Pre-Departure Packet PERU - Project Huancayo OVERVIEW Congratulations! You have completed all FIMRC pre-trip requirements and are now cleared for travel. It is time to prepare for your volunteer experience in Peru! In the following packet, you will find a wealth of information from packing tips, contact information, to arrival logistics and more! Please read all information carefully and, of course, we are always here to answer any questions you may have. A LETTER FROM FIMRC HEADQUARTERS CONTENTS The Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC) is pleased 3 Meet the Team to welcome you to the FIMRC Family. We are looking forward to your service in Huancayo and hope that you are too. This amazing experience will allow you to 4 Get To Know Huancayo immerse yourself in a different culture while providing unique opportunities to get to 5 Know Before You Go know a community in the developing world. 6 Packing Guide This packet contains useful information for your trip and will answer many of the 7 Packing Guide cont. questions that you may have. Included is packing advice, arrival and housing logistics and an emergency contact list among other things. We hope that you will 8 Arrival Process take a moment to familiarize yourself with the content so that you can confidently 9 Lima travel to our site in Huancayo. We would like to make your volunteer mission as 10 Lima con’t. comfortable as possible, so if you have any further questions after reading through this packet, please feel free to contact us. 11 Homestay Families 12 Your Volunteer Mission As a volunteer with FIMRC you will carry out vital tasks in support of our mission to provide quality health care to children who are underprivileged and underserved. 13 Staying Healthy FIMRC realizes that to truly change the health care conditions of places like 14 Additional Info Huancayo on-site medical attention is only one piece of the puzzle. Diligence in spreading the word about our mission so that everyone is aware that there are 15 FAQs children who do not receive the medical care that they deserve is also necessary. 16 Stay Involved Your impact on the community in Huancayo can be felt long after you board the plane home simply by sharing stories of your volunteer mission to friends and family. We are so excited to welcome you to our FIMRC team and are proud that you have decided to join the effort to create a world in which every child has an equal opportunity to benefit from modern medicine. On behalf of the entire FIMRC team, we thank you for your support and hope your experience is nothing short of extraordinary! Vikram Bahkru, MD Meredith Welsh Founder and Chairman Chief Executive Officer Zane Randell Global Health Volunteer Program Manager 2 MEET THE TEAM MANOUCHE DUMONCEAU, Field Operations Manager (Huancayo) Manouche Dumonceau is a dynamic and creative young Belgian woman. She has traveled to various countries in Africa & Latina America where she has worked in several NGOs in the area of Health and Education. Those fulfilling experiences led to develop a passion about multicultural relationships and community empowerment. During her studies, she developed a strong interest in psychotrauma and wrote a thesis about building resilience through educational projects. She spent several years working in different NGOs in Nicaragua and had the opportunity to put her experience about resilience and education into practice. She joined the FIMRC family in Peru in September 2017 and is very thrilled to learn from the different programs and to contribute to their development. Luis Carranza,Transprotation Coordinator (Lima) Luis joined the FIMRC team in early 2015. As our Transportation Coordinator in Lima, Luis manages all airport arrivals, departures, and other transport needs during a volunteer’s stay in Lima. Manouche and will be your primary contact prior to and during your volunteer experience in Peru. You will also work alongside FIMRC’s amazing team of Field Officers. You can read more about each team member via the link below. CONTACT INFORMATION Peru FIMRC HQ, Philadelphia Manouche Dumonceau, Field Operations Manager Zane Randell, GHVP Manager +51 988-669-903 (mobile) 888-211-8575 ext 2 (mobile) [email protected] [email protected] Luis Martín Azaña Carranza, Lima Transport Meredith Welsh, Chief Executive Officer 943-483-752 and 41-350-9556 267-290-8151 (mobile) Huancayo FIMRC Office Landline FIMRC HQ Office +51 (064) 212-360 888-211-8575 • ext. 1 (Main Office : Mon to Fri 9am - 5pm EST) • ext. 5 (24/7 Emergency Line) Local Emergency Number: 105 When calling the US from Peru, dial 001 then the number. For all landline calls within Peru, the city code is required if you are calling from another city, otherwise the city code can be dropped. The city code for Huancayo and La Merced is (64). When calling Peru from the US, dial 011 then the Peru country code (51). WhatsApp We encourage all volunteers to download WhatsApp in order to easily communicate with in- country staff as well as friends and family. WhatsApp uses your phone’s Internet connection, instead of your cell data, to send text messages and to make voice calls. The app is a free download for iPhone, Android, and Windows phones. All FIMRC team members (both in Peru and the US) can be reached via WhatsApp. 