On June 21, six Wayland residents will embark on a nearly 3-week expedition with Hatun Runa, a small non-profit working to provide resource development in healthcare, education and the overall quality of life in remote villages accessed through Leymebamba, Amazonas, Peru. Wayland’s Leslie Moloney, one of the founders Hatun Runa, is organizing the expedition which will include her son Collin Moloney, Jih-Ho Donovan, Owen Donovan, Carlos Melero Jr., and Matt Edwards, all from Wayland. We will be joined by archaeologist and solar engineer Ricky Lightfoot, who designs our solar systems for portability and durability in the harsh environments we trek to and install the systems in.
Where the road ends, Hatun Runa’s work begins. For 10 years, Hatun Runa has been working in remote villages in the Northeastern Andes of Peru. These forgotten villages are thousands of miles from the crowds of tourists in Cuzco and Machu Picchu and are accessible only by foot. With limited or no health care, clean water, sanitation, electricity and educational materials, everyday life is a struggle. Hatun Runa’s efforts are focused on providing resources to these communities by providing solar power for their health posts and schoolrooms, as well as basic medical equipment, educational supplies and training. Hatun Runa and Loose Change (also a Wayland-based non-profit) are the only American non-profits working in this area due to the difficulty of simply getting there. The region has transformed in the past ten years that we have been traveling to Peru, but there is always so much more to be done.
In 2010, Hatun Runa started a solar power initiative which changed the delivery of care in the village health posts. These are solar power systems that could be trekked by foot into the mountains, in order to provide light, radio for medical emergencies and power a small fridge for life-saving vaccines and medicines. In 2011, a Hatun Runa container was shipped from Boston to Lima, then trucked 2000 miles to Leymebamba. It held the first surgical suite, dental suite, maternity suite and other medical equipment as well as enough educational resources for 6 schools. Last year, torrential rains caused a flood and landslide in the middle of the night in the village of Chilchos, accessible only by a 26-mile trail. A mother and three children were washed away and search efforts were nearly impossible as the village had no electricity or emergency lighting. The community requested help, and last summer we installed a set of tactical solar powered flashlights in the health post for the future.
This year’s trip will be an intense surgical strike: we will visit all three of the health posts’ solar installations for maintenance and upgrades, and bring medical and educational resources for the health posts and schools. Supplies are trekked in by our group on foot and on horseback. We will visit La Morada, a nearly 40-mile(two-day) trek through altitude, high jungle, and mud. This is a village that lives at poverty level and hardship is 24/7. Four years ago Hatun Runa was the first non-profit (foreign or domestic) to visit this village of shy/cautious people. We installed solar panels in their health post as well as lighting, a vaccine refrigerator and dedicated radio. We brought supplies to the mud-walled, dirt floor school. Our leader warns: “The hike to this village is going to be the hardest hike you will ever do but the most rewarding if the weather is good. The beauty of it is beyond compare.”
Some of us will also visit Chilchos, a 26-mile trek from our base town, Leymebamba. We do this hike in one day, we stay for one day, and we hike back the next. Only a small group will do this hike while the rest of the group spends some time in the schools in Leymebamba. Atuen, the closest village, now has a road!!! So this will be a one day trip.
We humbly ask for your donation to help Hatun Runa fund the installation of improved solar equipment in 3 health posts to ensure durability over time. We will also bring medical resources, books, and educational materials to schools. Please note: All travelers are funding all of their personal travel costs, so all donations will go directly to improving the lives of the people in these villages.
100% of your donation goes to these projects. You can donate by clicking here
If you would like to learn more about Hatun Runa visit: http://www.hatunruna.org/.
Thank you for your consideration
