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EXPLORATIONS - Providing Health Care for Native Communities in MexicoBy Marilyn Christiano

Broadcast: Wednesday, February 22, 2006

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about an organization that is helping1 provide health care for native communities in Mexico.


A document showing traditional medicinal herbs. (University of New Mexico picture)

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Lack of good health care is an issue in many areas of the world. In industrial countries, the biggest problem is the cost of health care.

The issue is far more serious in developing areas of the world, especially for native groups. The indigenous2 people are usually among the poorest. They often live in mountains or areas far from the center of cities where most doctors and hospitals are found.

VOICE TWO:

For centuries, indigenous groups provided their own health care. They had their own doctors who were called healers, curanderos, or medicine women or men. They knew which plants growing in the area could be used to treat different sicknesses. The old healers taught their unwritten medical knowledge to chosen young people who went through a difficult training.

In recent years, many young people have moved to cities to find jobs. Others who remained in the villages were not interested in learning plant medicine and natural medical treatments. Through the years the old healers and traditional medicine experts died. Their knowledge died with them.

VOICE ONE:

International groups such as the World Health Organization recognize that indigenous groups throughout the world lack good health care. The director-general of the W.H.O. spoke3 about the problem on the International Day of the World's Indigenous People in two thousand four. He said governments should recognize the right of indigenous people to good health. He called for nations to provide for indigenous health needs while honoring traditional healing methods and knowledge.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

An organization in Oaxaca, Mexico, is helping indigenous groups learn to provide for their own health care. Oaxaca is one of thirty-two Mexican states. Oaxaca is also the name of the capital city. Indigenous groups in Oaxaca state speak sixteen different languages. Many indigenous villages are very far from any doctors or hospitals.

In nineteen ninety-one, Roman Catholic Archbishop Bartolome Carrasco Briceno began a campaign to improve health care for the poor in Oaxaca. He wanted indigenous people to re-learn the use of natural medicines. Doctors were brought into Oaxaca to teach many of the natural medical techniques used by indigenous cultures for centuries.

When the doctors left, an organization, PROSA, was created to continue the teaching of natural medicine. PROSA means Promoters of Health in Defense4 of the Life of the Community.

VOICE ONE:

Isabelle Harmon has been working with PROSA since she arrived in Oaxaca in nineteen ninety-three. She is a nurse and a member of the Medical Mission Sisters, a Roman Catholic organization that provides health care for people in developing countries.


Sister Isabelle Harmon of Medical Mission Sisters works with PROSA.

Sister Isabelle helps teach poor families how to make their own medicines from locally grown plants. She says the goal is to have indigenous people use their own traditional herbal medicines to provide for their own health. She helped PROSA produce a book, Medicinal Plants, in both English and Spanish. It includes drawings of medicinal plants found in Oaxaca with an explanation of how to use them.

Magda Pittaro is a Medical Mission Sister from Italy. She has been in Oaxaca for several years helping PROSA by doing massages5 that ease tension in the muscles of the body. Mary Hicken is with Maryknoll Mission. She helps PROSA find financial support.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Three indigenous women from the Oaxaca area now are officers of PROSA. Veronica Estaban is president. Soledad Rendon is coordinator6 and Lurdes Rendon is treasurer7. They are experts in natural healing methods. They prepare the herbal medicines sold in the PROSA office. And they travel to distant villages to help train community representatives as health promoters.

PROSA has an office in Oaxaca city. It includes a room where natural medicines are made and kept and some small rooms for treatments. PROSA is in a building that has offices for other groups that provide services for poor and indigenous Mexicans.

Two days a week, PROSA helps people who have made the long trip to Oaxaca city to seek treatment for a health problem. First, the patient is examined. The PROSA experts do one of several tests to find out what is wrong. One test is called the O-ring test. It tests the energy coming from organs and other parts of the body to find problems. Once the health problem is discovered, it may be treated in several different ways.

VOICE ONE:

A common treatment is natural medicine. Dried herbs are crushed and put in dark bottles with water and alcohol for a month to make tinctures. Different tinctures are mixed to make another kind of medicine called a microdose. The dried herbs are also sold to make teas to drink. People can buy the medicines for a small amount of money or, if they have no money, they may pay with herbs they have grown.

