Earthquakes, Changes at our Wheelchair Partner, and Feathered Friends

27 May 2018

Life in Peru is very different from back home due to many factors. One notable difference is that we live in one of the most active fault zones in the world, and earthquakes are an expected part of life here.

Peruvian Earthquakes and the Ring of Fire

Peru sits on the 'Ring of Fire', an area that includes all coastal regions on the Pacific Ocean (west coast of North and South America, along with the east coast of Asia). As the earth's tectonic plates move over and under each other, they cause volcanoes and earthquakes, both of which we have experienced here in Peru. Our humanitarian efforts here have often focused on assisting with these devastating events.

After every earthquake, our humanitarian office immediately starts making phone calls to church leaders in affected areas to determine the extent of the damage. Governments usually call us first for help after a devastating earthquake because they know that we are often the first on the scene to provide emergency assistance.

During my entire life before coming to Peru, I had only felt one earthquake when I was a child in Utah. Here in Peru, I have felt several over the past 14 months. They are so common here that the Peruvians have a variety of names for them ranging from 'temblores' (or tremors that shake your buildings and wake you up in the middle of the night) to 'terremotos' (or real earth-shattering quakes that demolish cities). Lima, for example, has been destroyed several times over the past 500 years due to earthquakes (along with the Tsunami tidal waves that often accompany the quakes).

This past week we had two earthquakes - one that shook us awake in the early morning and one later that week that rattled us at our office. The first was a 5.2 magnitude quake with an epicenter about 90 miles south of here; the second one was a 4.9 magnitude quake about 120 miles north of here. There were no fatalities and only minimal damage to buildings, but both quakes certainly got our attention!

After a quake occurs, people here check their cell phone apps to see where the quake occurred and how bad it was. We get these reports within 5 minutes after a quake has happened. Web sites also keep us up to date on where and when quakes have occurred. (Tsunamis are a very real danger here after a quake, so you only have a little time to move to higher ground if you are on the coast).

Quake map showing recent earthquakes in our area. The green and orange arrows point to the quakes that happened last week north and south of Lima (4.9 and 5.2 magnitude).

These are our latest earthquakes. Cell phone apps and internet web sites keep us informed quickly after quakes occur here in Peru.

During an earthquake, we are instructed to seek protection in a safe place. If we are indoors, they suggest getting on the floor next to an object that can shield you - without getting under that object. If the ceiling or wall collapses, the strong object you are near may get mostly crushed, but the area next to it offers protection. They call it the "Triangulo de la Vida" or the triangle of life.

The Triangle of Life - finding the right place to hide during an earthquake can save your life.

During the early morning earthquake this week, I just rolled out of bed and onto the floor next to the bed. That was my triangle of life. (Sandy, on the other hand, got up and wandered around the house, hoping all the shaking would end soon. I kept yelling at her to get on the floor and find a 'triangle of life').

We have to admit that living here in Lima concerns us at times, given the many earthquakes that have occurred over the past centuries. However, modern buildings (like our apartment and office) are constructed to standards that make us feel a little better. We just pray for the many people that live in poorly built houses that will collapse during the next 'big' earthquake.

Changes at our Wheelchair Partner

For years, we have made our wheelchair donations through a Peruvian partner called the Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion (INR or National Rehabilitation Institute). We have donated almost 4,000 wheelchairs through them in the past 8 years.

The INR takes care of evaluating poor people throughout Peru and making sure the wheelchair donations go to those with the greatest needs. They also handle the many logistical tasks in dealing with the local health agencies during wheelchair deliveries. They have been considered one of our best partners worldwide. So, when a new administration came in recently and replaced everyone in the previous donation committee, we were very concerned.

Here are a few of the hundred wheelchairs donated at a recent delivery ceremony in the city of Ica.

Dave and Sherri Jones, the volunteer wheelchair specialists from Texas who coordinate our donations, came to Peru this week to met with us and the new leadership at INR. We wanted to ensure the transition to the new administration would go smoothly and that this critical relationship we have with them would continue to go on into the future.

Dave and Sherri Jones, Alex Principe, and us along with the new doctors and therapists at the National Rehabilitation Institute.

