Dental Project Peru – Trip Report
1-14 July 2009
Written by Jessica Rowley and Lindsy Holm
By Jessica
The 2009 trip season marks some big and exciting changes for Dental Project Peru. The permanent team of Yesenia, Leo and Daniel are joined by Pepe as driver and translator. This year all of the trips will run with 5-6 volunteers one of whom will have travelled with the team before and will act as advisor to the new volunteers. The increase in team numbers inevitably means an increase in the amount of kit required and the addition of a second vehicle.
For trip 1 of 2009 the volunteer dentists from the United Kingdom are Lindsy, Furqan, Richard and Rachil. We are also joined by Laura, the first volunteer dental nurse to travel with a team to Apurimac and I round off the team as advisor.
The most important introduction is a trial of a fluoride programme on the trips. As well as carrying out restorative treatments for patients, the project has this year begun to travel out to the schools to place topical fluoride on the teeth of the children. The hope is that less restorative intervention and in particular fewer extractions will be necessary in the future. Seeing so many more children to carry out this preventive measure has given us a clearer idea of how great the treatment need remains. We hope that this is an investment in the future dental health of the people of the region; however it will of course be some time before we see the results.
I am delighted to have been back so soon to the Apurimac, and particularly to have been on the first trip of this new era. I am very grateful to all the members of the team for their hard work and support.
By Lindsy
It was with mixed emotions that I left home on July 1st to embark upon my Peruvian adventure. I was excited to have the opportunity to contribute to such a worthwhile project but at the same time I was worried about how I would fit in with the rest of the group, how I would cope with having only basic equipment available and how I would manage to find my way to Lima on my own!
To my relief, I was met at the airport in Lima by a friendly driver who took me to the restaurant in Miraflores where Daniel, our guide, and the rest of the volunteers were having dinner. Having met the other volunteers, my fears about not fitting in with the group were allayed and I immediately had a really good feeling about the trip. After we had exchanged a few stories about our journeys to Lima, we headed back to our hotel for an early night in preparation for another early start.
The following day we returned to the airport for our internal flight to Cusco. Daniel had prebooked window seats for us so we were all able to appreciate the amazing views across the Andes.
Our first day in Cusco was taken at a leisurely pace in order to adjust to the altitude. Over the next two days Daniel took us to see some wonderful sights in the Sacred Valley including the salt pans at Maras and the archeological site at Maray. We also explored the Inca site of Saxaywaman and even had a go on an Incan slide.
Soon we found ourselves packing our bags ready for the dental expedition. We woke up early on July 5th to make sure that we all had time to have one last shower before we left the volunteer house in Cusco. Leo and Pepe, our drivers loaded up the two trucks with all of our food, dental equipment, bags and even a toilet with jigsaw-like precision. Feeling slightly homesick and a little anxious about the days ahead of me, I passed bags and boxes up to Leo and Pepe, and chatted nervously with the other volunteers. Before long we were on our way and my spirits started to lift. Not far outside Cusco, we turned off the tarmac road and onto the dirt track that would lead us to the Apurimac. It was at this point that we realised that we had no seatbelts in the back of our truck! The bumpy 10 hour journey to Haquira, where we would stay overnight, was broken with a few stops to appreciate the scenery around us and to eat our lunch.
Feeling tired after our long journey, we had some dinner and retired to bed. In the morning we found that one of the trucks had developed a flat tyre. Leo and Pepe changed the tyre and then after a brief stop at a garage in the village we were on our way again. It was about an hours journey to the health post in Huancascca, where we would be based for the first three days of work. The reason for us bringing a toilet with us soon became apparent; the toilet in the health post had a hole in the side of it and would spray any unsuspecting visitors when flushed!
After setting up the surgery, the team divided into two groups, one to stay at the health post and the other to go out and visit a nearby community. Unfortunately there were strikes happening throughout Peru so there were no children at school in the community that we went out to visit and disappointingly we had to return to the health post without screening any children. At the health post it was a similar story. Very few patients were coming in for treatment. This was partly due to the strikes, but there was also a funeral happening in the village. Gradually patients started to arrive and we took it in turns to treat a steady trickle of patients throughout the afternoon.
