A few of us from the first brigada woke up very early and met up with the director of the program for tuberculosis at the Ministry of Health and a couple doctors and people what work with him to drive down to the affected area. The goal was slightly unclear to me, (as they often are) but I had it understood that we were going to show the Ministry of Health (MINSA) officials what the health centers of the affected cities were doing to control an increase in health problems due to the destruction of the earthquake. People with tuberculosis who are positive, aren't supposed to live too closely with their family members. But after the earthquake, many families all had to cram into their kitchen or whichever room survived the tremors. So there was a big fear of contagion. Another vital aspect of TB care is taking your medication every day. With the disruption in their lives and destruction of some health centers and hospitals, there was a fear that people weren't able to take their medication appropriately.
We met with directors of the 3 main hospitals, promotoras, and doctors. We walked through the now empty streets of central Pisco. Right after the earthquake, the streets were filled with people looking for food, help, or a place of refuge. But the streets have now been cleaned enough to at least let a car go through most of the roads.
There are tents and little flimsy houses set up. But it was hard to believe that a month had past, and it still looked like it did. We past a huge field filled with the rubble that had been collected.
In one hospital we saw guys trying to make computers work that had been damaged, sitting next to piles and piles of destroyed paperwork and patient charts.
We walked past the spot where a 6 story hotel had fallen down where, it's said, a large group of American tourists had just shown up. They've stopped looking through the rubble for bodies.
The roads no longer have as many people lined up begging for food or water. There are no more trucks of donations with lines of people waiting their turn for their allotted donation.
The trip, done all in one day, had a very different feel from the first one. During the first trip we all had a sense of caution, panic, and preparedness for whatever it was to come. This time we were more calm, laughed more, yet still shocked at the damage. I saw the same homemade tents in the streets with families cooking outside.
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