People may be treated in several other ways. One is called Cerebral8 Thermal9 Regulation. Patients are given small pieces of copper10 metal to wear on their wrists and feet to re-balance energy in the body. Or they may be treated by Alejo Pinacho Remirez with a kind of acupuncture11 that involves only the ear. He does ear pressure point treatments.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

PROSA health educators visit between twelve and fifteen villages each year. They teach a series of workshops about ways to treat sicknesses caused by different kinds of environmental or physical problems. The women and men who complete the workshops are called health promoters. They are expected to teach others in their villages. Since nineteen ninety-one, PROSA has trained more than five hundred people in about two hundred communities.

The series of five workshops deal with: Sicknesses caused by lack of pure water and waste treatment. Lack of warm clothing and safe housing. Poor working conditions and tension. Problems of female and male reproduction systems. And sicknesses caused by lack of food and an unbalanced diet.

VOICE ONE:

Late one afternoon, seven women leave their work in their fields and homes and gather in a covered area outside a home in a small farming village. PROSA educators have arrived from Oaxaca to teach another in the series of workshops about sicknesses caused by poor working conditions and tension.

The women listen carefully as Soledad Rendon explains about nerve problems and a natural medicine to treat these problems. They write down the kinds and amounts of substances to be used in the tonic12 and when and how it should be used.

Then the women help prepare a mixture of dried plants, fresh grains and vegetables to be boiled in water. After boiling, the solid material is removed and the liquid is mixed with alcohol.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

PROSA holds two workshops a year in the city of Oaxaca for trained health promoters. The women and men share experiences in their villages and continue to learn about ways to prevent as well as treat sicknesses.

In the spring of two thousand five, thirty people gathered in a large room in a church in Oaxaca. Some of the people had traveled for many hours to get to the three-day meeting. They talked about their successes and problems as health promoters in their villages. They watched videos about pollution. They learned about natural ways to kill harmful insects so the earth is not poisoned by chemicals.

VOICE ONE:

A university professor talked about the problems caused by corn that has been genetically13 changed. This transgenic corn is replacing the many kinds of native corn grown in Mexico for centuries. The director of an organization for organic farming explained that transgenic corn does not provide the nutrients14 that people need. And, she said, the seeds have to be bought each year. This means many poor farmers cannot continue to grow corn so they have to sell their land.

The workshop in Oaxaca ended with a ceremony. PROSA educators and health promoters joined hands. They promised to continue working together to improve their health, the health of their communities, and the health of their land.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Marilyn Christiano and produced by Mario Ritter. There is more information about PROSA treatments in the article Integrative Medicine in Mexico. It was printed in the publication Alternative and Complementary Therapies in August, two thousand two. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
2 indigenous YbBzt     
adj.土产的,土生土长的,本地的
参考例句:
  • Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
  • Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。
3 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 defense AxbxB     
n.防御,保卫;[pl.]防务工事;辩护,答辩
参考例句:
  • The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
  • The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。
5 massages b030e7c3b00c82eb88f73d42b2964831     
按摩,推拿( massage的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • At present the doctor is giving him daily massages to help restore the function of his limbs. 目前医生每天在给他按摩,帮助他恢复腿臂的功能。
  • His father massages his nose and chin. 他爸爸揉了揉鼻子和下巴。
6 coordinator Gvazk6     
n.协调人
参考例句:
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下,负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
  • How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室?
7 treasurer VmHwm     
n.司库,财务主管
参考例句:
  • Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
  • The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。
8 cerebral oUdyb     
adj.脑的,大脑的;有智力的,理智型的
参考例句:
  • Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
  • He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人,措辞谨慎。
9 thermal 8Guyc     
adj.热的,由热造成的;保暖的
参考例句:
  • They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
  • Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。
10 copper HZXyU     
n.铜;铜币;铜器;adj.铜(制)的;(紫)铜色的
参考例句:
  • The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
  • Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。
11 acupuncture 3zEznF     
n.针灸,针刺法,针疗法
参考例句:
  • Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明,宋朝就已经有了针灸。
  • It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知,针灸起源于中国。
12 tonic tnYwt     
n./adj.滋补品,补药,强身的,健体的
参考例句:
  • It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
  • Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。
13 genetically Lgixo     
adv.遗传上
参考例句:
  • All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
  • Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物
14 nutrients 6a1e1ed248a3ac49744c39cc962fb607     
n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
  • Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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