|
After a long journey
from the USA we arrived safely and spend the night in Quito. We rose
at the crack of dawn and set out for an eight-hour drive. As we
jostle and tumble along a rough and pitted road, we get to know one
another and gaze at the amazing landscape, ranging from a pristine
forest to golden grasslands. At last we arrive in Coca and have our
first night experiencing the “pleasures” of DEET and bed nets.
Rising early we enjoy breakfast (delicious juice!) and begin our
adventure into the rainforest. We take a motorized canoe onto the
Napo River. After about an hour with quite sore bums we forge a path
to the indigenous village of Palma Roja. Our guide Miguel assists
this community’s health post and 64 others in the province. This
health clinic is unlike any other we have ever seen. This “closet”
only contains de-worming medication and a miniscule assortment of
basic medications. The community school was also shocking; a true
one room school house with decrepit desks and a blackboard. We sat
in the school house and enjoyed new and exotic fruits (guaba,
papaya, and amazonian grapes), while the children and a tiny monkey
entertained us. After speaking with the community leaders, the women
prepared us a meal. We sat in the community building and were served
a banana based soup with boar, yuka (salted potato-like root), fresh
fish wrapped in leaves, and chicha, the indigenous drink, how it’s
made is a don’t ask don’t tell policy, use your imagination…
From speaking with Miguel and the community leaders we get a glimpse
into the everyday life of the people. Their main source of income is
farming, specifically bananas and coffee; however, they must travel
to Coca to sell it. At most, including the price of passage to Coca,
they receive about 80 cents per banana bunch and about 1 $ per 50 kg
of coffee. Besides farming, some men choose to work for the oil
companies.
Everyone in the family contributes in some way; the men do the more
strenuous labor while the women and children also farm and collect
fruit and such. Although the people don’t have much, their happiness
and good humor are apparent throughout our entire visit. While in
the middle of our meal the women began showing us and explaining
about a ceremonial skirt made of shells, which was the beauty
queen’s costume for their annual festival. The current queen then
proudly modeled this for us; as we admired all of the women suddenly
burst out laughing! Following their gaze we saw that one of the men
had put on the shelled skirt and grass top, he comically approached
and the couple allowed us to take their picture. As we left the
village, at least on my part, I was pleasantly surprised at what we
had found. Despite the fact that these people had nothing according
to our standards, they had a positive attitude and outlook on life,
which is more than many people I know back home.
Upon arrival back at the hotel, we had some free time and then met
with the man in charge of malarial control for the area. From his
description, it sounded like a losing battle. Around 39% of the
people tested are positive for malaria and with the funds he has,
about $40 a month, this is not enough to support his programs for
control. His methods of control include spraying for mosquitoes
(using DDT on and off), attempts to eliminate breeding ground such
as treating water storage tanks with larvicide tablets, and treating
people with anti-malarial medication. When asked what would happen
if things continued as they were, he replied that the results would
be disastrous. That night I had a new appreciation for my bed net
and mefloquine.
|
