HI...everyone...and sorry for the delays in posting the 2017 information.
This year, we have Dr. Ike Shasha, General Surgeon, and Dr. Jennifer Daif, OB Gyn joining us again for our 2017 trip to Bolivia.
The dates have been decided upon...as June 2-10th, 2017
According to BOA, the airline that we use, the return flight will be at night on Sat, the 10th, instead of on Sunday, as a day flight.
If you plan to come earlier, or stay later, please coordinate directly with the airlines.
Our contact person is Cecilia Reyes...305-591-3217. You can also go on line to www.justfly.com to book.
Of course, you are welcome to book with any other airline that flies there...but they mostly arrive in SantaCruz or La Paz. Then you can coordinate a flight to Cochabamba.
I need everyone's copy of passport, CV and copy of licenses by March 1st, emailed to me... This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
I will up date with hotel costs and land based costs for your planning.
I have had the privilege of traveling and working as an OB/GYN in some of the poorest countries in the world. None of them compare to the humbling experience of Challa Grande in rural Bolivia. The plateau is surrounded by amazing vistas of the Andes Mountains. It is here that the indigenous people live and work. They are above the tree line at over 13000 feet, so dung is used as fuel, and the dark soot of life and work covers everything. The air is thin and dehydration is obvious in the chapped faces and cracked feet exposed to the elements in tire sandals. Poverty is present but you have to look hard, because the spirit and energy of the people is the first thing to catch your eye. No clean water, no clean fuel, no access to immediate rudimentary health care let alone a cesarean section (that would take 2.5 hours by car – if there was a car in the village). Folk practices dominate obstetrics where husbands are lay birth attendants. In the village if a woman doesn’t deliver fast enough she may be wrapped in a blanket and shaken, or if a baby is breech there is a high chance both mother and baby may die. MIMA understands that basic human rights such as education, clean water, and access to health care are the building blocks necessary for these groups to persevere.
-Tracy Irwin, MD
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