Medical Campaign - El Progreso

After a month of preparation and volunteering in sites in and around Trujillo, a city on the coast of northern Peru, a group of 17 Imaginations volunteers worked together with a team of 5 Peruvian doctors and nurses to put on a medical campaign for the people of the extremely impoverished community of El Progreso. This event was the first of its kind in the community (and the first of its kind for Imaginations!), and over 140 patients received checkups and medical attention during the event.

Dr. Edward Linares Tapia worked with the volunteers for the past 4 weeks as part of the Imaginations Peru program, teaching them about common illnesses in impoverished communities in Trujillo and preparing them to give physical exams, take blood pressure and vital signs and interact with patients in Spanish. He was accompanied by Dr. Diana Lip Sosa, Dr. Jorge Paredes Albarrón, Dr. Estefanía Mora Chávez and Nurse Angélica García Rodriguez, who worked together with the American volunteers from University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

Funding for medications and the event itself came from volunteer fundraising efforts and long-sleeved shirts were donated to children of the area on behalf of the organization as well in an effort to keep these kids warm during the colder winter months (it's winter in the southern hemisphere!).

Thanks go out to all the volunteers and the Mother's Club from El Progreso who prepared the hot chocolate and sweet bread for the children and patients attended at the clinic, as well as to the NGO Mundo de Niños for their support in reaching out to the community and organizing the event. We hope to do many more events like this in the future!