|
| |
For last Saturday 16th of February, 2007 it was scheduled a medical and dental expedition to assist the poor neighbourhoods of the northern part of Quito. Starting early in the morning; Charity Anywhere’s volunteers on Economist Maria Eugenia Guzman, Engineer Julio Zambrano, Dr. Ximena Tapia DDS and Mr. Carlos Celin were ready to receive that day the help and support of some dental students as Javier Velalcazar, Luis Vallejo as well as Andrea Cartagena. Our team was also made of Bryn Oslapas (an American volunteer for Charity Anywhere Foundation); and the group of professionals of the allied foundation of “Villa Hogar Bating”.As its seen, “Charity Anywhere Foundation” Dental Department keeps inviting dental students from the “Ecuador’s Central University Dental School” to keep its covenant of partnership and training to students under professional supervising. It should be mention that that this project was once again done in association to the “Mariana de Jesús Foundation” which now has become a very remarkable allied organization to help complete those important goals set this year by Charity Anywhere Foundation-Ecuador. Maria Augusta Urrutia neighborhood is an area where the “Mariana de Jesús Foundation” supports with medical, financial, educational, and constructional projects. This neighbourhood started as informal land invasions. The “Mariana de Jesús Foundation” helps the residents of this neighbourhood to build homes at very low costs. But houses are only built once the prospective owners had already regularized land issues of any kind with the Municipal Government of Quito for a permanent staying there. This area is highly populated considering that houses for each family aren’t larger than 36 square meters and have to host families made of 6 or up to 8 individuals. This area counts with a water suit and drainage system that mostly is blocked or colapsed. The entry access to most of the houses there are difficult. These are made of mud stairs instead of concrete, which increase the chances for the locals to frequently face landslides as the water storms threat to come. Maria Augusta Urrutia being a popular neighbourhood of Quito is also the best place of up growing social problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction, family abuse and working children. Problems of EDA and IRA are found here daily, during our medical mission we observed 7 cases of EDA that required immediate oral re hydration. On children we detected 11 cases of moderate IRA that required antibiotic therapy and a professional recommendation to the parents to take these cases seriously; otherwise these particular cases may demand hospital admition. Obviously, stomach parasites were also a very common illness found either on children as well as in adults. It is very probable that the sanitary conditions overall were the reasons to justify such terrible health conditions. |
|
AGE |
MEN |
WOMEN |
TOTAL |
Less than a year old |
3 |
5 |
8 |
One up to 5 years |
20 |
10 |
30 |
6 up to 15 years |
12 |
17 |
29 |
16 up to 45 years |
9 |
24 |
33 |
46 up to 65 years |
6 |
15 |
21 |
Older than 65 |
4 |
7 |
11 |
TOTAL |
54 |
78 |
132 |
|
| |
Distribution by Age and Gender on Graphic Scale |
|
| |
| Kinder garden children that assist to the communitarian center run by the “Mariana de Jesús Foundation” received medicines from us; and some of them were unfortunately diagnosed as medical urgencies to take care of. On the Dental department the amount of patients seen was 42 women and 18 men which makes up to a total of 60 patients. Patients seen on Dentistry at next: |
| |
|
| |
| As far as the Age Groups here is a brief description of how the groups were split: one year olds up to 5 were 11, 6 up to 15 were 27, 16 up to 45 were 18, 46 up to 65 were 4 patients. That comes up to a total of 60 patients as it was previously mentioned above. |
| |
|
| |
| The dental procedures done were 53 fillings, 12 exodontias, 14 prophylaxis, and 23 fluoride treatments to children. That comes up to a total of 102 procedures at the end.
