Medical Ministry International in Amazon
Medical Ministry International first travelled to Colombia in 2004, under the leadership of Willie and Janice Hunter and at the invitation of Antonio and Ruth Cortes and the Iglesia Cruzada. Due to the remote Amazon regions, Medical Ministry International teams typically provide medical, dental, audiology, and preventative health education for the Indigenous populations in the areas surrounding Leticia, Colombia.
Juan Alan Muñoz - Project Director
Juan Alan Muñoz was born in 1972 to a Colombian father and an Irish mother, who were called to be missionaries in the Amazon jungle of Colombia. Juan Alan studied Economics at university in Northern Ireland and Finance in Bogotá, Colombia. He has been working in the area of business administration in the health sector of Colombia since 1996. He began serving with Medical Ministry International as National Director of MMI Colombia in 2004 and as CEO of Clínica Leticia in 2013. He is a father of three children: Juan David, Andres Felipe, and Isabella, who also help Medical Ministry International. Juan Alan spends his time between Bogotá and Leticia, always with a cup of coffee in hand. Juan Alan and his wife, Leonor work closely with Medical Ministry International in planning the projects in the Amazon Region and other areas of Colombia.
The Yavarí River Amazon Project teams travel by boat to deliver medical services in a 200 km radius around Leticia, Colombia. Leticia is an ideal location to serve patients from three different countries: Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Medical Ministry International supports Clínica Leticia, which serves 80 emergency and 120 medical patients daily, as it increases capacity to serve the region. Each day our teams travel down the river and set up clinics in local rural villages. Although it is not physically demanding, Yavarí River Amazon projects are considered an extreme project due to basic lodging accommodations and elevated exposure to certain diseases. If you have a servant’s heart and an adventurous spirit— join us and experience the Amazon!
Hospital Boat Initiative
As the scope of our current services in the Amazon continues to grow, MMI Amazon is limited by the facilities available in the remote villages they serve, and by the power of their existing boats to take them within a given geographical radius.
We are excited to announce that we are building a hospital boat. This will expand MMI Amazon’s health care services of primary, medical, dental, nutrition, and vision screening programs. By acquiring a hospital boat, we can provide ophthalmological consultations and surgeries, ambulatory surgical services, and have accommodations for personnel and teams in even more remote regions.
Clínica Leticia
Medical Ministry International has formed an alliance with a clinic in Leticia (Clínica Leticia) where surgery and other moderate levels of health care are provided. In the Amazon region, many patients are transported weekly to Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, due to lack of advanced medical machines and specialists. Clínica Leticia is working to upgrade its facilities to reduce the number of air transports.
In some villages, there may be someone with basic medical training, but their resources are usually extremely limited. Many times there is no medicine available. Therefore, the villagers often wait until they are extremely sick before even considering getting medical attention. The other factor that affects the villagers is distance. health centres are often very far away from their village and the cost of gasoline is too high to afford transportation.
Cervical Cancer Screening
With a $75,000 grant from Stronger Together, Medical Ministry International partnered with Eve Medical to pilot a HPV screening program for women in remote communities along the Colombian Amazon and tributaries using new Canadian medical technology. Women that carry a high risk HPV strain are susceptible to cervical cancer, the most frequent cancer in this population. By testing for common STIs, Medical Ministry International also identifies and ensures treatment for women who may experience infertility, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, preterm delivery, or health risks for their newborns.
Medical professionals in Amazon clinics utilize HerSwabTM technology, designed and manufactured in Canada, to perform pap smears for Amazon tribal women. Once collected, samples are transported to a lab for HPV and STI testing in Bogota, Colombia.
Pictured above: HerSwabTM Technology
Results are collected and tracked by MMI Amazon staff. The women with positive HPV results are transported and connected to a follow-up program executed by Dr. Gutierrez, the gynaecologist at the Medical Ministry International partner health center, Clinica Leticia. Dr. Javier holds a Masters in Epidemiology and has 20 years experience in the Amazon. Each woman will receive additional diagnostic care, specialized treatment, and if necessary, surgery and cancer treatment. The cost of treatment provided by Clinica Leticia will be government-funded. MMI Amazon has successfully bridged this gap in the Colombian health care system by identifying patients on Medical Ministry International medical teams who required advanced follow up from Clinica Leticia.
