A Complete Week

Photo: The HBI Team Peru 2011

"I think it was a really complete week of outreach," so were the words of HBI's Director of Operations as we drove north on the Pan American Highway to Lima following our last day of outreach in Ica. He is right. This has been a complete week. All and all, we have provided medical, dental, psychological, and optometric services to over 1,300 patients.

Our team members have taught at the local university (Alas Peruanas University)- where Dr. Al Turner provided physical therapy students instructions in manual medicine and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). In addition, Dr. Bob Gehringer (HBI's Medical Director) taught neonatal resuscitation program (NRP) classes to over 70 nurses and physicians in Ica area Ministry of Health clinics. Working in partnership with two Peruvian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) we provided HIV testing to over 300 patients - testing 4 people positive for HIV and helping to link them into care. Finally, working in partnership with the Peruvian NGO OPRECE, over 800 people were screened for cataracts and another 65 patients were found to be suitable candidates for surgical removal of their cataracts during a free Clinton Foundation sponsored campaign during the week of July 25.

It truly was a complete first week of the 2011 Team Peru outreach campaign. I am really proud of all the work our team has done and the amazing organization and logistics coordination HBI's Director of Operations has undertaken to put this great outreach project together.

Preferential Services for the Poor

Photo: Dr. Bob taking pediatric patients in his exam "room."

It happens in almost ever clinic outreach. The extremely poor are almost always pushed to the back of the lines. I don’t think it is an overt distinction on anyone’s part – I just think people living in extreme poverty are not very good at self-advocacy.

This week was no exception. We started with the expressed goal of reaching the poorest communities in and around the city of Ica. Sometime on Wednesday afternoon, we realized that the poorest of the poor were not getting seen. So, yesterday afternoon, we dramatically reconfigured our outreach plan to target our services to the poorest community – the community that brought us to Ica in the first place – the small pueblo jovenes of Girasoles.

Having spent the first part of the week working in partnership with the mayor’s offices of La Molina and Tinguina, we “broke off” on our own and took all of our supplies and the entire team out to Girasols. This was not an easy feet. In the communities of La Molina and Tinguina, the Mayor’s had helped to secure municipal locations or schools for us to use for our outreach sites. In the community of Girasoles, there is no concrete pitch or even flat area for us to set up tents – there is only sand and rock.

Make do, however, we did. We set-up clinic locations in some very unique areas - taking advantage of the shade offered by the bus that transported us out to the community, renting a small tarp covered clearing (we gave the owner of the area 10 liters of water in payment) for pediatric care, filling the seat of an old school bus for our pharmacy and borrowing the shade of a thatched home for triage and registration. In a little over 3-hours, after some very last minute planning, we pulled together a clinic in one of the poorest areas in Peru and served over 200 people.

This week has been an exceptional success. We have provided medical, dental, ophthalmological and psychological services to over 1,200 people. We have worked in 5 different communities and partnered with well over 50 Peruvian volunteers. This has been an amazing week of service. Perhaps we are most proud for our continual emphasis on seeking ways to serve the most underserved.

As the sun went down and our team finished the last of the pharmacy prescriptions, we collected around the school bus to help pack our supplies and head back to the Union Biblica camp. Slowly, but steadily, the Girasoles community came up to our team to thank us for our services. Slowly, but steadily, we all began to realize how important our day had been. At the end of our day - we all realized how important it is to ensure that there is a need to ensure preferential services delivery for the poor.

Day 2 at the Team Peru Clinic

We are in Ica and to say the campaign is going great is an understatement! During day one of our clinic outreach we served well over 300 patients and in day two we served another 300+ patients!

I am amazed at how excited people are for our new adventure in Ica . . . and I am not talking about the North American volunteers. The Union Biblica house "father" at the Casa Girasoles has mounted a veritable army of volunteers (physicians, nurses, dentists, general helpers) to help with the campaign.

This "army," along with our 40 Peruvian and North American Team Peru volunteers, brings our total number of staff at a clinic site each day to over 65 people. We truly have a "village" working in some of the poorest areas of Ica to bring medical, dental and social services. Talk about an exciting year. This year, we have more Peruvian's involved in the campaign than "gringo" volunteers. Peruvians helping Peruvians - this is awesome!

Tomorrow night I hope to have an Internet connection fast enough to post some photos from our campaign. Suffice it to say, there have been an endless stream of smiling faces on the part of our volunteers and the people we are serving.

Day One in Lima

Well, we arrived in Lima very late last night (no . . . make that very early this morning) and we have already hit the ground running. After a day filled with meetings, gathering supplies and a late night dinner with a congresswoman - our team is ready for bed. Oh, but not so fast.

