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Published: June 24th 2010
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Last week I decided to go back to Hospital Arco Iris. I worked in the Emergency Room again and then was able to go out on the mobile clinics. The hospital has three “Consultorio Mobiles” that go out into the rural communities and treat people who don’t have easy, close access to healthcare. Two of the mobile units go out to schools to treat kids, and the other goes out into the streets and treats the homeless, drug addicts, and most commonly alcoholics. Mary Beth and I were able to go out on one of the units that go out to the schools. We drove for about an hour in the south and up the mountains to a town called Ceja in El Alto. It was a pretty small rural town. As soon as we parked at the school, all the students began lining up. One by one, the driver, who served as a medical assistant, would record the child’s name, height, and weight, and then the doctor would do a brief physical exam. He would examine their mouth, teeth, eyes, throat, hands, spine, and then listen to their lungs and heart. If one of the kids had a medical condition,
then he would give them medication and write some instructions down for their parents to see. Most of the kids were between the ages of 6-10. All of the children had horrible teeth! Their teeth were either already rotting or were covered with cavities. Many kids suffered from malnutrition and were very short or under weight for their age. Because of the malnutrition, many kids had anemia as well. Other symptoms that were common were warts all over the some of the children’s hands and sometimes on their face, which I guess is because of their not so clean lifestyle, and bronchitis or other throat infections. Once the doctor diagnosed the child and gave them the medication, then the driver/medical assistant would explain to either the teacher or to the child’s parent if they were there, what the child needed and how to eat properly. After the doctor saw at least 150 kids, it was time for lunch. We left the school and drove to this lagoon area and had lunch. We finally arrived back at the hospital around 4. It was a very long day, but extremely rewarding. It is nice to know that there are organizations that are
making the effort to go out into the rural areas on Bolivia and help treat those who are greatly in need of healthcare but don’t have the means or the access to it.
On Saturday and Sunday I didn’t really do that much because 7 of the other people in the program went to Salar de Uyuni, and since Isabel and Lucia went to Cochabamba to visit her mother, I stayed home to take care of my very, very sick roommate, Lauren. On Sunday, I did go with two of the other girls to the Valle de la Luna here in La Paz. It is this valley with really cool rock formations, which have all kinds of meaning for the people here. I unfortunately don’t have any pictures because I forgot my camera that day 😞
Monday was a national holiday here in Bolivia because it was the winter solstice. According to one of the religions that is present in Bolivia, Aymara, the winter solstice marks the new year, and this year was 5510(I think?). The winter solstice is also when the southern hemisphere is farthest away from the sun. A lot of people go to this place called Tiwanaku,
which is Bolivia’s most significant archeological sight built around 600 AD and what many refer to as Bolivia’s sacred place. Little is known of the people that constructed this religious sight or what happened to them. The ruins that are present here are perfectly calculated with the sun and the calendar year. Tiwanaku was specifically chosen because of how the orientation of the three largest mountains in Bolivia, Mt. Illimani, Mt. Illampu, and Mt. Sajama, and how the sun rises over them. During the two equinoxes of the year, the sun rises over Mt. Sajama. During the winter solstice, it rises over Mt. Illiamani, and during the summer solstice, it rises over Mt. Illampu (I might have those mountains confused, but either way you get the idea). Where those three axes meet, is where Tiwanaku is. Now, the ceremonial area is built in much the same way. During the equinoxes, the sun’s first rays shine through this sacred gate. During the two solstices, the sun’s rays shine through either of the corners of the ceremonial square. With each event, the sun’s rays then pass through this statue of a god and then shine onto the sacred alter. Everything, about Tiwanaku
is carefully calculated and planned according to the sun, the calendar year, and the stars. Besides the ceremonial area, there is also a pyramid that is partially visible. I guess it is the second largest pyramid in the world in terms of area, but much of it is under ground or destroyed so it is hard to imagine the whole thing. Because Tiwanaku is their sacred place, the have a huge ceremony every year before sunrise. We woke up at 4 am and took a bus to Tiwanaku. Since there were so many people and we couldn’t really get too close to the actual ceremony, we joined many other people and went up on the pyramid to watch the ceremony. There were several religious and influential figures, including the president, who performed a ceremonial ritual and then took turns taking their offerings onto the alter where there was a fire and burning them. The offerings consisted of small trinkets that each symbolized something and llama fetuses. After waiting anxiously for the sun to rise and reach the alter, the ceremony came to a close. Once the ceremony ended, people were free to go up to the alter and make their
own offering and freely roam the ruins. We were with a guide that took us around and explained everything to us.
After our tour we went and ate breakfast. We then went into the main square of the tiny town where they were having a parade and mini celebration. All the important figures were sitting up on a stage and then several different groups would come along and perform a dance in front of them. After the celebration in the plaza, we ate lunch and then got back on our bus and headed to La Paz. Even though, the national language is Spanish, there is something like 9 different languages that the indigenous people speak and many different religions. Aymara is one of the languages and it is also a practiced religion. The president is actually Aymaran, which is why he comes to the ceremony every year. I really enjoyed the celebration that day and learned a lot about the indigenous culture in Bolivia and how it came to be.
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Michelle
non-member comment
Your pictures are amazing and I am sad too that you did not have your camera for the cool rock formations. We are missing you here and so happy that you are having all these wonderful experiences. The children's lives that you are touching are so very lucky to have you caring for them and I am sure you will be remembered for your compassion and smile : )