Rehabilitation with Hope

One of my favorite parts of our annual trip down to Perú is to see the progress in the community based rehabilitation project, "Rehabilitación con Esperanza" (Rehabilitation with Hope). Since I was involved in the ground work for the project when I lived there starting in 2010, with all the blood, sweat and tears involved (haha. sort of serious) I'll admit that I consider it "my baby" in a way. Each year I see incredible advances in the quantity and quality of services offered, and other organizational components such as monitoring and evaluation, all thanks to the incredible initiative of doctor Claudia Llantén and a team of amazing local volunteers.

Dra. Claudia Llantén, CMMB's director in Perú

The project's focus is on children who have disabilities in a high-risk zone Bellavista, in the district of La Esperanza, outside of Trujillo, Peru. The majority of program participants have conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, mental retardation, developmental delays, and autism. This area has varying degrees of geographic isolation from healthcare/public transportation, and in some cases limited comforts such as electricity or water, in addition to high rates of crime, and problems related to malnutrition and infectious/parasitic disease.

police patrolling Bellavista on horseback

 It doesnt take much time for a gringa up in Bellavista to expand the borders of their comfort zone! The obvious socioeconomic disparities are in your face - sanitation/hygeine issues, babies crawling around dirt floors with animals, some homes covered with only tarps or peices of scrap metal nailed together. The mountainside-combined-with-desert terrain makes it difficult to form any sort of sustained agricultural effort, although one of CMMB's projects has included some hardy plants that require little water. Unfortunately the area is notorious for all sorts of crime.

homes in the upper part of Bellavista

However, I fell in love with this community when I lived in Perú- perched up on a hill, with sweeping views of Trujillo and even out to the ocean on a clear day, the calm "quiet" of roosters and children playing without the usual obnoxious car symphony (only because in the upper areas, cars cant handle the terrain- or drivers refuse to go there, because of it's reputation), getting chased by wild dogs, seeing police patrolling the neighborhood on horses, feeling rugged traipsing around through deep mounds of sand that make any walk a workout. Best of all, the community, true to Peruvian culture, is one of beautiful hospitality and family values.

Perú in general does not excel in forms of support for persons with disabilities, and the caregivers of these children fight day in and out to meet the basic needs of their families. Rehabilitación con Esperanza is based around a system of local healthcare volunteers (speech therapists, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists, etc). who conduct home visits with children and their caregivers, in addition to utilizing community agents and educational components in the program to improve the quality of life for the children and their families, an integral part of the design.

Monica Sanchez, the projects' full time PT

The project recently gained the support of a full time physical therapist, Monica Sanchez, who is doing absolutely incredible work with the kids. We were fortunate to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the project by joining the local volunteers for home visits. The Regis students did a great job coming up with games and exercises based on what resources were available in the home environments. We also had a workshop with the team of volunteers to collaborate ideas for topics such as balance strategies/fall prevention, and included the 2nd annual pool party on our last day with the kids and their families.

Regis DPT students get creative with home visits

Not only was it rewarding to see how this project has grown,  but it was also wonderful to see how certain individual children in the project had improved since we visited last year. I am thrilled to see Monica on board, an amazing person who gives up a higher paying job to climb up the sand hills in the heat every day, putting her own safety on the line and tirelessly providing quality home care to these kids - while also getting the families involved too! And, as I mentioned in a prior post, local students from the PT school will now be assisting with home visits as part of one of their courses, due to a formal agreement that was signed in August with ALAS Peruanas, which is another huge step from where we were last year.

Regis-CMMB Annual pool party!

This community based rehab model is being considered in the inclusion of other projects to (hopefully) begin in other parts of Perú in 2014! I can't commend CMMB and the local volunteers enough for all that they are doing to enrich the lives of so many in this community! MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS for all your hard work and hospitality!

CMMB "Rehab. con Esperanza" volunteers and Regis students teamed up for one week