2 3 GET TO KNOW HUANCAYO Project Huancayo is located in Peru’s central highlands nearly eight hours from the capital of Lima. Serving as home base in the area, FIMRC maintains it’s office and close partnerships ties in the city center of Huancayo and then extends its reach beyond the city and into more remote communities in the surrounding area. FIMRC’s mission is to increase access to basic health knowledge, raise awareness of the area’s most pressing health issues, and to increase access to healthcare resources. BACKGROUND Setting: Urban Highlands Population Size: 364,725 Climate: Dry & Cool Communities Served: 14 CLINICAL CARE Partner Facilities: Hospital Carrion, Sapallanga Health Post, Huancan Health Post, Cocharcas Health Post FIMRC Mobile Health Campaigns: 2 - 10 monthly Clinical Services: • Support partner medical facilities • Free health screenings during mobile health campaigns in Huancayo and surrounding rural communities • Fluoride treatments and dental health education COMMUNITY OUTREACH Health Education Programs: • Cuy / Nutrition and Anemia Project in rural community • Dale La Mano Orphange Education Program at Sicaya Orphanage, Gelicich Orphange, and Castilla y Leon Children’s Home • Health education activities at Teen Moms Home • Monthly health campaigns with education opportunities on topics such as handwashing and reproductive health • Portawawa mother and newborn health program 4 KNOW BEFORE YOU GO CURRENCY BUDGET TIPS Exchanging Money & ATMs Volunteers generally incur costs during their trip for activities Peruvian currency is the Nuevo Sol, or “soles” (plural). not included in the daily volunteering program. The following We recommend storing extra cash in a safe, concealed is a list of common weekly expenses: place. As a general precaution, do not carry more money than is needed for the day. Please visit www.xe.com/ucc • Spending money: $150+ (dependent upon spending for the most current exchange rates. You are welcome to preferences and interest in excursions) exchnage money at the airport or through your bank, if • Laundry: $3 (per kilo to wash and dry) you wish, however there are many reliable ATMs in Lima and Huancayo that offer a favorable exchange when You should not tip taxi drivers as that is not the custom in withdrawing cash. Peru. Additionally, most Peruvians do not tip at restaurants. However, if you receive great service at a restaurant or are Notifying your Bank eating at an up-scale establishment then you should leave a Before travel, you should notify your bank or credit provider tip of 10-15%. Volunteers have the option to hand wash and that you will be traveling abroad, as unusual credit card use hang dry clothing during their time on-site. However, local may trigger fraud protection and freeze your account. laundromats are available. VACCINATIONS No vaccinations are required by law when traveling to TRAVEL DOCUMENTS Huancayo from the U.S., but we recommend consulting your doctor, as well as www.cdc.gov/travel, for the most You must possess a passport and a return ticket in order up-to-date vaccination recommendations. The Yellow Fever to travel. It is your responsibility to have a passport that is vaccine may be recommended if planning to travel to jungle valid for at least six months beyond the date of your trip. areas. Volunteers who are not U.S. citizens must check with their consulate or a visa agency to determine what personal identification is required. Passport applications are available OFFICE ADDRESS at most U.S. Post Offices, as well as at regional passport agencies. For more information, visit the government FIMRC’s Huancayo Office is located at Calle Calcuta 220, El website at travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html. Tambo, Huancayo ELECTRICITY & INTERNET The voltage used in Peru is 110/220 volts AC, 60Hz. Two- pin plugs are standard (equal sized pin sockets only). The U.S. uses 120 volts; you can purchase a converter and transformer at most hardware stores for your 120 volt appliances. Most laptop and cell phones can be plugged SAFETY & STEP directly into outlets in Peru, however it is advised that you FIMRC is committed to volunteer safety, purchase a three-prong to two-prong adapter, as most security, and health. Upon your arrival, our outlets in Peru are two-pronged. Some older places still have team will give you a detaiiled orientation, the two-round prongs.