May 2, Trois-Rivieres, Que. – Eight fifth year
students from the
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
(UQTR) chiropractic
program will be heading to Cochabamba in Bolivia in August 2013 on a
chiropractic humanitarian mission under the umbrellas of Chiropratique sans
Frontièrs and Eclosïon.
Jessica
Dallaire, David Rouleau, Pamela Mimeault, Alexandre Bellemare, Joliane Hivon,
Stéphanie Deschênes, Catharine Savaria-Lachance and Laura Benhaïm are interns
at the university chiropractic clinic who consider their participation in this
initiative as formative training as well as an inspiring experience that will
give them the opportunity to share their knowledge and profit a destitute
community.
Bolivia
is a democratic republic with a poverty rate of about 60 per cent. Bolivians are mainly involved in
agriculture, forestry and fishing, although textiles manufacturing, mining and
refined petroleum are also sources of income in some parts of the country. The tedious work involved in many of
these occupations is a cause of the muscular and joint pain that much of the
population suffers from. This quickly turns into chronic pain, affecting the
society’s productivity and the lifestyles of many Bolivians.
Health
care access is difficult, in Bolivia and the demand for specialists in muscle
and joint pain issues is real and urgent.
At present no permanent chiropractor is listed in Bolivia. Cochabamba is
a very disadvantaged community in Bolivia. The presence of these students will
contribute to improving the health of the local people while helping them to
develop healthy living habits and invest more on the prevention of
sickness. The mission, therefore,
will include an educational component to complement the free health services
that will be offered to the people of this community.
Chiropratique
sans frontiers (www.chiropratiquesansfrontieres.ca)
is an arm of Chiropractors without Borders (CWB), a project intended to provide
voluntary chiropractic care to poorer populations of developing countries; to
offer spinal hygiene advice; and to support the development of local
competencies. All CWB
interventions are overseen by Health without Borders (HWB) along with local
partners.
The
mission of Eclosïon (www.eclosion.ws) is to contribute to the humane
development of disadvantaged countries through international cooperation and
education. The organization
facilitates the participation of university students in the development of the
poorest world communities. This
national cooperation movement helps to contribute to the achievement of the
United Nations Milennium Goals for the development and globalization of
superior education in Canada.
The
students of the UQTR mission group are asking for financial support to help
make their mission a success, not only for the people in Bolivia but also for
Canadians who will benefit from the expertise these future chiropractors will
gain from participation in this mission.
For more
information on the UQTR student mission, including how to contribute to the
mission, please contact Stéphanie Deschênes at steph.deschenes@hotmail.com or by
phone at 819-376-5212.
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