Mª Luisa Garachana Carpintero is a young occupational therapist from the Castilla y León Youth Solidarity Program-2018, who is participating this year through Juan Ciudad ONGD in the project “Health Promotion and Integration of Children with Disabilities in Piura, Peru”.
This project, funded by the Regional Government of Castile and León under the 2018 Castilla y León Youth Solidarity Program, aims to promote awareness and education for development in our society, in addition to supporting the social and health activities carried out by the San Juan de Dios centers through awareness of other realities and cultures, the intercultural dialogue established, and solidarity participation.
Mª Luisa as a volunteer in this project, has participated during the months of September to November 2018 in the San Juan de Dios Clinic of Piura, in northwestern Peru, a charitable institution belonging to the Order of St. John of God, specializing in physical medicine and comprehensive rehabilitation, which for over 28 years has provided medical care in the rehabilitation of children and adults with neurological, physical, psychological and other ailments. María Luisa has also supported the San Juan de Dios Rest Center center of the Order, also in Piura, dedicated to mental health care.
Testimony of Mª Luisa Garachana
The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God has hospitality as one of its core values. Through this distinctive quality, they strive to provide comprehensive care to the most vulnerable population. Within its wide range of activities, I will focus, on this occasion, on the "Messengers of Health" campaign, a medical campaign that has been running throughout Peru for almost 20 years.
During my volunteer stay in Piura, I had the opportunity to participate in one of these programs, an enriching experience not only for the people who came seeking care, but also for all the professionals who volunteered their time for this initiative.
Family doctors, opticians, pediatricians, occupational therapists, nurses, nursing assistants, pharmacists, drivers, administrative staff, and volunteers joined forces to provide the best possible care to a community with limited financial resources.
Imagine a hot Saturday morning, vans packed with uniformed personnel unloading suitcases of medicines and medical supplies, and you there, with your ailment, waiting with the hope of a few minutes of free care to heal the injury that's making your daily life difficult.
We're used to going to the doctor, waiting in a temperature-controlled room, picking up a prescription and buying medicine at a fairly affordable cost, and returning home by car or public transport. Here, the experience had a slightly different feel: people crowded at the entrance to a sports center under a small shade that didn't stop them from sweating in the sweltering heat; families without the resources to pay for a doctor's appointment; children and the elderly who came from remote settlements waiting in line for a quick checkup and a few medications. It was an image that left no one indifferent, a scene that touched the heart and invited me to treat those who came to my table with the greatest possible love.
It wasn't a sad scene as it might seem; on the contrary, it was radiant with excitement. On the one hand, gratitude to the professionals who selflessly dedicated their time, and on the other, personal satisfaction for those of us who received blessings from all these people. In short, a morning filled with happiness, with tiredness rewarded with inner joy, with collective happiness.
This is, in a nutshell, one of the countless chapters that two months of volunteering at the San Juan de Dios clinics in Piura have given me, all of them imbued with precious details and unforgettable experiences. How could I not recommend these experiences? How could I not convey my desire to continue on these paths of altruistic help? How could I not encourage the world to pay attention to those in need? If it's possible to change the world, this is a very powerful tool.
