bit of Pachamanca, and Papas a la Huancaina, the food that was served to all.
After everyone was finished with the chocolate cake, there was music, and most of the patients were dancing. Later on, since yesterday was the 30th anniversary date at the Hogar San Pedro, there were activities for the staff and patients: many small games where we all laughed and ran around! We are very sad to be missing the official 30th anniversary celebration with over 350 guests, which will be taking place on Saturday... We were sure it would be on the 5th, but then when we found out, it was too late to change our flights to Cuzco...
Today was also a great day at the Hogar San Pedro. In the morning, after a packing sprint, we all went to the nearby municipal healthcare center, where we
were shown around and got a chance to shadow a pediatrician and a gynecologist for a little while. We were also explained the Peruvian healthcare system in great depth by a very sympathetic doctor whom we had met at the medical campaign on Tuesday. It was awesome to see a bit more of the rural Peruvian reality.
Finally, this afternoon was a very emotional one... After giving away gifts and clothing to some of the patients and staff, we starting taking our last pictures and saying our last goodbyes. It is so sad to be leaving this wonderful and peaceful place. We got so attached to the patients and employees: it will definitely be hard not to come back...
So I guess this marks the end of the official MSAHI 2009 experience... we are now heading off for a bit of travelling: Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Cañon country and Lima. We are also hoping to spend a day with a doctor who has become our friend to finish our trip on a medical note... More pictures yet to come!
After everyone was finished with the chocolate cake, there was music, and most of the patients were dancing. Later on, since yesterday was the 30th anniversary date at the Hogar San Pedro, there were activities for the staff and patients: many small games where we all laughed and ran around! We are very sad to be missing the official 30th anniversary celebration with over 350 guests, which will be taking place on Saturday... We were sure it would be on the 5th, but then when we found out, it was too late to change our flights to Cuzco...
were shown around and got a chance to shadow a pediatrician and a gynecologist for a little while. We were also explained the Peruvian healthcare system in great depth by a very sympathetic doctor whom we had met at the medical campaign on Tuesday. It was awesome to see a bit more of the rural Peruvian reality.
So I guess this marks the end of the official MSAHI 2009 experience... we are now heading off for a bit of travelling: Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Puno, Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Cañon country and Lima. We are also hoping to spend a day with a doctor who has become our friend to finish our trip on a medical note... More pictures yet to come!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Only 2 more days at the Hogar San Pedro...
Incredible... Only 2 days left at the Hogar San Pedro... And so much to do still.
The last few days were very busy as they were filled with many different activities. It has also been great to have one more person living with us in our little volunteer´s house: Louise L´Hérault, from the Montreal-based Fondation Père Ménard. She had helped us organize our trip (she was our contact with the Ste-Justine hospital) and is now visiting the Hogar for its 30th anniversary celebrations, which will be starting tomorrow.
On Sunday, at the patients´request, we prepared a 2nd bingo afternoon and made our famous pancakes with maple sirup after supper. An other success! Sunday was also our last sprint at the farmacy to finish sorting the medications for the Medical campaign which took place today (Tuesday).
Speaking if the medical campaign: what an
AWESOME day! The medical campaign took place in a small school in a nearby village and was open for free for anyone who was seeking medical attention. There were also donations of clothing and medication, all from the Hogar San Pedro. During the day, we shadowed doctors (3 GP, 1 pediatricia, 1 dentist, 1 ophtalmologist, 1 obstetrician and 1 gynecologist), gave little health awareness workshops, helped with the triage and carried lots of boxes around to help make everything happen.
It was great to see so many healthcare workers at work in Peru. Hundreds of children and adults were seen today, and we had the occasion to learn a great deal about typical Peruvian medical condition. We were so sad that the 3 guys missed this wonderful experience. Laura was also unable to make it, as she is still recovering from a pharyngitis (but already feeling a lot better).
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Viva Peru!
Back at the Hogar, it felt just like coming home after a long relaxing weekend out of town. We certainly missed the Hogar, the staff and the patients. Only a week of work left before we head of to Machu Picchu... time really flies.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The first goodbyes...
Incredible! For 3 of the guys, Glynn, Amine and Constantin, it´s already time to say goodbye to the Hogar San Pedro. Today, we will be heading out to Lima for a 5-day trip which will mark the end of their stay in Peru. As a matter of fact, this week is the Peruvian national holiday. We hope to get a good taste of Peru "fiestas" as we will also be heading south to the small towns of Paracas and Huacachina for some sand boarding and much more!
This week, we also got some great medical experience. On Wednesday, it was the monthly Tuberculosis control for all of the patients at the Hogar. We had a chance to observe the respirologists who came in to discuss the patients´treatments and status. Also, we were tought how to change patients´ bandages. What an experience! Some patients at the Hogar have numerous one-or-even-two-inch-deep wounds with massive gangrene... We made good use of our scrubs...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Another amazing weekend in Peru
After our Bingo game, we all headed to the Hogar´s kitchen to prepare a special dessert for all the staff and patients: Pancakes with Maple Sirup: total success! Thanks to Ana´s recipe and our cans of maple sirup, we managed to bring a smile on everyone´s lips.
Today, it was back to work, the last full week of work for Amine, Constantin and Glynn. We are actively planning our 5 day escapade for the National Holiday starting next Saturday. More details and pictures coming up!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
2 weeks of work at the Hogar San Pedro
Today, we will be organizing a special bingo-fiesta-pancake night for the patients at the Hogar. They are all pretty excited and we can´t wait to learn a few Peruvian dance steps on the Hogar´s "dance floor". Next week will already be the last week of work at the Hogar for some of us, as we will be heading off to Lima once again on Saturday the 25th to celebrate the Peruvian national holiday, and will only be back at the Hogar on the 29th. We can´t wait to get a taste of Peruvian fiestas and will try to do a bit of sand boarding and paragliding as well...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)