ADRA-Hospital Ship Project
From 1995 we are working jointly with the Navy of the Republic of Paraguay in a project dedicated to the medical attention of the inhabitants of the creeks of the Paraguay river, near Mato Grosso, Brazil (South America).
This people do not have regular economic income and live on the wages that win daily by occasional works, or of the collected thing in small artisan lime industries, it fishes, wood crafts, cattle ranch, agriculture and beekeeping.
The Paraguay river is a central river of the South America, which is originated in the heights of Mato Grosso, to the west of Brazil. It crosses 2,415 km towards the south, crossing the center of Paraguay, to be united to the Parana River in the North border of Argentina. It receives the affluence of the rivers Bermejo and Pilcomayo. Although the channel of the river varies its route, is navigable in almost all its course. Its main port is the port of Asuncion, capital of Paraguay.
The river is an important waterway, but it does not allow the navigation of great ships. This means are used for the transport of cattle from the Paraguayan Chaco, iron mineral transport from Brazil to the furnaces of San Nicholas, Argentina, and for sport practices and fish. But all these activities do not have a high impact in the local economy.
The population of the single region has the elementary resources to survive. When they need medical or dental attention must sail with canoes to oars near eight hours to arrive closest at the center of elementary attention. In single case of emergencies it reduces to them to pray, and most of the times they die. Most
of the settlers they are not vaccinated, lack prenatal attention, dental cares, medical controls and growth and development attention. They suffer of infectious diseases (like the Tuberculosis), undernourishment, parasitism, pneumonia, etc.
The work that we made in this region includes the areas of health, social, education, environment, and preservation of native cultures and economy. The objective is to make an integral attention by means of the attention to people and the place where they dwell trying to create self-support communities. But this is very hard to obtain, not only by the deficit of resources, but also by the illiteracy and the ignorance. Thus we are working to provide with potable water, teaching first aid, teaching the local advantage of natural processing and medicines (herbs), fomenting agriculture, providing with educative material, advising on urbanism, etc.
Until today we traveled to that region in boats of the Navy, because there is no another way to arrive until there. We took with us medicine and medical equipment for medical and dental attention, which is made in earth under the trees or small straw ceilings. Also we gave to food and clothes. In a near future we will establish a small clinic like missionary station. The Major of Puerto Pinasco (a small city over the river of 1,000 inhabitants (see map)), has promised to give a house us for such effect. We are in contact with Universities and Faculties of Medicine, to provide nurses, doctors, teachers and volunteers. This clinic will have to be equipped with communication systems (hopefully Tele-medicine), boats, all terrain vehicles and ultralight airplanes (we looked for a hydroplane version). This we considered yet to take care of a population of 3,000 4,500 inhabitants.
Certainly we needed resources, but the advice of people experienced in similar projects around the world is important for us. Do not like to duplicate we efforts, to misspend resources and to close the mind to new ideas.
We wished that these people could see in each sunset, not the hopeless beginning of the decline, but one good reason to thank for the Lord.
Dr. Nestor Zawadzki Desia