Tonight is the first night of the next three that involve an ongoing parade of volunteers arriving in Lima. Ben has already headed to the airport to pick-up three volunteers. I am up next at 4:30 a.m. to retrieve another volunteer. All in all, we have over 20 volunteers arriving on various flights over next next two days.

All of the airport runs culminate very late on Saturday night when we pick up the last volunteer a little after 1 a.m. and head down the Pan-American highway for a 5-hour drive to the city of Ica.

Need-less-to-say, it is going to be really important to get as much sleep as possible between now and when the campaign officially starts on Sunday. This is going to be a great week and I am certain I will have a number of wonderful stories to post on the Blog. Stay tuned.

Count Down to 2011

Things are coming down to the wire as we finalize our packing, make certain all of the trip participants have the information they need to spend over two weeks in Peru, and get set for our flights. This years trip promises to be different on a number of levels.

A couple of big differences include: (1) We have a new location for our first week of outreach with Union Biblica; (2) We are going to a new outreach settlement with Father Alex in Arequipa; (3) And, we are taking a really big group with us.

"All and all this going to be a very interesting month . . . that is for sure," as aptly stated by my wife (Lee) as she prepares to sit-out the first Team Peru trip in over 17-years.

One thing is certain to remain the same - the passion that our volunteers bring to serving in Peru. We will be updating the Blog frequently on the trip and hope to share some of our adventures and our learnings.

Thank you for your continue support of HBI. Stay tuned . . .

Team Peru 2011

Photo: Our 50-lb. bags already for transport.

Yesterday was the Team Peru 2011 "packing party." It is a time when we meet as a group (at least those trip participants living in the Portland area) and load our bags with supplies and equipment.

We have a great group this year and were able to get a fantastic assortment of donated (and purchased) supplies. A special thank you to everyone who helped to collect supplies and made donations. We promise you - your generosity will be used to the greatest extent.

Stay tuned for more Team Peru updates in the coming weeks.

Team Peru 2011

A message from HBI's Director of Operations (Mr. Ben Grass):

"Happy Summertime to you all, the sun is finally shining in Portland, which means it's that time of year to leave it for Perú and its "rainy season." Hmm?

I am reaching out to you all who have been past volunteers/participants of HBI Team Perú outreach trips, to mention that we are in the final planning phase for Team Perú 2011 trip. The dates are July 9th thru July 23rd.

We are headed to a brand new location each week this year. The first week we are headed two hours further south than our normal outreach locations, which makes for a long first day of travel if one is flying from the states leaving at 6am and not arriving in Ica until 6am the next day.

Unión Bíblica del Perú has asked us to move locations this year to one of their boy's homes that sees much less volunteer traffic. Also, Ica was greatly affected by a 7.9 earthquake in 2007 and has never fully recovered. The first week of our 2011 campaign will be unique. We will attend to displaced communities instead of schools. These communities are primarily single mothers and children with some of the least amount and access to resources we have seen.

The second week we will in fact continue our work with Father Alex and the Mission of Alto Cayma. What is different this year is that we will be helping the Mission much higher into the impoverished communities above the Church settlement. We will be working with the poorest of the poor.

Father Alex, as many of you remember, went to the end of the city and built his church because he knew that communities would continue to grow around him. That was nearly 15 years ago. Well, he was right - but no one could have foreseen the amount of growth. The services provided by the Mission reach nearly 35,000 people in some shape or form. There are now communities so far up the hill they are not within a reasonable distance of care delivery.

Father Alex has a vision to create a satellite Mission near the end of the squatter communities in an area called Sol de los Andes or Sun of the Andes. He already has a plot of land and a cross has been planted to signify property rights. In fact he mentioned the locals put a second cross on the land and have been holding mass on an open air, dirt floor Church. Really there has been no building whatsoever until now. We hope to help build a foundation for a daycare center and a small clinic.

The impetus for this update is dual purpose. First to thank you all for your continued support to HBI, the Peruvian People, and the service of those in need. Secondly, as you might remember, this is HBI's largest campaign of the year. This year our budget surpasses $40,000 and includes 28 North American volunteers, along with countless Peruvian volunteers.

We are trying to raise just over $13,000 to cover the budget for the clinic portion of the campaign. Our current volunteers have reached just over half with monetary donations and supplies. We still have a ways to go and so we extend this opportunity to any and all of you who would like to be involved in another campaign with a monetary donation.

You have seen first hand how every dollar is utilized to the fullest service of others. We would also appreciate if you would pass this along to family and friends who might be interested in helping.

The following is a link to donations: Make a Donation. Remember a $5 donation helps pay for one wellness exam for a child, including a months supply of vitamins, dental care, a full medical exam, toothbrush and any medications needed.

Please stay tuned to this Blogsite for updates and our Volunteer Blogsite as well for updates on our new adventures.

Thank you all and have a great weekend.

All my best,

Benjamin"