We have spent these last few days nostalgically taking in all that we can of our surroundings and committing the incredible people we’ve met and all the views and sounds of the jungle to memory. From jungle walks to climbing up the observation tower to catch the sunset, we have definitely made the most of this last week.

 

Although we were not able to organize a second community meeting due to Don Rufino being sick, we have been able to finalize the changes we made to the previous year’s contract (adding the the fifth workday and the tasks of replenishing guano and additional watering during the dry season to maintain the health of the plants) as well as formulate the weekly task chart to be kept at the clinic to keep track of the work being done by each family. We also came back to the clinic make some finishing touches to the mural – it came out wonderful, the clinic looks so much friendlier and inviting now. We hope that the mural will create a greater sense of community involvement at the clinic.

 

We are happy to have done something that will be useful for the community of Santo Tomas for years to come – the union of Western and Traditional medicine honors indigenous Peruvian culture and will give people easy access to treatments for common ailments. Various people we met have stressed the importance of having a community garden with medicinal plants so as not to have to search for them in the jungle.