Once it cleared customs, known as ADUANA here in Peru, I sighed with relief. In Peru nothing is certain except uncertainty. Our first shipment of vitamins arrived and I could not have been more excited. After months of delays and what we refer to as "curves in the road", I was holding in my hands enough vitamin A to reach almost 5000 children who currently are suffering with mild to very severe degrees of anemia and malnutrition. I has been a gut wrenching concern for me over the last six years that Changes for New Hope has been helping children. Multiple vitamins have arrived over the years in boxes and suitcases in small amounts, small considering how many children need them. In our groups I have seen remarkable turnarounds in the health issues children were suffering from. Children with year round hacking coughs, running noses that never seem to stop and stunted growth, very thin and obviously undernourished children received what vitamins I had and in time the symptoms disappeared. The neat trick was how to get more to the children in the new areas where various mayors, school directors and municipal supervisors have asked us to help. With over 800 new additional children that we are reaching in seven different locations ranging from Huaraz to the south end of Ancash region, it was going to be a massive endeavor, bigger than this project has ever attempted before to change the tide of anemia's ravaging effects.
Vitamin A, provided by a grant from Vitamin Angels, a U.S. based non-profit, was the port in the storm that we needed. 5000 doses worth. The human body does not produce vitamin A and if you are not eating much more than potatoes and rice with a hint of chicken and a few shreds of lettuce each day, anemia is all but certain. Malnutrition follows as does stunted growth, learning disabilities, infant mortality issues, low resistance to infections and eye diseases such as night blindness. Young children under the age of five are at the greatest risk. One dose of vitamin A every six months is the solution, a solution that we now have in hand.
With the energetic co-ordinations of our newest team of volunteers, I arranged our first massive campaign in a town called Catac with the mayor there. Almost 400 children lined up for vitamin A, though neither they nor their parents probably understood fully what it was or why it was so urgent that they receive it. The typical "If it's free, it's for me" mentality that I had encountered since my arrival in 2009 was finally useful to me. We had designed a huge banner explaining what we were doing and what the benefits of the vitamin were and also had our "Haz lo Correcto-Do the Right Thing" campaign message out front and center for them to also learn about. I personally had to snip of the tip of the vitamin capsule and squeeze the liquid into each opened mouth of the children one by one. How bad did these children need vitamins? Not to put too fine of a point on it but I had never seen so many rotting teeth and mucus caked noses in my whole life. This was the very best solution, I was convinced, considering the impoverishment of the people, lessons on proper eating habits would be useless. I was told by the mayor's staff that no other NGO or organization has ever come to Catac to help their people in this way and many were surprised that we were here. I wondered why. There were NGOs all over Peru doing their things. I suppose reaching out this far and wide was not one of those things.
I explained to them, as I will explain to you now, that when I created Changes for New Hope in 2009, it was never meant to be a "Me-too" project that dabbled on the fringes of altruism. Though, admittedly, we were a far cry from being able to reach more than a few dozen children in need in 2009, to stall our efforts with just those few dozen would be, in my comprehension, unthinkable. If we could reach a few dozen then why not a hundred? If a hundred, why not five hundred? Whatever the obstacles were that would inhibit such growth, you overcome them. If the destitution and despair of the children in these Andes is truly a concern, then finding a solution to issues they face everyday is our task, everyday. Currently, we are in seven various pueblos and towns reaching over 800 children with more on the horizon. Maybe no one will ever hear about us beyond the Andes and those reading our stories here. It does not matter. Finding solutions is what matters. Finding compassionate people to support us, like Vitamin Angels has, is what matters. Reaching into the international community and melting the apathy that would cause those, well able to help, not to turn away.
Want to know what's next? We already are aware that parasitic micro-organisms infect over 93% of the children in the region. Literally thousands of children currently are slowly and insidiously suffering from these worms eating away at their organs and body tissue. Eventually, the parasites will kill them. The medicine, known as Abendazole, is now available to eradicate those parasites. The cost is just 32 cents and protects a child for six months. I promised the children and their parents that I would be back to address this problem as well.
Now it is time to ask for our heroes to step up, find the pocket change to save these children and donate it in support for our efforts to do what we came here to do.
DONATE TODAY. Just click on the Donate button on the first page and follow the simple prompts. We thank you for your compassion in action.
~~ Jim Killon