On our first day of work we finished around 5pm and returned to our accommodation, a disused classroom with a concrete floor. There were some ‘toilets’ across the field from our classroom. As we all had to sleep together in one room, the boys agreed to go outside while the girls changed ready for bed (a luxury which did not continue after this first night together).
On our second morning, the team again divided into two groups, one to stay at the health post and the other to visit a primary school. I went to the primary school. When the whole school had assembled in the yard, Leo talked to the children about how to look after their teeth. Afterwards we distributed toothbrushes and toothpaste to the children and got them to brush their teeth. Finally we applied duraphat to every child’s teeth to help prevent decay. Daniel prepared lunch for us in our classroom before we headed down to the health post which was now becoming very busy. Again we took it in turns to use the four dental chairs to treat patients. This evening we didn’t finish work until after 7pm. As it was Laura’s birthday, we ate our dinner around a makeshift table, constructed from the chests our food was stored in, and shared some wine. Daniel had even packed some M&Ms for the occasion!
Our final day in Huancascca followed the same format as the previous day. Some of the volunteers went to schools in the surrounding communities and some of us stayed at the health post. The health post was busy again and by the end of the day we were exhausted. We packed our kit away and headed back down to the hostel we had stayed at before in Haquira. Leo and Pepe negotiated the bumpy roads as perfectly as ever, even in the dark. Back at the hostel we shared some beer and had some food before retiring to bed (actual beds)!
In the morning we headed out to the health post in Ccocha where we were based for the last three days of work. We had more space in the health post than at Huancascca, and the view from the front door across the mountains was stunning. The villagers were pleased to see us and helped us to carry our kit to the health post. Immediately we had set up the surgery we had a steady flow of patients through the door. Some volunteers went out to visit a school while the rest of us stayed at the health post. It was dark by the time we had seen everyone that had been queuing. The sky was clear and Daniel called us outside to see the Milky Way. Sharing some wine, we watched the moon rise over the mountains. After dinner we retreated to our new home for the night: another classroom, but this time it was cosier as it was still in use during the day.
The penultimate day of work was again busy and it became apparent that people were not just visiting the health centre to have dental treatment but were also coming just to watch! By around 8pm the patients had all left and we chatted about the day’s events; some of the patients had been quite demanding. As a group, we made the decision to finish treating patients at lunchtime the following day, ready to head back towards civilisation and hot showers in the afternoon.
There was a steady flow of patients into the surgery on our final day in Ccocha and I think we all had visions of working well into the evening as we had done on the previous two days. As it worked out, the queue of patients came to a natural end around lunchtime. Packing away the instruments and helping to load the trucks for the last time I again had mixed emotions. I was looking forward to a hot shower and was pleased to have helped to provide a dental service to the people of the Apurimac but I also felt sad that it was all coming to an end. After a few group photos we piled into the trucks for our long and bumpy journey. On the way home, Leo and Pepe took us via a different route that proved to be much quicker, if a little less scenic. As we had made such good time Leo and Pepe decided to drive us all the way back to Cusco.
On arrival back at the volunteer house, we drew lots for the shower. Yesenia ordered a take away for us, which we tucked into while waiting for the shower. Richard, Furqan, Rachil and Daniel found the energy to head out into Cusco for a few drinks but Jess, Laura and I stayed in for a girlie night and watched Moulin Rouge from our sleeping bags.
Sunday morning was spent unpacking and washing all of the kit to get rid of the dust from the Apurimac that seemed to have penetrated everything. Having cleaned all the kit, we headed into Cusco for lunch and some souvenir shopping. In the evening we went out for a group meal and (quite) a few celebratory Pisco Sours!
I was glad of a lie in on Monday morning, but some of the group members had booked trips to Macchu Picchu and did not have the same luxury! Daniel took Jess, Richard and me to the Coca tea shop for cookies and tea. After brunch Daniel took us back to the Sacred Valley for a little more sightseeing on my final day in Peru.
I would like to say a big thank you to Jacqui for giving me the opportunity to participate in Dental Project Peru, and to all of the team members (Daniel, Yesenia, Leo, Pepe, Furqan, Richard, Jess, Laura and Rachil) for making my trip to Peru such a memorable one.
