Julian's Trip to Cusco, Peru (May 2018)

"This trip to Cusco was eye opening. One thing that I really loved about this trip was that MEDLIFE made sure that the volunteers got an understanding of the complexity of issues that lead to underprivileged people in communities outside of the main city. I appreciated that the trip allowed me to see and feel the conditions and situations that people live in, rather then being treated as a laborer that would just get the job that needs to be done at the clinics. In addition to the tours offered outside of the MEDLIFE, the reality tour given on the first weekday was very informative and helpful to receive some sense of what the situations are like in a rapidly growing city like Cusco. One thing I learned on this trip is that inaccessibility to healthcare is not simply a problem of poverty of wealth. Even with a house and a large farm to sustain a family, people who live outside of cities do not live in places where hospitals or health care professionals are available to them nearby. To access healthcare, these people would have to travel dangerous streets for a long distance. One thing that I did not love about the trip was the hotel arrangements. The hotel was very cold during the nights and I saw many volunteers get sick. The food was also below average at the hotels and couple nights me and my roommates went out to restaurants because the quantity that was served was not big enough. Overall, the experience was amazing and I am sure that I will make another trip next summer to another location."
-Julian Takagi
​Former MCO for UTSG MEDLIFE

View the full gallery from this trip here.