July 18,07

Today was our last day working at Casa de Materna for the next few weeks or so. I was shown by Lilly how to make adobe paste (which is just a mixture of mud and grass). We used this to mould a mirror on the outside wall of the house. We also did more planting and cleaning up. Before I left, I got a yellow fever shot at the Calca Central Hospital, as we will be going into the jungle to carry out the health testing and education project. Yellow fever is a free vaccination here. It is, however, just about the only thing that I would have done medically at that hospital, considering the lack of sanitation.

The washrooms don´t have toilet paper, and there is no soap for handwashing. I have heard from another volunteer that the nurses themselves don´t always have access to soap for handwashing, which is so important for preventing secondary infections and illnesses in patients. At this particular hospital, the infant mortality rate as well as the mortality of woman while giving birth is very high.

On the way home, I rode to Urubamba in my first combie. They are white vans that follow the same route as the buses, carrying you from town to town, but will fit anywhere from 12-20 people! Getting off at your stop requires speed and a pointed shove or two, calling bajamos!