Thankfully, the new administration at INR is still committed to supporting our donations, although at perhaps a slower and probably more rational level. We may be making smaller donations in the future, but they have committed to maintaining a higher level of  service in terms of the quality evaluations and deliveries they provide.

We breathed a sigh of relief.

More Feathered Friends

Peru has the greatest number of bird species in the world. Given that the country covers parts of the Amazon Jungle, the Andes Mountains, and a very long coast line, thousands of bird species live here or travel through on yearly migrations.  I have included many bird photos in past blogs. Here are a few more shots I have taken recently around Lima and in the jungle.

This is a Harris Hawk, waiting in a tree near us to snatch up any other tasty birds that happen by. Harris Hawks range from the tip of South America all the way up to Alaska.

One of our favorites are the Saffron Finches. These birds are abundant here in Lima, and they are always in pairs with their mate.

This Amazilia Hummingbird is one of many that live throughout Peru. Getting them to hold still for a picture is a real challenge. 

The Blue-Grey Tanager lives in the jungle and also here on the coast.

It's hard to believe how many beautiful birds (like this Blue-Grey Tanager) live here in Peru.

This bird is the Social Flycatcher that lives in the jungle regions. I took this photo on our last trip to Iquitos two weeks ago.

This jungle bird is a Festive Parrot, and I took the photo on a sidewalk in Iquitos. Some people capture wild parrots like this one in the jungle, then clip their flight feathers to keep them around for pets. Unfortunately, if a cat comes around, this poor parrot will have no means of escape. 

And so we return to the office this week to continue our work on the project to ship goods for starting home businesses for the many starving Venezuelans who are suffering in that country. Their current dictator 'won' another term in office last weekend by paying everyone who voted for him in this rigged election. We will likely be working on this Venezuelan project until the end of our mission (which is now less than two months away).

Vision Project - Final Journey into the Amazon Jungle of Iquitos

13 May 2018

This week's trip took us to the jungle city of Iquitos for the vision project that we started back in October. We served as in-country contacts for this week of surgery and training being given by Dr. John Lewis (accompanied by his wife Katherine).

We've now been to Iquitos many times on our mission (5 times for me, 4 times for Sandy), and this was likely the last time we will be into the jungle before leaving Peru in July.

Into the Jungle

Flying into Iquitos requires a trip high over the snow-capped Andes Mountains, down the eastern slope, and then across several hundred miles of lush Amazonian jungle. Iquitos is the world's largest city that you can't reach by road (only by ship or air).

Two rivers converge just before reaching Iquitos to form the Amazon River. The top river is the Ucayali, the lower river is the Marañon, and they converge to form the largest river on earth. The city in the foreground is Nauta, about 60 miles upstream from Iquitos.

Closer to Ecuador, Colombia, and Brasil than Lima, Iquitos is a 2-hour flight away, over the Andes Mountains and across the Amazon jungle.

The jungle is lush and green because it rains a lot. We arrived at the beginning of the dry season, which means that it rains only once or twice every day (as opposed to all day long during the wet season). Of course, the clouds broke loose just as our flight touched down and we were getting off the plane (with no jetway). Passengers without umbrellas got soaked.

Jungle deluge at the airport. The umbrella - an essential survival tool in Iquitos. 

Iquitos has many paved streets, but there are lots of poor neighborhoods with dirt streets down on the riverfront.

Humble homes down on the river. Everyone has corrugated metal roofs in this jungle city where it constantly rains.

Clotheslines works well, at least until the next storm comes along.

Because Iquitos is so remote, most people get around town on motor taxis. There are more than 10,000 motor taxis in Iquitos - they outnumber cars by 20 to 1. Every day during the trip, we went to the hospital on the motor taxis.

Dr. and Sister Lewis on their way with us to the hospital in the motor taxis.

Rivers surround Iquitos on three sides. Once you leave the city, boats are the only way to get around.

A family trip into town from the jungle - boats are the way to get around once you leave Iquitos.

Vision Project Donations

Our vision projects include donations of vision surgical equipment and then the visit by the US ophthalmologist for a week of surgery and training. We finished the donation of the final pieces of equipment just days before Dr. Lewis arrived. The hospital now has the equipment that had previously kept them from performing eye surgeries.

