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We spent the morning in
the town of Tonchigue. This was a community with all the elements of
breeding disease. We visited two homes in the community where we
split up into groups to examine the living conditions and
environmental health factors, inside and outside of the house.
In the first house there were seven children with one on the way.
This family of nine was living in a shack the size of an average
family room. There was no electricity, no running water, no
latrines, or waste disposal. Everyone in the family slept cramped
and lying on top of one another, with no beds, just a hard floor
made out of logs. They did have bed nets, but they were inadequate
having holes the size of a fist in them. There were holes in the
floor boards, and stagnant water running underneath the house. The
stagnant water next to and underneath the house had mosquito larvae
in it. The mother was pregnant and severely anemic, as many where in
the community. They did not boil their water, and their only heat
source for cooking was burning logs in their kitchen.
In the second house we visited, there were ten children with one on
the way. The house was elevated above ground, and the floor was
incredibly unsteady and had large holes in it. Most of the children
slept on the floor but there were two “shelves” made of wood with no
mattress that a couple children could cramp onto. This house did
also have bed nets, but once again they were unsubstantial. The
mother recently had malaria, and one of her children had recently
had dengue. This house did have a gas stove but they also didn’t
boil their water because it was too expensive. We left bags of food
and clothing for the families, but it didn’t come close to really
helping these people;. “It was like putting a band-aid on a cancer
patient.
We also visited the health clinic of the community. The doctor there
spoke English, and informed us that he was doing his rotation of one
year community service. We learned that the most common diseases are
malnutrition, colds, diarrhea, and scabies, and that malaria’s
prevalence increases in the rainy season. This clinic could handle
very little, and the nearest hospital was two hours away, reachable
by bus (there was no ambulance). Eighty percent of patients at the
clinic are pregnant women and children under five, for whom health
care is free. The clinic was in very short supply of antibiotics; we
were able to donate some antiparasitic and antifungal medications.
The rest of our day was spent visiting Atacames (somewhat like an
Ecuadorian Atlantic Beach) and practicing our bartering skills at
the beach market. After a wonderful meal at our hotel we decided to
go to the discothèque and create our own gringo dance floor, where
we defiantly captured a few looks. It was a long and emotional day |