MMI Amazon has launched a Womens' Health Program for rural communities along the Amazon River. The focus of the program is Cervical Cancer Screening by testing for HPV. The program also includes dental services, health education, beauty kits, lunch prepared by men in the village, and children's programming including sexual abuse awareness.
Project Sites:
Amazon & Yavarí Rivers
In the Amazon Region, Medical Ministry International serves three countries: Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Road access is not available in this region; only river and plane. Because of this, if a Brazilian needs medical care, for example, they must travel by boat up to six or seven days to Manaus. Peruvians must travel three to four days up to Iquitos. Colombians must take a plane to Bogotá.
The Yavarí River region is inhabited by Peruvians and Brazilians belonging to the Ticuna tribe. These people live in communities that range from 80 to 600 people, and each village has a leader that works with a small council. The large families live in wooden homes and have a chakra where they farm and cultivate land for their living. Healthcare access is supported by outreach programs with Clínica Leticia and MMI.
* Project Description:
Yavarí River, Amazon project teams will join forces with Clínica Leticia. On most projects, the team stays in tents inside a school or a house and travels by boat to seven villages. The primary goal is to provide physical, spiritual, and emotional care to the Indigenous populations. In each village we often see 150 patients, or cover 50% of the villages need. While on the river, bucket showers or bathing in the river is common. Electricity is available during select periods of time.
CLICK HERE to view MMI Amazon Packing Suggestions
Elevation
96 m (314 ft)
Climate
A lot of rain (rainy season) falls in the months: May, June, July, August, September and October.
Hot and humid
Average Temperature 27°C (80.6°F)
Igara Paraná River
The Igara Paraná River is part of the Amazon River basin and is a tributary of the Putumayo River. The Igara Paraná river has 23 communities, each one with an average of 250 people. Chorrera is the main village with 500 people. These villages are usually located off the main river on a tributary or a beautiful lake. The homes are generally built with wood, bamboo, and leaves.
The people living in these communities are described as humble, hospitable, and gentle. You will often find people hunting, fishing, or grinding “manioc”, and travelling via flat-bottom canoes from place to place.
* Project Description: On these projects, teams provide health care to five villages along the Igara Paraná. Our small team travels by boat and sets up camp in the villages, usually tenting inside a school or house. While on the river, bucket showers or bathing in the river is common. Electricity is available during select periods of time.
CLICK HERE to view MMI Amazon Packing Suggestions
Climate
The climate ranges from subtropical in the north to temperate humid in the south, with less plentiful rainfall.
Travelling on a Project
About Amazon
Region Background
The Amazon is an incredibly unique place. It is the world’s largest rain forest and river system, and the most biologically diverse place on Earth.
The Amazon contains millions of species, most of them still undescribed, and some of the world's most unusual wildlife. It is one of Earth's last refuges for jaguars, harpy eagles, and pink dolphins, and home to thousands of birds and butterflies. Tree-dwelling species include southern two-toed sloths, pygmy marmosets, saddleback and emperor tamarins, and Goeldi's monkeys. The diversity of the region is staggering.
More than 30 million people, including 350 indigenous and ethnic groups, live in the Amazon and depend on nature for agriculture, clothing, and traditional medicines. Most live in large urban centers, but all residents rely on the Amazon’s natural bounty for food, shelter, and livelihoods.
LOCATION:
A vast region that spans across eight rapidly developing countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, an overseas territory of France.
GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES:
2 30 S, 46 00 W
MAP REFERENCES:
South America
TERRAIN:
Terra firme uplands, but seasonally inundated bottomland rain forest occupies the floodplains
TOTAL AREA:
5.5 million km²
BORDER COUNTRIES:
Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
COASTLINE:
N/A
MARITIME CLAIMS:
N/A
CLIMATE:
Tropical rain forest
ELEVATION EXTREMES
LOWEST POINT:
General ground level - 100 m
HIGHEST POINT:
Neblina peak - 3,040 m
