Week 15 4/19/10-4/23/10 Cusco, Peru Geoffrey Strom

On Saturday ASCEND participated in a health fair for

the Margen Derecha, one of the poorest urban areas in the
Cusco valley. Recent rural to urban migration has erected
many neighborhoods which climb the southern foothills of
Cusco. Newer adobe constructions on the upper slopes do
not have running water. The residents who have running
water only receive the service for one hour at 6:30AM daily.
The lack of potable water is the source numerous health
issues which unfortunately are exacerbated by various social
problems. Alcoholism, gangs, and teen pregnancies are
rampant within this population of 20,000. ASCEND belongs to
two organized committees involved in empowering change in
the Margen Derecha. The Mesa de Salud organized this
health fair in coordination with other NGO’s working in this
area. Since ASCEND is reestablishing itself in Cusco, this event
was a great networking tool in addition to being effective and
fun. We were involved with the behind the scenes logistical
planning of obtaining the tents for each organization and
medical specialist. Civil Defense had many tents that were
intended for flooding relief but were currently being stored in
the local soccer stadium.

As Saturday was quite a hot and sunny day these structures

were a great way to beat the heat and provided sufficient
privacy for all of the medical examinations available that day.
Some of the events highlights were a trained dog show put on
the Peruvian National Police. Our favorite police officer Polito
was also in attendance. His usual masked persona was a delight
to all of the children who had showed up to the event. His
natural talent with kids was a blessing for the interns Tim and
Geoffrey who put on a health oriented puppet show. A few
different scripts were performed with topics including hand
washing, teeth brushing and the dangers of tobacco.
Polito had amassed the all of the forty or more
children at the event and brought them over to our
stage/tent. The show was an entertaining and
educational success with some toothbrushes being
handed out after. A few youngsters stuck around after
the show and wanted to play with the puppets. A
short script was even reenacted by a young girl and boy who were neighbors and lived right near the
soccer field were the event was being hosted.