Navarro was pleasantly surprised when a medical technician appeared at their door. Because it is so hard to get to their community, they receive little health care, he explained. When health workers do come, everyone is happy. “We always like to see them. Their visits are good for the children,” he said.
To reach this community from Puerto Ayacucho, capital of Amazonas state, the health team that implements Venezuela’s Trachoma Rapid Assessment Plan had to travel 130 kilometers – two and a half hours by road followed by eight hours sailing up the Orinoco River in a Bongo boat.
After they landed, the health workers hiked uphill for 20 minutes carrying medical supplies and other materials until they finally reached Caño Fibra. The objective of their mission was twofold: first, to eliminate trachoma, the main infectious cause of blindness throughout the world, and, at the same time, to take advantage of the opportunity to provide integrated health care to a community very far from other health services. The community’s warm reception was their reward for the complicated trip to get there.