Spending 2 weeks on the Peruvian Amazon in July 2024, as part of my medical school elective, was an unforgettable and unique time that I never thought I’d experience as a student. It was a very useful clinical and cultural experience for both my personal and professional development, and one I know that I will look back fondly on for many years. I have always been interested in remote and rural healthcare, alongside a long-term desire to travel to South America, so when I discovered the Vine Trust and the electives they offered, I knew it was the perfect choice…

  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would be delivering a baby in the middle of the Amazon River in Peru!! But I did and I had the most amazing, magical experience of my life while volunteering with the Amazon Hope Medical programme in November 2023.   Initially when my friend asked me to join them on this trip I was very apprehensive as I had never travelled very far and I was scared of most things, planes, piranhas, snakes and spiders!! I knew this trip was going to put me way out my comfort zone,…

Updated 19th June 2024 Day 3 We played with the children on our worksites and brought bubbles and balloons for the local community. The boys bought footballs for the children at the site, after the one they had taken from Berea popped. We moved so much sand and gravel in the heat, which was more difficult than we thought. After a very well needed dinner we were able to sort through our donations into piles for the two families and a more general pile for the rest of the community.   Day 4 We moved 800 buckets full of sand…

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Updated 13th June 2024 Saturday 8th June We woke up on Saturday morning a little bit disappointed that we were not going back to our worksites, but we were happy to be able to spend the day as a whole group. It was an early rise so we had to be up, ready and down for breakfast by no later than 8am. The breakfast contained pancakes, toast and fruit, we then all packed our lunch box with chicken, mango juice, an orange and a crepe. We were taking part in a Climate Change activity and had a few Tanzanian students…

The last time I saw Forth Hope, she was departing Rosyth for her epic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. It was a truly special moment when I caught my first glimpse of her on the Puinahua river as we approached after 3 hours in the speedboat. The contrast of this modern vessel and the surrounding area she serves is striking; she is unique, unlike anything else we saw on the river. Upon boarding you soon realise there is even more to her than meets the eye. The ingenious design of the interiors helps her feel as though she is a…