Not the Stairway to Heaven, but to La Libertad!

At last we are nearing the completion of our second phase of the village raft and stairs!  For what may seem like a small project, it has taken a lot of planning, talk, money, blood, sweat, and tears to get us to this point.

Stephan trying his hand at making farina.

Thank you very much to our Swiss volunteer Stephan (who was with us during the first phase as well).  He planned, coordinated, and carried out much of the work on the stairs -with the help of some dedicated villagers.

This was one of the trunks that was used to build the raft.

Thank you also to Alirio the chief (who kept the village on-track), and to Manual and Oskar for cutting the wood and constructing the raft, along with many other villagers.

The early days of the raft's construction.

Our gratitude goes out to Gustavo and all the others who helped with transportation.  At times they spent over 10 hours in the river during a two-day period.  And we cannot forget Simona for her help with the trunk, painting, and raft!

Transporting the raft trunk down the Amazon River.

We also want to thank Sully and Roxanna, who helped us to receive the grant for the governor's office in Leticia and to coordinate things from the government's side.

Roxanna, Sully, Ben, and Liliana

And now on to the most recent pictures of the raft and stairs!

The first day of work on the stairway.

A post hole digger is a very well-used tool in the Amazon.

Different layers of earth.  The gray clay may be used to make pottery.  This is very solid earth.

The forms.  This was the first time Stephan had ever made concrete steps.  He did very well!

The cement and gravel was brought up in boats from Leticia.  The sand was from the river.

Hanover and Stephanie trying out the new steps.

Here they are, done at last!  The river level may rise by five steps/day during the rainy season.

This photo shows the raft connect to the stairs by a plank.
As the river level changes, the plank is moved up or down the stairway.

Just over the course of two hours the plank needs to be raised.

The future location of the village store.

And why is the raft and stairway so important?  Almost everyone who comes into the main part of the village uses the raft to help them to get off of the boat.  They then climb the stairs.  Without the stairs the climb up the side of the river bank was dangerously slippery if there was even the least bit of rain.  Pregnant women, the injured, the old and very young had the most difficulty.

People often wait on the raft for river transport.  While this may not seem very important, during rain this allows people to keep warm and dry.  Before the raft, one of the may complaints (justifiably) of the school children was that they had to wait in the rain for the school boat.  The boat picks the students up at 4:30 in the morning.  Daylight comes at 5 am.

The village partly relies on tourism for their income.  The easier it is for tourist to arrive, the more frequently they will visit La Libertad.

As La Libertad has more business growth (thanks in part to Amazon Pueblo) they need to have a safe way to transport goods.  The raft makes business transport happen more easily.  Within the next year the village hopes to establish a small store on the raft.  This will allow people traveling on the river to buy goods, as well as the villagers.  Having the store is one more source of income.

We didn't have enough material to go any further up the riverbank with cement.
Maybe a project for next year??!

I would also like to give a big thanks to our board of directors.  Without their help and hard work we would not have the funds we need to continue to support the operations that serve the people of La Libertad.  Mil Gracias!

Please stay tuned for our next post.  It will be about the 24 year anniversary of the village.  They expect hundreds to visit La Libertad for this multi-day celebration.  It is happening this Saturday, March 12.  Can everyone say CHICHA!!!

Health and Needs Survey: Pictures, Patients, and Parasites!

Health Survey in La Libertad

During the last week in January, 2016, we were grateful to have two volunteers work with us in the village.  Fernanda was from Brazil and Rebecca was from the USA.  They both helped us to collect health, occupation, and needs data.

A pan for toasting yucca to make farina

Fernanda is a fourth-year med student.  Rebecca is a business consultant.  They arrived in Leticia on the same day.  While in Leticia they stayed in the local hostels Alas Excusiones and Residencia Marina, both located less than a five minute walk from the project's office/apartment.

Wagner with the mixing spoon.  Richard in the background with his kids.

We went to each house in the village and spoke with the people.  We asked questions about their illnesses and overall health concerns.  Almost everyone in the village was receptive to speaking with us.  Some people talked much more readily, others answered with only yes/no.

Wagner, the man in the pictures with a white and red striped shirt, is the health promoter for the village.  He has had advanced first aid classes, communicable disease classes, training for snake bites and insect stings, and practice stitching up wounds.  He is responsible for seeing that the people of the village follow healthy practices.

