Empowerment and Partnership

Ken ran into Inocente from Soledad this weekend. He was in town to take another laboratory course at the hospital. He has taken many courses on his own and has now become a laboratory tech and is putting his microscope to great use. Ken asked him how many deaths there have been of malaria in Soledad. He said there have been no deaths in years since they are able to be treated quicker since they have a microscope.

He started out as a simple health worker in his village, but became increasingly concerned as case after case of malaria showed up in Soledad. It would take over a week to get results back from blood tests which meant the delay in treatment for those affected. He really wanted to find a way to acquire a microscope and learn how to use it. He approached us about it. He said the village was willing to come up with the money. We told him we would check around to see where the microscope could be bought at a reasonable price and how he could receive training. Other missionaries in Peru that we talked to for leads doubted that Soledad would come up with the money for this purchase and told us that we should at least provide half of the funds for them. We had faith that the money would be provided by Soledad alone. Sure enough they decided to sell a couple of bulls to raise the money to buy the microscope and receive training. When a Peruvian national heard about this funds were donated to provide transportation to and from Lima for his training. Since that time about 6 years ago, he has also taken it upon himself to train other Chayahuitas to use the microscope. Other villages have also bought microscopes so they too can have faster results.