The week started out with a meeting in the hospital with hospital director (Dr. Percy Rojas) and staff ophthalmologist (Dr. Majura Limachi). Dr. Rojas told us the hospital had never had capabilities for eye surgery, and they had wondered how they would ever get the equipment (government hospitals like his are always under-funded). He said our project was an incredible blessing for the hospital.

Poor people depend on the regional government hospitals for treatment of their eye conditions. When these public hospitals don't have essential equipment, they refer patients to Lima for eye surgeries. However, the poor usually don't have the funds to travel to Lima, so they stay in Iquitos in their blinded state.

Dr. John and Katherine Lewis at the Regional Hospital of Loreto (in Iquitos) where the project was taking place.

Meeting with the Henrie's, the Lewis',  hospital director Dr. Percy Rojas, ophthalmologist Dr. Majura Limachi, and health coordinator Salvith Melendez. Dr. Lewis brought the stack of supplies on the table, including inter-ocular lenses for cataract surgeries.

Our donation of equipment consisted of a surgical microscope, a visual field analyzer, A-scan ultrasound, and clinical examination chair with a phoropter.  Hospital staff were very excited to get this equipment that will now expand their capabilities.

The donated A-Scan Ultrasound is used to measure the eye and calculate the correct lens when performing cataract surgery.

The visual field analyzer we donated is used to diagnose vision deficiencies. I got tested using this device and determined that I have some issues with my right eye that need to be checked further once I get home.

The donation of a phoropter is a basic piece of equipment for determining corrective prescription. It's hard to believe the hospital did not have one (or even the evaluation chair that the patient would sit in).

We wanted to view the surgical microscope we had donated, but it was located in the operating room, so we had to dress up in order to get to it.

I got to dress up (and pretend to be a doctor) to get to the surgical microscope in the operating room.

Dr. Lewis in front of the ocular surgical microscope. This donation is critical for performing any eye surgery.

Vision Surgery and Training

Dr. Lewis is a specialist in treating glaucoma, so this week's visit focused on that. Patients came in for the first two days to be evaluated as possible surgery candidates. It was sad to see the many people who came in with seriously degraded vision (or total blindness) in one or both eyes.

Dr. Limachii examining a patient as part of identifying surgery candidates.

We got to observe the examination process for the first two days.

Two candidates were identified for the glaucoma surgery, and they were scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. Doctors came in from the other public hospital to observe the operations.

Message above the door going into the surgical center: Señor bendice mis manos (Lord bless my hands)

Dr. Lewis performing one of the two glaucoma surgeries. The two patients who received the surgeries would have lost their sight without these surgeries.

Both surgeries were successful, and post operative evaluations showed their internal eye pressures were significantly reduced. Dr. Rojas, the hospital director, said this was an historic event because these were the first glaucoma surgeries ever performed in any hospital in this jungle region.

Our hope is that the training and equipment donation will now continue into the future to bless the people in this remote jungle region where there is so much need.

Amazon Floating Restaurant

After the second day of clinical evaluations, we went to lunch at an interesting place - a floating restaurant in the middle of one of the rivers about a mile upstream from the Amazon.

"Al Frio y Al Fuego" ("Into the Cold and Into the Fire"), the floating restaurant in the middle of the river about a mile upstream from the Amazon River.

Lunch on the river. Jungle cuisine is among the best food in all of Peru.

The floating restaurant also included a floating swimming pool. What an unusual restaurant and pool in the middle of the jungle river.

Jungle Animal Rescue Preserve

After work the next day, we drove to a preserve for animals rescued from the illegal animal trade and other injured wild animals. Thousands of animals confiscated from the markets in Iquitos are given a chance to rehabilitate and possibly return back to their jungle home.

Scarlet macaws and jungle land turtles, rescued from the illegal animal trade.

About 10,000 baby turtles that were saved and will be returned to the jungle.

Amazon river otters that were illegally trapped. They are being rehabilitated and will be returned to their natural environment in a national park in the Amazon jungle.

The animal rescue preserve sits in the jungle - the animals feel right at home, although it was just a little too hot and steamy for us.

And so as our time in Iquitos came to an end, we prayed that our efforts to help those in need with vision projects like this will bear fruit over the years to come. 