|
| |
|
| With the satisfaction of have been helpful to our neighbors we finished our medical and dental mission; leaving to the population the expectation of our prompt return to keep giving a relief to the poor people of the Maria Augusta Urrutia neighborhood. |
| |
 |
FUNDACION DAVIS, CONOCOTO- ECUADOR, MARCH 13, 2008 |
| |
At least 40 years ago, the Saint Domingo’s ranch located in Conocoto (Quito’s outside valleys) helped the Child Welfare Center donating a piece of land for an Orphanage to be built there. Who used to be then the First Lady of Ecuador; Ms. Velasco Ibarra tried hard to receive financial aid from different institutions. Ms Velasco learned, on her natal Argentina, to do fundraising in order to achieve significant social projects. Currently; the Davis Foundation which is based in USA, is the organism uncharged of taking care of orphans. Under the direction of Dr Washington Zambrano; Charity Anywhere Ecuador got invited to serve at this orphanage. Those professional who helped on this project were: Dr Alberto Vargas (Physician Epidemiologist), Dr Gloria Polo (Intern Medicine), Dr Ximena Tapia DDS (General Dentist), Dr Juan Pablo de Valle DDS (General Dentist), Dr Santiago del Valle DDS (General Dentist), Engineer Julio Zambrano (sterilization), Carlos Celin (equipment technologist), and Juan Pablo Trujillo (driver). An efficient organization and coordination looking only after the orphans has allowed those international collaborators from the Davis Foundation to be the sponsors and benefactors to this orphanage in Conocoto, Quito. The Davis Foundation has built around 30 home shelters where 10 or 12 children live on each house. On each of these houses, a substitute mother that take care of the orphans. She provides for them feeding, teaching and specially love which is hard to get considering orphans can not get that from their unknown parents. These home shelters run by the Davis Found also count with recreational and educative centers that also welcome community kids there. The achievements obtained by those who work for the Davis Foundation dealing with several generations of orphan children in Ecuador is a now a good example of how institutions of welfare can manage to cooperate in favour of those children less benefited in third world countries. Even though illnesses related to confinement was first thought to be find by our doctors; fortunately enough our doctors did not find complicated pathologies to take care of. Viral infections found at the up higher respiratory track were the first cause of consult with our physicians. Our doctors found three cases of Phimosis that required of surgical treatment. We are pretty positive that more cases related to Phimosis will be eventually found sometime latter and require surgical treatment too. People from the community also arrived to be seen by our doctors. It was found similar pathologies mostly owed to the crude winter Ecuador is going through this particular year. The medical consult was done in the following way: |
|
Men |
Women |
TOTAL |
1 up to 5 years |
16 |
8 |
24 |
6 up to 15 years |
22 |
20 |
42 |
16 up to 45 years |
2 |
12 |
14 |
TOTAL |
40 |
40 |
80 |
|
| |
|
DISTRIBUTION BY SEX AND GENDER |
|
| |
On the Dental field; the consult was developed on the following manner: |
| |
The total amount of PATIENTS seen was: 185. |
Men |
Women |
TOTAL |
107 |
78 |
185 |
1 up to 5 years |
22 |
|
6 up to 15 years |
141 |
16 up to 45 years |
20 |
46 up to 65 years |
2 |
TOTAL |
185 |
|
| |
|
| |
DENTAL |
PROCEDURES DONE |
FILLINGS |
61 |
EXODONTIAS |
20 |
CLEANINGS |
28 |
FLUORIDE TREATS |
102 |
TOTAL |
211 |
|
| |
|
| |
The experience of serving this kind group of people and share with them our time was no doubt about it a fulfilling experience for all of us who work for Charity Anywhere Ecuador. |
| |
|
BRIGADAS DE EMERGENCIA ZONAS INUNDADAS, GUAYAS, LOS RIOS - ECUADOR, MARCH 24 - 28, 2008 |
| |
According to the Federal Government of Ecuador; at least 3, 5 million of inhabitants of the Ecuadorian region of the Coast suffered of merciless water floods. The Ecuadorian National Civil Defence establishes that 650,000 stricken families and 54 people had died owed to those accidents promoted by river floods and continuous rain storms. Although the rain showers lately have stopped; the effects caused by the accumulation of water are provoking terrible infections on the respiratory or digestive tracks of those who live at the affected populations. Bad odours, several puddles of mud and the presence of mosquitoes are part of an unhealthy area complemented by chronic and insufficient environmental cleaning. Additionately; this year winter has been considered the roughest over the last 10 years. At least 10 people have been attended because of the serpent’s bites. These animals hide themselves at the urban streets of several populations in the Ecuadorian coast. The lack of food and pure water put under a higher risk the healthy conditions of these stricken families. Other populations on this region have seen destructions on their infrastructure (breeches, high ways, etc). The risk lives 54 dead although the number might increase with the latest reports; which are remitted by the provincial governments of those mostly affected regions of the coast.
