First Aid Kits for Rural Peruvian Health Workers

Thanks to your support, our First Aid Program for Rural Peruvian Community Health Workers is going strong! A common phrase I heard in Nursing School (and in many health education settings) was “See one. Do one. Teach one.” We know that combining visual and hands-on learning with the opportunity to then teach what you have learned is one of the best ways to solidify new information and new skills. So that’s exactly what our promotoras (the term for community health worker here in Peru) have been doing!

Not only have we been able to keep our health workers’ first aid kits stocked with life saving supplies (like hemostatic gauze, SAM splints, and antibiotic cream), promotoras who received their advanced first aid training - which you made possible with your donations - have been sharing their knowledge with others. 

Sacred Valley Health welcomed groups of medical professionals, students, and other visitors in November and January, and one of the highlights of their experience was a hands-on first aid course taught by SVH health workers. This is an incredible opportunity for everyone involved. Visitors learn life saving skills (particularly important if you’re trekking around on your visit to Machu Picchu!) AND it empowers promotoras by elevating them to a leadership role as teachers and trainers while giving them the chance to solidify their first aid skills.  

On behalf of our whole team here in Peru THANK YOU for making this program possible! We are so excited to see where it goes and grows in 2024. Stay tuned for new opportunities to support this empowering, life saving work in the months ahead, and in the meantime - your continued support means more supplies and more training opportunities for local health workers here in the Andes. We are so grateful for you!

Links:

• Learn more about Sacred Valley Health!
• Follow us!

Let me tell you what an incredible impact your support of Sacred Valley Health’s First Aid Project has had in Peru these past few months. I mean, WOW. 

In August, Dr. Claudia Bouvier came to Peru with 60 First Aid Kits that YOU made possible! These kits contained specialty first aid supplies - like hemostatic gauze to manage heavy bleeding and SAM splints for stabilizing sprains and fractures - that will help CHWs provide essential first aid care in their communities, many of which are many hours away from the nearest clinic. 

But that’s not all. On August 15th and 16th, we trained 48 health workers on advanced first aid skills! Dr. Bouvier was joined by Dr. Shakira Bandolin to support our local staff in leading 3 first aid stations. Escolástica, our Program Director, led the Stop the Bleed station focusing on wound management and tourniquets. Bertha, our Program Manager, led the station on splinting and stabilizing fractures. And Yajaida, our Administrative Assistant, led the station on neck and spine stabilization as well as patient transportation in the wilderness. 

We took the show on the road in the days that followed by hosting community-wide first aid trainings, led by our recently-trained health workers, in 2 of our partner communities. With 55 participants between the 2 campaigns, they were a huge success! Not only did it give community members an opportunity to learn extremely useful first aid techniques, it also gave health workers an opportunity to gain confidence in their new skills and showcase their abilities within their communities. 

You are the reason this amazing work was possible, so THANK YOU! With your continued support, we can keep these first aid kits stocked, continue to train health workers, and offer first aid campaigns to even more communities. As you can see, even a little bit goes a long way, and we can’t wait to see this program keep going and growing! 

Links:

• Learn more about Sacred Valley Health
• Follow us!