Carmen with her father and little brother

We noticed that the people were not always able to easily express their health conditions to us.  For example, when asked if they had parasites about half the families replied that they did not.  Upon further questioning we asked if they had frequent stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, or other gastrointestinal issues, to which they responded, "yes", that they had at least one, and in some case all of these symptoms.  All of these symptoms are frequently caused by parasites.  One house, when asked if they had diarrhea exclaimed, "When do we NOT have diarrhea!".

So how accurate is the self-reporting that we recorded?  It is good that we have collected this information.  It would also be good (for the next volunteers possibly?) to compare the data we collected with the health data that the government's Secretary of Health has, or with their health provider insurance agency.

The villagers do have free, state provided health care.  However, they frequently do not have the money or ability to do into the city (a three hour boat ride) to receive the care.  Even if they do go, they must sometimes wait up to two days before they are seen.  Frequently the treatment given may be sub-standard (one ibuprofen table, one antibiotic tablet, then told to go home).  Given these shortcoming in the medical system, the villagers may wait until their health is so bad that they are dying -before seeking medical care!  During the past four years at least two people in the community have died en-route to the hospital in Leticia.

Carmen with her cousins

Rebecca and Fernanda collected the data over three days, working part-time.  Fernanda then typed the data into a small report, which is found at the end of this post.

Some interesting points are:

• over half of all houses wanted glasses, dental care, or both
• all houses had, we believe, water-borne illnesses
• 50% of the population is under 15 years of age
• 1.5% of the population is over 65 years of age
• 3% of the population has tuberculosis
• an unknown number of villagers have AIDS and/or other sexually transmitted diseases
• malaria and dengue are frequent and ongoing diseases in the village

Making the fermented drink chicha de chantadura

While some parts of this report may paint a dismal picture of the health conditions in the village, while collecting the data we were able to get a glimpse into the daily life of the villagers.  This showed us the closeness of the families, less-hurried pace of their life, and their connections to nature.

While Fernanda collected health data, Rebecca asked about the villagers' work aspirations.  Planting, harvesting, and processing yucca (cassava) was one of the most common business desires.  Fishing, increased tourism, and planting other crops was also common.  When the idea of growing and processing cacao was brought up, 96% of the houses wanted to go into the chocolate business.

  Basically, everyone wanted to do everything for employment!

Learning jungle skills!

Fernanda and Rebecca also had time to speak with the villagers informally and try their hand at weaving the palm leaves to make a thatched roof.

We are also very thankful to Fernanda and Rebecca for helping the most ill of La Libertad to access health services in Leticia.  After collecting the health data they organized and led a trip to Leticia, spoke with the insurance providers and the clinics in order to help the people receive the services that they desperately needed.

Here is the full health report...

This health data is self-reported. and therefore subject to error.  But this info may be used to give some idea of the villager's health, may be compared to government-collected data, and may help in the design of future health studies in La Libertad.  In other words -a great start and more research is needed!

COLLECTION OF DATA - LA LIBERTAD, January 24 - 26, 2016

"Children" and "girls" are always people <15 years

"Women" and "men" are always people> 15 years

The house numbers described here might not correspond exactly to the village map.

HOUSE 48

- 8 persons: 3 girls, 3 children, 1 woman, 1 man

- Diseases in the past year: flu, parasitic worm infection

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Win: glasses

HOUSE 47

- 8 persons: 3 boys, 3 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: parasitic worm infection

• 3 days ago 1 child has a fever (39.1 C), diarrhea, vomiting - no medication; parents are boiling water

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Win: glasses

* Many people have eye complaints. From what I have observed many "pterygium" (medical heat in Portuguese; do not know the word in Spanish)

HOUSE 46

- 8 persons: 3 boys, 2 girls, 2 women, 1 man

- Diseases in the past year: parasitic worm infection, flu

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: yes

- Win: glasses, dentist (have dental infections)

HOUSE 45

- 7 persons: 3 boys, 2 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea, parasitic worm infection, flu

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 44

- 10 people: 2 boys, 2 girls, 4 women, 4 men

- Diseases in the past year:

• currently one woman has inflammatory signals in the left eye; 1 child has "bumps" (medical heat in Portuguese é s, not the word é s ENGLISH) on her forehead; 1 women also "Pterygium" (medical heat in Portuguese é s, not the word é s ENGLISH) in both eyes

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Win: glasses

HOUSE 43

- 6: 1 child, 3 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea

• now the child is 9 months with diarrhea two weeks ago; It is visibly dehydrated. She was  given re-hydration fluid (1 liter of boiled water + 4 tablespoons sugar + 1 teaspoon of salt), but he needs a doctor

