DR PABLO PEREZ REFLECTIONS ON MEDICAL MISSION TO SANTIAGO DE CHUCO

Everything started at the root of service, this innate or acquired desire that pushes us to help others in need. When we returned from one of the many July parties in Santiago de Chuco, where one enjoys the culture and tradition each year, the family descendents of grandfather Socrates Perez visited The Cesar Vallejo Hospital of Santiago de Chuco and donated some boxes of medicine. It was there where I was able to experience the lack of health resources of the hospital in precarious condition. Due to the lack of development, it seems as though no time has passed since 1970, when the Cesar Vallejo hospital was donated by Cubans after a devastating earthquake. We were informed about the health needs in the area and we promised to return next year with more help.

With the aid of Dr. Calderon in Florida, we were able to develop and spread our idea of serving in Peru. Both Dr. Calderon and I are descendents of Socrates Perez who had a great legacy of service in the Santiaguina province of Peru. It was a great blessing to have this project gladly welcomed by Miriam Lemon, manager of the Saint Joseph Clinic in Georgia. She put into action Christian love in her service to her neighbor with an immense desire to help, even though she has never that in the land of Cesar Vallejo. However, her excitement to give service did not die down until she made the idea a reality and we finally arrived in Santiago de Chuco. With our humble beginnings, we were able to realize our goals with the sponsorship of PAMS, the Peruvian American Medical Society and through the aid of churches, companies, pharmacies, doctors, hospitals and non-profit organizations who all donated to this noble cause.

It took several months to fill our suitcases to satisfy the long list of medical equipment and medicines that was sent by Dr. Mantilla, the Director of the Cesar Vallejo Hospital of Santiago de Chuco. The time passed faster than we expected and we were already taking planes from different airlines from Atlanta and Miami, coordinated to arrive all at once in Lima, Peru. We acquired professional logistics for transportation, food, and board as though we were an international convention in the Peruvian Andes. After a short rest in Trujillo, more than 30 people boarded the last bus that would take us to our final destination in Santiago de Chuco.

The rest is history as we look at the photographs and enjoy recalling those moments of brotherhood, solidarity, and camaraderie as we served others with love and joy. Finally, we all went guided and blessed by a Supreme Being who cares for us and allowed us a safe return home to our family. It is a privilege to return to the land of our Barth and that gave us so many childhood memories, that it is hard to describe the great magnet that attracts us every year to celebrate the great traditional festival of Apostle Santiago el Mayor with the humble people of Santiago de Chuco. When we are so far from our land, our roots, and our cultural identity, we wish we were back in Santiago de Chuco, where we shared moments of joy and sadness with its humble people.

Because this trip was such a great success, we thank the hard work of Juanita Esquivel Perez, coordinator of the mission in Peru. Also we thank Dr. Mantilla, his wife and the personnel of the Cesar Vallejo Hospital of Santiago de Chuco for their hospitality. All the travelers were enchanted by the magic of the hospitable town and we hope to return in the coming year with more help, God permitting.

Thank you to all who travelled to Santiago de Chuco for their sacrifice and happy disposition to help others.

Pablo Perez M.D.