We left Iquitos to fly back to Lima to handle the many pressing projects we have in works. The Lewis' stayed in Iquitos until the weekend to finish the training and attend the delivery ceremony.

As we left the city that night, I thought how this trip to the jungle may be the last time in our life we will ever visit such a wild and exotic place as this.

As the sun set, we bid farewell to Iquitos.

Our final jungle sunset.

Helping with the Venezuelan Crisis, and Long Walks through Lima

8 May 2018

The normal, frantic pace of our area office has increased recently with a new priority: helping with the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

Crisis in Venezuela

Currently, over 1 million Venezuelans have left the country due to the political turmoil. A third of those refugees have arrived in Peru and are doing well. However, food shortages in Venezuela are causing people to go hungry. Rampant inflation has caused their currency to become worthless. And to top it all, the Venezuelan government will not allow any humanitarian aid to enter the country – doing so would admit that there is a problem.

The lucky Venezuelans are the one who have escaped.

Venezuela is ready to fall off the globe. The lucky ones are the refugees who have already made it out of the country.

For the Venezuelans left inside Venezuela, we are now assisting with a way to help several thousand of our members survive this ordeal. This massive project involves setting up home businesses to help families support themselves. Members who are interested complete a series of self-sufficiency courses, and, once completed, they can request assistance in obtaining supplies to setup their own businesses.

We and a dozen others in our office are now working full-time as we process 1,700 requests for assistance. These requests were based not only on member requests, but also on a review by their local church leaders. Items being requested for home businesses include: auto repair tools, sewing machines, kitchen and bakery items. items for laptop and computer repair, hair cutting and beauty shop supplies, etc. We review and process the requests, then create requisitions, which turn into orders for the goods.

Recipients of the aid agree that these supplies remain property of the church, and they have a year to make the business profitable. They also agree to return the items if they move or if the business isn’t successful after a year (so other members can then use those items).

Given the quantity of items we have to order, we think we may be working on this project for the next few months until our mission ends.

We pray that all this effort bears fruit and helps these Venezuelan families survive the days ahead.

Long Walks – Around Lima

We have been taking long walks around Lima lately on our days off (Saturdays and occasional holidays) – 60 miles in April and 26 miles so far in May. We decided we wanted to toughen up for any post-mission treks we might want to take. So far, we have done well except for some expected sore muscles and heat-related issues.

An app on my cell phone tracks on a map where we have traveled, the distance, calories burned, and total time. Here is a map of the walk from our home to the ocean last week.

Map of our walk to the ocean - only 11 miles from our home, then another two miles beyond.

     Walk to the Ocean (13 miles)

We left our apartment at 10 a.m. and reached the coast 3 hours later, had some much-needed lunch, then kept walking until our legs told us we were done. We caught a cab to get home.

One of the best parts of the walk was walking through groves of Eucalyptus trees planted in the suburb of San Borja.

Larcomar Mall on the Pacific Ocean - a good place to relax and rest our tired feet.

View from Larcomar Mall in Miraflores. We made it to the Pacific Ocean walking across Lima from our apartment.

     Walk to the Mountains (12 miles)

The city has planted cactus and other plants in a mountain park 6 miles from our apartment. The 12-mile round trip, up and back, was a hot and sweaty hike that left us a little sore for a few days.

Finally, we made it to the cactus forest in the mountains.

Cactus forest planted in the mountains near Lima. This terrain is so dry that not even the cactus can survive without drip irrigation.

    Walk to Central Lima (13 miles)

This past Saturday we decided to walk to the historic downtown of Lima. We made it most of the way without stopping until we ran out of gas at 11 miles and got some lunch to keep going.

Reaching our goal of walking into the center of Lima with its historic Spanish cathedral.

Lima City Hall - this place feels more Spanish than many places in Spain.

So the week draws to a close and we fly out this coming week to the jungle city of Iquitos for a vision project where we have made donations of vision surgical equipment. We will join Dr. John Lewis and his wife, and Dr. Lewis will train doctors at the regional hospital in techniques for performing glaucoma surgery. This may be our last trip to Iquitos during our mission, so these days of travel to the jungle may be coming to an end.