The Arhuacos are a profoundly spiritual, peaceful people who value their independence and traditions. Approximately 45,000 live in the Arhuaco Indigenous Reserve – between the Caribbean Sea and the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. The Arhuacos live dispersed over a wide area, and practice a subsistence economy, working the land and making handicrafts. There are very few roads; some isolated places can only be reached by foot or on horseback.
The WINTUKWA IPSI is the regional health institution which takes care of the primary medical needs of over 10,500 young children and 9,900 are women of reproductive age. On average they treat 1,150 children and 300 pregnant women per month. FOCSA has been asked to help because they are going through a difficult period due to climate change and other changes affecting their crops and water supplies. As a result there is hunger, malnutrition and illness, particularly in the most vulnerable groups of children, mothers and old people.
With your help, we have donated basic but essential medical equipment to the Nabusimake, Jewrwa and Simonorwa Health Centres. They have dedicated medical teams including doctors, nurses, bacteriologists and health promoters. While the infrastructure of the Health Centres is adequate, they lack even the most basic equipment required for diagnosis and primary care: Fetal Dopplers, Blood Pressure Monitors, Nebulizers and Vital Signs Monitors. Now the Arhuacos receive care from a health centre closer to their villages, without the expense and risk of having to travel for several hours in hazardous conditions to the nearest city.
Also, we donated a specialised closed incubator for the neonatal intensive care unit. This is vital for the intensive care of critically ill babies and children suffering from diseases such as renal failure, convulsions, very low birth weight or respiratory complications.
