Volunteering parte dos (because the main reason we're here deserves more than one post)

What we do during the week. A more in depth look into volunteering and our weeks in Huancayo...

As you can see from all our amazing adventures we are having a very productive trip but we have been learning a lot as well--working hard during the week and playing harder on the weekends. First, a look at the medical experience of our stay. During week one, Katy and Nate tagged along with two first year medical students from Creighton to a clinic called Juan Parra del Riego. There, they became close to the nurses and learned the proper technique for giving vaccinations. They learned the differences between subcutaneous, intramuscular, or interdermal vaccines (and got to use big words like subcutaneous in the process). The fun part was learning advanced techniques to try and minimize pain for the patient, because stabbing children is only fun when they don't cry. They got close with the enfermeras and helped them with their english homework and pickup lines.

The following week we shadowed an Obstetric Doctor at a clinic in a more impoverished area of Huancayo in what later became known as the “Cuban” doctor’s place. (Because there are no specialties in Peru, many Peruvian doctor's go to Cuba to study a specific type of medicine) There, we took blood pressures, vitals, listened for heart abnormalities and observed how to administer an IV (which in Peru involves a serious lack of gloves and a lot of spurting blood…maybe it wasn’t a terrific example). The doctors were eager to teach, but unfortunately that often involved a lot of rapid Spanish that even Katy had trouble interpreting, so we learned a lot through the use of pantomime and pointing. Our last week we went to another medical center called Azapampa where we observed and helped give physicals to infants.

We also continued the vaccination program throughout the district of Azapampa. We visited schools as well as made house calls to vaccinate for influenza, SPR, measles, and HPV. So, we were obviously excited for more stabbing children to keep ‘em healthy. After stabbing kids and not stabbing ourselves (except for Nate, who stabbed himself TWICE) we would play futbol, spin tops, give autographs (yep, we are basically celebrities), and impress the nurses with some sweet salsa moves ;-). (and ability to fit in tiny chairs)

Jacqui spent her mornings at the kindergarten and baby care center in Huari, quickly discovering that Peruvian 5 year olds were just as obstinate as their American counterparts.

The center holds between three and nine 1-2 year olds and 15 3-5 year olds. Usually there are 2 teachers and I have no idea how they survived before there were volunteers. But come to think of it, the inability to understand spanish in 3-year-olds made Jacqui pretty much useless except for being able to say "sit down." She tried her best to color inside the lines and peel oranges upon request. Her most effective work was as a human bungee jump and filling in when there weren't enough girls in a lesson on patterns. 

notice how approximately 0 children are looking at the camera

We had been pretty consistently going to the Worker Kid's Home in the afternoon. Despite some of the tiny terrorists spending time there, we developed quite a bond and feel as though we have been able to make a difference.

They have been learning basic English such as colors, animals, days of the week, months, and simple phrases like “How old are you?”We obviously contributed significantly to their lives by teaching them duck, duck, goose (as opposed to their previous favorite game 'how many children does it take to collapse the swingset')

We've also made some progress getting them to shower, teaching them english, math, and practicing our own Spanish. We've see them on the street either hard at work or at school to give them vaccinations and it really is baffling how strong they are. They are some of the most amazing kids we've met here. As we left Huancayo we feel a great deal of  pride, and the biggest feeling of all a difference was made in Huancayo.

checkout those badass volunteers