Fieldwork in the Andes

I returned from Ecuador un poco differente than when I left Norfolk. La Iglesia de la Comañìa de Jesùs, made of gold, was a divine place where we weren’t allowed to take photos because on the alter rests the bones of the Holy Queen and Virgin Mary; but of course, I snuck a few images. I lit candles in La Basìlica del Voto nacional, which was built by the Spanish to content with the grandeur of Notre Dame. 10,598 steps later, I arrived atop Cotopaxi, the highest volcano in the world. Here at 16,000 feet, I stood at the closet point to our Sun on Earth.

I am honored to have worked with the Quechua communities of Ecuador’s Andean rurality, who welcomed this pale faced memory of colonialism into their village and home. My experience with this ancient complex culture system has changed me, and shaped my understanding of health and well-being; and I am humbled by this new cosmovision. A piece of my heart now lives in the city of Quito, in the cloud forest of Mendu, on the mountains and volleys of Volcano alley, and in the homes of the indigenous peoples of the beautiful county of Ecuador.

This essay describes my medical anthropological and epidemiological research and fieldwork experience in Ecuador, and surmises the role of global health practice in urban and rural contexts.

Ecuador, like most countries is defined by its name. Ecuador is the term used to describe the geopolitical communities of the equator. Home to the native peoples of the Quechua language and culture system, this community represents the largest minority in the region. It was conquered by the Inca, whose leaders died of smallpox after diplomatic exchange with European & Native American leadership- who had contact with Europeans in the 1500s. In this vulnerable moment, the Spanish arrived, taking advantage of the vacuum caused by the death and despair in the context of an empire collapsing. They brought with them terror, Catholicism, and a cultural inquisition that transformed the social economic and medical structures for the region.

El Fundacion Campamento Cristiano Esperanza

Working with Camp Hope was not the first time I’ve had to dig for data to report on the health status of communities under the auspices of a particular organization or funding source. Reviewing medical charts is part of the reporting process, be it for grant writing or municipal fund renewal; the work done at Camp Hope was a glimpse into the resource bereavement associated with global non-profit, non-governmental organizations, and served as a snapshot into what it takes to sustain public health projects and program development.

Our work with Camp Hope strengthened the global health system by collaborating to build organizational capacity, efficiency, and evidence-informed equity, which is the result of our research and analysis. It was an incredible experience that afforded me the opportunity to see the many hats the NGO leadership wear and the myriad of ways in which they use outside resources to achieve their mission. I am glad that I was able to lessen the burden of proof in helping this organization with its data management, and I hope our work serves their interest in securing additional funding for the community they serve.

Health and Wellness in Oltavalo’s Indigenous Communities

                Critical medical anthropology is a field that examines that examines the intersections of medicine and social theory, as well as the ethnographic and epidemiologic scholarship that comprises its topicality.

In the Andean mountains of Ecuador, I found our focus groups with the indigenous Kechwa communities to be transformative. For many it was upsetting to hear about their lives, the conditions of their everyday, and their common perceptions of health- which we inquired about on a scale that measured from 1-5. To me, I was fascinated with how this community was making life beautiful DESPITE the gross inequalities and lack of resources that circumscribed their experiences. Our specific insight into their Cosmovision, and the ethnomedicine they used to treat illness and wellness, was paramount to our fieldwork. I was grateful to be able to have the director of the local traditional medical organization provide us with an insider’s perspective. In the field, questions about development, the role of capitalism and the global health system, psychiatric anthropology, gender theory, disability studies, citizen, immigration, violence in wartime and peacetime as a medical topic, technology and modernity, and the political and economic imperatives of biomedicines coalesced around my first attempt of epidemiological fieldwork. The most important thing I’ve learned from this trip was to refuse the theory/ applied divide that charactizes so many departments and programs, and argue the impossibility of separating "theoretical" debate in social science and the human sciences on the one hand and more engaged commitment to the health and survival of communities and groups, on the other.