Some of the students participating in the activity: (in the 1st row from left to right) Pilar Iglesias, Irune Álvarez, Rebeca Salinas and Leyre Satrústegui; (in the 2nd row from left to right) Verónica Soto, Izaskun Elustondo and Olatz Alkorta. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

Eleven students from the School of Nursing of the University of Navarra will travel to Peru this summer to teach a program on school health, health care and training of local health promoters. The activity will take place in Chiclayo, a city in the northwest of the country, where there are still districts, mainly Andean, with a high degradation partner-sanitary and fees of maternal and infant mortality very high.

The University of Navarra already developed a similar project of Education and health care there in 1997 and 1998. "The School of Nursing tries to carry out some activity every year at volunteer activities and financial aid social. We have also traveled, with similar initiatives, to Mexico and Portugal," explains Purificación Díez, academic administrative assistant of the School. Two professors and three nurses from the school will travel to Peru with the students. Clínica Universidad de Navarra.

The students, in their 2nd and 3rd years, are preparing themselves with special sessions to learn about the reality of that area, while strengthening their knowledge to develop an effective work there. In this sense, they have had classes with different professionals on common diseases of the third world, health promotion and Education , Education sexual, and specific attention to pregnant women and children. The work in Peru will take place between July 2 and 28 and will be developed in partnership with the University of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo (Chiclayo), with which the School maintains a agreement.

"I have always liked the volunteer activities, so when I found out about this opportunity offered by the University, I did not hesitate to sign up. I was also encouraged by the fact that I could develop this social activity together with classmates from the School," explains Leyre Satrústegui, a 3rd year student. "Some of us will already be nurses in July. Our work in Chiclayo will be the first thing we do as professionals," says her classmate Izaskun Elustondo.

Collection of health and school supplies

Another important part of project, in which they have been working for some time, is the collection of various materials to send to Peru. Thanks to the Pamplona NGO "financial aid al Tercer Mundo. Medicamentos" they will take medicines to the area. "We asked what medicines they needed and this NGO will provide them," said Purificación Díez.

In addition, they want to send health and school supplies, prescription glasses and clothes to support the work they will be doing during the month they will spend in Chiclayo. In this sense, the parents of some of the students are collecting and providing supplies and El Corte Inglés will also provide school supplies.
"I think it is an experience that you have to live. We will be able to help people in real need," says Irune Álvarez, a 3rd year nursing student. "I know we're going to learn a lot," concludes Pilar Iglesias, another of the students taking part in the initiative.