Paraíso is the most distant and smallest community of the parish of Los Santos Arcangeles, Lima, Peru. People mostly live in houses made of cardboard, planks, and damp, dirt floors. Until recently there was no water nor wastewater system and the community had very limited access to doctors or medicine. Consequently, there were high rates of: undernourishment of children under 5 years of age; children who do not receive their normal infancy inoculations; intestinal parasites in children and adults; as well as bronchial problems.
Thanks to the support of MOM, in September 2009 we opened the first stage of our medical centre. This gave us a reception/admission office, two consultation rooms for general medicine, an office for our centre coordinator and social worker. Later, in 2011 we opened a second stage. In all, MOM has supported this project with $60,000. Our hope since we began in 2007 has been to hand our project over to the Peruvian Ministry of Health in order to gain better and more consistent medical support for this isolated population.
The new centre will be a referral centre for all mental health needs for the North of Lima. It will also provide State funded general health services to the local people, State subsidised medicines as well as monthly ‘campaigns’ which offer specialised consultations for the locals. This new service, available largely due to your support in an area of Lima that had for so long been neglected by the State, will greatly enhance the quality of life for the needy locals. Congratulations and thanks to all MOM supporters. For more information click here