Emergency Health Fund for the Shipibo people

Since our last update in February, the Intercultural Health Team of Alianza Arkana has been busy at work establishing new relationships with Shibipo-Konibo community members in Asentamiento Humano (AH) Geminis. This AH, or human settlement, is a semi-urban community located just outside of Pucallpa, the capital of the Ucayali department in the Peruvian Amazon.

We have completed two workshops in AH Geminis in the past three months: one on Family Planning with adolescents, and another on Parasite Prevention and Nutrition. As in our other partner communities, community health workers were essential to organizing and executing these educational activities. Thanks to their work in mobilizing their peers, we were able to complete both of these two-day interactive workshops with eager participants of all ages.

The Family Planning Workshop with adolescents followed suit with a method termed Comprehensive Sex Education (ESI - Educación Integral de la Sexualidad). This method is used in certain locations throughout Peru and other countries by government and non-government agencies alike. Generally, ESI attempts to depart from traditional sex education that focuses on abstinence and negative outcomes, and instead move towards a more holistic, confidence-building approach. The goal is to provide young people with the information and tools they need to feel confident making choices in their sex lives and relationships. During our workshop, youth participants aged 12-19 years learned about contraceptive methods in detail and discussed components of healthy relationships. Other activities included discussing life goals and the choices that would lead to accomplishing them, as well as creating dramatized skits that explored the navigation of sex decisions within intimate interactions.

During our Parasite Prevention and Nutrition workshop, we worked with children aged 4-15 years and adults aged 18-49 years. Together, we discussed best practices for keeping ourselves and our families healthy, as well as symptoms and treatments of various parasite infections. Community members discussed the healthy foods that were available to them, and the important components of a daily diet. We also discussed the ways in which sugary and unhealthy foods have had a negative impact on community health, and how to avoid such foods on an individual level while encouraging others to do the same.

Community members of AH Geminis have already requested additional workshops with our team. We are excited to continue this new partnership, and have planned to meet with community organizers in order to determine our next activities together.

More upcoming activities

Also, over the past several months, we have begun to meet regularly with the Regional Health Directorate (DISA - Dirección Regional de Salud) of Ucayali. Our goal is to a foster long-term collaboration with their Department of Indigenous Health and share best practices along the way. In the beginning of June, we will present our past work as well as our two-year plan for 2019 to 2021 for their team. We look forward to collaborating with the local government to increase access to, and improve the quality of, healthcare services for local Shibo-Konibo communities.

We at Alianza Arkana would like to thank all of our partners for your continued interest in our Intercultural Health projects. Please stay tuned for the upcoming activities made possible by your support!