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Archidona & Misahualli |
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"When I took my driver’s test in Athens, I got marked down ten points for not having both hands on the wheel, in these roads you have to switch gears constantly," Mario Grijalva smiles as he maneuvers the 4x4 Sport Utility Vehicle around a tight curve. To the right, mud; to the left: a cliff drops off into the Amazon Basin. Leaving Quito at 8:30 a.m., everyone piled in three SUVs and traveled east four hours up, through, and back down winding Andean roads to reach the Stadler Richter Hospital in Archidona We toured the hospital which serves nearly 5,000 people in the area. "Getting sick (here) is a luxury because medicine and healthcare are so hard to get. Prevention and education is the best approach," explained Sister Sanga, director of the hospital. The students then presented Sister Sanga with antiparasitic, antifungal topical creams, vitamins and analgesics purchased in Quito with money raised by students. Traveling another hour, we reached Puerto
Misahualli and boarded a motor race canoe led by guide Pablo
Barragan. We traveled three more hours downstream through the
Napo river, reaching the Yachana Lodge in the Mondaņa area at
dusk. The lodge specializes in ecotourism and is located 100
meters from the Mondaņa clinic, where students spent several
hours the next few days studying tropical illnesses and
diseases.
Second-year medical student Joel Anders (left) and graduate student Jaime Costales, outside the Stadler Richter Hospital in Archidona.
Thom Schultz and Mario Grijalva present Sister Sanga with medicine purchased through student fundraising. "Getting sick is a luxury because medicine and healthcare are so hard to get. Prevention and education is the best approach," said Sister Sanga.
After traveling five hours to reach Puerto Misahualli, students boarded a motor race canoe led by guide Pablo Barragan and traveled three more hours to reach Yachana Lodge in Mondaņa. |
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