Food and Water Safety in Rural Peru

Presenter: Alex Robey, Physiology and Neurobiology, Global Public Health Scholars

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For my practicum, I traveled to Peru with Public Health Beyond Borders, an organization that aims to reduce health disparities through sustainable partnerships with communities around the world. In previous communications with our partner communities in Peru, we were told that food and water safety were of concern in rural areas. As a result, one of our primary goals was to deliver lessons on food safety to children in Compone, a rural community outside of Cusco. We did this through interactive classes and skits that were tailored to the ages of the children, as well as local customs and resources. While in Compone, we also tested the region’s water supply for contaminants and gathered information about the reliability of the water system. In addition to our work in Compone, we met with medical students from UNSAAC and community healthcare leaders. These interactions allowed us to strengthen our connections in the region, as well as identify areas of need and the ways in which we can best provide support going forward. The idea of being a provider of support, not a “problem solver”, was very important for me to learn and internalize. As a team, we needed to be aware we did not truly know the needs of the community, and that our role was to help them achieve their goals. Although a number of interventions can be classified as being under the umbrella of public health, they are most effective when they are made in active collaboration with the target community.