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward / problems: children have bumps on forehead

HOUSE 42

- 8 people 5 children, 1 girl, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea, parasitic worm infection, flu

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Wanted: dentist

HOUSE 41

- 11 people: 4 children, 2 girls, 3 women, 2 men

- Diseases in the past year: parasitic worm infection;

• currently one child has colic pains diffuse type at the abdomen

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Win: glasses

HOUSE 40

- 8 persons: 2 boys, 2 girls, 2 women, 2 men

- Diseases in the past year: -

- Water: Rain boiled or chlorinated

- Bathroom: no

- Win: glasses

* Stories: 6 cases of tuberculosis in the community; frequent sexually transmitted diseases, particularly gonorrhea; there are also cases of dengue and malaria

HOUSE 39

- 10 people: 4 boys, 3 girls, 2 women, 1 man

- Diseases in the past year:

• currently 1 female of 58 years has undiagnosed illness - progressive muscle weakness that box when the prevents walking

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 38

- 8 persons: 2 children, 4 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: flu

- Water: boiled rainwater

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

* To talk to teachers, they complained of problems with your vision; also claim that doctors give away the same drugs for all patients, as amoxicillin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen. I also say that major problems in san school: lack of toilets (without 2 bathrooms for 80 children), lack of books and food.

HOUSE 16

- not present

HOUSE 15

- 6: 1 child, 3 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea, parasitic worm infection, flu

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward / problems would like to have more doctors and medicines; also they told that one of her daughters have eye problems

HOUSE 14

- 5 persons: 2 boys, 2 girls, 1 man

- Diseases in the past year: -

• man complains of pains in the shoulder blade; Five years ago it was performed surgery to repair fractures in his right shoulder blade and ribs

- Water: boiled rainwater

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 13

- 6: 3 children, 1 girl, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: -

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

Casa 12

- 5 persons: 3 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year:

• currently one baby has diarrhea, vomiting and other

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

house 11

- 8 persons: 3 boys, 2 girls, 2 women, 1 man

- Diseases in the past year:

• now a baby has the flu

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: yes

- Forward / complaints: lack of medical attendance

CASA 10

- 6: 1 child, 2 women, 3 men

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea, flu

• a man is quasi-blind; 15 years ago it was made cataract surgery

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

House 9

- 11 people: 2 children, 4 girls, 2 women, 3 men

- Diseases in the past year: parasitic worm infection

• 1 week ago a baby presents coughs; he also has "pimples" on his forehead

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

House 8

- Nobody home

House 7

- 4 people: 1 woman, 3 men

- Diseases in the past year:

• the woman complains of always being "dizzy" and also says not see well

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 27

- 8 persons: 2 boys, 2 girls, 2 women, 2 men

- Diseases in the past year:

• a woman complains of pain in lower abdomen three weeks ago; menstruation is with more color black; 7 years was performed surgery "tubal ligation" (medical heat in Portuguese é s, not the word é s ENGLISH)

- Water: boiled rainwater

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 26

- 5 persons: 3 children, 1 woman, 1 man

- Diseases in the past year: flu, diarrhea

- Water: boiled rainwater

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 25

- 7 persons: 3 children, 1 girl, 1 female, 2 males

- Diseases in the past year:

• 3 days ago the woman has a fever, headache, body aches and weakness hair; on the last night she had 2 episodes of vomiting

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 18

- 8 persons: 4 children, 2 girls, 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea, flu

- Water: boiled rainwater

- Bathroom: no

- Wanted: dentist

HOUSE 19

- 2 persons: 1 female, 1 male

- Diseases in the past year: flu

• the woman is blind 1 year; It was also treated tuberculosis two years ago

- Water: boiled rainwater

- Bathroom: no

- Forward: -

HOUSE 2

- 12 people: 3 boys, 3 girls, 3 women, 3 men

- Diseases in the past year: flu

- Water: Rain untreated

- Bathroom: yes

- Forward / problems: "irritation" of the skin

HOUSE 30

- 5 persons: 2 children, 1 woman, 2 men

- Diseases in the past year: diarrhea

- Water: boiled rain

- Bathroom: no

- Forward / problems: glasses

HOUSE 31

- Nobody home

HOUSE 32

- Nobody home

Total c bag with residents	30
Total people (so far) Total persons <15 ng os Total persons> 15 ng os Total persons> 65 ng os	190 106 84 3
Diseases (home) flu 12 Diarrhea 11 INFECTION or n parasitic worm 8