Machu Picchu, Cusco, Sacred Valley Disaster Relief

VIDA continues to aid remote regions impacted by the various natural disasters that have hit Peru over the past decade including Cusco. VIDA continues to partner with Peru’s Ministry of Health and the military to airlift medical aid to benefit thousands of families in the region of Tambo, Ayacucho. VIDA is building on our work in the Ayacucho region through our partnership with Otis McAllister, Inc and its suppliers of quinoa.  Trucks leaving the region carrying quinoa to the ocean ports return back empty.  This has created a strategic opportunity for VIDA, to partner with these growers, and fill the empty trucks with donated medical aid.  VIDA is currently using a similar strategy in shipping to Arequipa and up into Peru’s impoverished Altiplano region where Alpaca herders live. The program is a collaboration between VIDA and alpaca designers KUNA (www.kuna.com.pe) and The Sandra Jordan Collection (www.sandrajordan.com), CARITAS and the non-profit group Queachua Benefits.  The program is also made possible by the generous funding of transportation and logistics by Otis McAllister Inc. VIDA is working with a variety of hospital and small clinics by providing hospital beds, exam tables and other equipment and supplies. Recently, VIDA just airlifted $1.5 million in Vaseline that addresses the skin problems suffered by the people living at high altitude and harsh environment.  From Arequipa the remaining donations are then sent to Puno and finally the balance of the donations are dispersed throughout the Altiplano.    Thank you for making this unique and impactful program possible.

VIDA continues to aid regions impacted by the various natural disasters that have hit Peru over the past decade. Recently. VIDA partnered with Peru’s Ministry of Health and the military to airlift medical aid to benefit thousands of families in the region of Tambo, Ayacucho. In addition to the medical supplies, VIDA has also shipped beds, exam tables, and over 50 office chairs to outfit the outdated hospitals. VIDA has also sent four containers to Arequipa to be distributed to Peru’s Altiplano that is home to alpaca herders.  The program is a collaboration between VIDA and alpaca designers KUNA (www.kuna.com.pe) and The Sandra Jordan Collection (www.sandrajordan.com) and the non-profit group Queachua Benefits.  The program is also made possible by the generous funding of transportation and logistics by Otis McAllister Inc. VIDA is working with a variety of hospital and small clinics by providing hospital beds, exam tables and other equipment and supplies. The containers are shipped to Lima and then trucked 8 hours to Arequipa. From Arequipa the remaining donations are then sent to Puno and finally the balance of the donations are dispersed throughout the Altiplano.  VIDA shipments total in excess of $2 million.

VIDA continues to aid regions impacted by the various natural disasters that have hit Peru over the past decade as well as the last vestiges of terrorism. Recently. VIDA partnered with Peru’s Ministry of Health and the military to airlift medical aid to benefit thousands of families in the region of Tambo, Ayacucho, which still is afflicted with terrorism. With the help of organizations like VIDA, the people of Tambo are fighting poverty and terrorism through their persistence. VIDA is also preparing to send two containers and one airlift to Arequipa to be distributed to Peru’s Antiplano that is home to alpaca herders.  The program is a collaboration between VIDA and alpaca designers KUNA (www.kuna.com.pe) and The Sandra Jordan Collection (www.sandrajordan.com) and the non-profit group Queachua Benefits.  The program is being funded in part by a successful fundraiser and the support of Otis McAllister Inc. and Quinoa growers in the region. VIDA will be working with a variety of hospital and small clinics by providing hospital beds, exam tables and other equipment and supplies. The contents will be shipped to Peru’s southern port and then trucked to Arequipa.  Medical teams will then truck the aid to remote clinics in the Antiplano.  VIDA, in collaboration with Direct Relief International will also be airlifting over $500,000 in medicine to Arequipa.

Two containers carrying over $1.5 million in aid arrived in the port of Callao Peru on November 1, 2014.  In addition two containers from the VIDA warehouse carrying over $1 million in aid and one container carrying $1 million in aid from our partner Direct Relief will be leaving for Peru to resupply VIDA projects in Lima, Cuzco, and the Antiplano region near Arequipa.  Beneficiaries range from the large urban Lima pediatric hospital Asociación de Damas Hospital Emergencias Pediátricas to the rural clinic serving single mothers and their children Policlinico Belen in Cuzco.   The shipments contain hospital beds, gurneys, exam tables, crutches, walkers and over 1,000 boxes of medical supplies ranging from gloves to sutures to surgical kits. The donations destined for Cuzo also include 150 first-aid kits donated by Bayer Corporation. These shipments could not be possible without the work of VIDA Volunteers who work at the VIDA warehouse in Emeryville California sorting donated medical supplies.  The volunteers sort out expired goods, liquids and medicine. To learn more about volunteering at VIDA please visit our website at www.vidausa.org.  We welcome both individuals and large groups.  Thank you for making our mission possible this year and in the future!

Links:

• Learn about volunteering at VIDA

22 members of the HRIMM medical team from Antioch, California are hard at work in Chosica, Peru. The team is comprised of doctors and nurses who will provie care to over two thousand patients at the VIDA project "Hermanas Misioneras de Nstra. Sra. del Perpetuo Socorro" in Chosica, Peru.  

The Team provides basic Internal Medicine and Family Care, The teams hauls their own gear and sets up shop right in the street with mobile tents to care for some of Peru's poorest citiizens.  The VIDA team faciliated the transportation of over $250,000 in medicine and supplies to be used during the two week mission.  In addition, four 5th year peruvian medical students have joined the mission to hone their skills and learn from physicians and nurses who work at some of the most presitgous medical schools in the United States.  These students are working on a program to establish ongoing care  after the medical team leaves.  

In addition, VIDA's container is due to arrive August 1, 2014.  The shipment is carrying medical equipment and supplies to outfit the clinic.  This effort is the result of the hard work of VIDA Peru, HRIMM, Peruvian Ministry of Health, San Francisco Consul General of Peru and VIDA USA.