|
|
| |
The evacuated people that obtained a status of refugees on improvised welfare homes are now various thousands of them. Families that had lost everything claim for governmental help and being able to receive some sort of humanitarian donations from any non governmental organizations, supportive people and foreign governments. According to the Ecuadorian National Civil Defence; the humanitarian aid received for the stricken families was done through the (COE)-which stands for the Emergencies centres of Operation. The Ecuadorian National Civil Defence has been asking for groceries, clothes, stoves, and other utensils meant to be given within the stricken families. Other private institutions and the media have done the same procedural in order to get large amounts of donations meant to assist those in the coast that were despaired to be helped. The rough winter that Ecuador supports has caused water floods on the 5 provinces of the Ecuadorian region of the Coast; and damage a huge magnitude on high ways, breeches or simply: infrastructure. It’s sad to admit that several provinces of the highlands of Ecuador (Sierra Region) also were affected by the crude winter. This comes up to a big total of destruction in 13 of the 24 provinces of Ecuador. According the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAHMI) the tougher precipitations will last at least for another month. The national governments of United States, Argentina, Chile, Japan, Colombia and Spain sent humanitarian donations for the stricken families in the coast. In any case the Ecuadorian families from other regions gave their hundreds and hundreds of donations over this 4 month and rough natural emergency. Since this situation of emergency at the coast truly deserve the helping aid and attention of “CHARITY ANYWHERE FOUNDATION”; our professionals and volunteers were able to signed up a letter of AGREEMENT where the Honourable City Government of Otavalo; the “Mariana de Jesus Foundation” and the Ecuadorian NAVY agreed to participate on a Humanitarian Mission that would collaborate with those in absolute disgrace after the winter floods in the Ecuadorian Coast. A medical and dental team was sat up to alleviate the terrible medical conditions there. Therefore; Charity Anywhere Foundation borrowed its medical and dental and constructive infrastructure to the previously mention institutions above to be able serve those provinces of Ecuador that were under the floods. Charity Anywhere also donated medicines as well as dental supplies. This mission was under the direction of Dr. Washington Zambrano DDS. Those who volunteered for Charity Anywhere were: Dr. Alberto Vargas Medical Practitioner (Epidemiologist); Dr. Ximena Tapia DDS, Eng. Julio Zambrano (Construction Coordinator), Juan F Zambrano & Marianela Ruíz (Pharmacy), Carlos Celin (Technician), Dr. Juan Del Valle DDS, Saulo Mera (Logistics). We also counted with our local volunteers that actually live at the city of Guayaquil: Dr. Jorge Montalvo & Dr Lily Valverde DDS, Dr Marina Montalvo Gynaecologist. At the other hand, the Honourable City Government of Otavalo donated food and hygiene provisions for those in needs. The city of Otavalo assigned 5 men to be able to drive 2 dumper trucks, a pick up truck, a boat, a bus, as well as road fixing machines (bobcats, etc) to be able to repair the damage caused by the rain storms on the zones to visit. Somewhere around 16 functionaries from the Municipal Government of Otavalo went to the zone of main destruction to achieve to proposed object of this Humanitarian Mission. Under the Coordination of Dr. Olga Farinango; the following Otavalo’s functionaries were able to visit the area of floods: Mr. Humberto Cotacachi driver, Mr. Arturo Calderon- driver, Mr. Marco Salas, Mr. Patricio Villaroel, Mr. Polibio Tabango, Mr. Manuel Remache, Mr. Jaime Quilumbango and Mr. Jose Quindriguango, Mr. Mauricio Cruz –driver, Mr. Guido Imbaquingo –driver, Mr. Andres Narvaez- media reporter, the municipal cops: Ivan Meza, Jose Delgado, Marco Chamorro and Marco Mina. The Ecuadorian Navy was grateful to collaborated with housing, security and meals were our participants were able to have dinner as well as breakfast during their staying at the South Guayaquil Base of the Ecuadorian Marines leaded by the Commander Oswaldo Zambrano who is Dr. Zambrano’s brother. Ms. Patricia Garcia is the representative of the “Mariana de Jesus Foundation” in Guayaquil; and she completed our mission group. This foundation supported us by given Charity Anywhere’s volunteers and professionals the lunch once per day. It is important to mention that the Red Cross local staff at the populations of Yaguachi and Milagro intervened with helpful hands and suggestions to make more productive our medical, dental and constructive aid to the inhabitants of the populations mentioned before. This created a great environment of unselfish and devoted feelings toward those we were about to serve. The positive experiences truly proved us that multi institutional collaboration can achieve great results on a great scale too when all are under the ideal of Serving One to Another. The places to visit where chosen by the Ecuadorian Navy; based upon statistic data that showed those places as the one with the higher risk as far as Epidemics, as well as those areas that receive the less of aid and donations. Therefore; over the three days of mission it was visited the three populations of Yaguachi and Milagro on the province of Guayas and the village of Carmela at the province of “Los Rios”. The total attention is showed on the following table: |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
