Getting to work in Quinua

Our first day found us in Quinua, Peru--an important historic and cultural site famous for its ceramic figurines, battle site memorial and rich Quechua heritage.  At nearly 11,000 feet above sea level, the city and its surrounding communities have very limited health infrastructure for its 6,000 residents.  It was a perfect place to start.

Working closely with the Quinua-based community health center, Asociacion VIDAS, our small mobile team treated nearly 100 medical and dental patients, and identified a number of surgical cases to bring to Ayacucho Regional Hospital to treat the following week.

Realizing that the patients requiring orthopedic surgery may not be able to travel to the clinic, we turned to the town's Gobernador for ideas to reach the people.  He offered to drive around town in a mototaxi (imagine a rickshaw fused with a scooter) inviting individuals with fractures and other injuries to contact our group through the loudspeaker attached to the roof.    We loved the plan, but were disappointed to find out the town's loudspeaker was broken.  Never discouraged, the Gobernador came up with his second great idea:  Let's walk across the way to the traveling circus that had just come to town and ask to borrow theirs.

To our pleasant surprise, not only were the circus folk (a very nice family) happy to carry their speaker down from the big top and mount it to a mototaxi, but we found our first orthopedic surgery case--a trapeeze artist who had broken her leg in a recent show.  In no time, the Gobernador was rolling through town, getting the word out about the available services.  It never fails to amaze how many new ways we learn to work together.

Patricia of Circo Galax, traveling from the jungle through Quinua into Ayacucho and beyond

Raquel Yupanqui, Director of Asociacion VIDAS testing the loudspeaker atop the mototaxi

John Billimek and El Gobenador de Quinua

Ayacucho Mission 2013 rolls out!

With volunteers arriving from all over the U.S., the Ayacucho Mission is underway.  With the help of our good friends in Ayacucho, we have canvased the villages with flyers, taken to the airways and involved community leaders to spread the word of this year's campaign.

This year, we will spend most of our days in mobile clinics to towns in the surrounding villages treating who we can in the field.  Those who need surgery or specialty care, we will transport back to the Regional Hospital, provide lodging for the family and deliver the are they need.  It's a whole new model for Ayacucho Mission, and we couldn't do it without the help of our loyal supporters.  We couldn't be more excited.