Speaking with Deb Chalupa, Natasha Dugus, and Erik Soriano

Deb is a nurse and an 11-year member of the CAMTA team. As to why she loves to serve CAMTA, she refers to the privilege of taking away patients' pain so that they can work and support their families. She adds, Quito is a mountainous city with houses built on steep inclines, most of which can only be reached by climbing stairs as there are few if any roads up high. So just getting home is a huge task for someone with severe arthritis or other disability. Deb has seen many patients cry in the clinics, happy to have the chance to get an operation that will make them independent again. Deb says that the importance of the work creates a collaborative and cohesive team that is wonderful to be part of.  

This is Natasha's first year with CAMTA. She is a third-year nursing student at Grant MacEwan University. She joined the mission because she wanted to learn about how other countries differ from Canada, particularly in terms of patient care. She observes that while resources are limited in Ecuador, patients still receive loving, respectful and good care. She loves seeing the results that the CAMTA team provides as well, and wants to come back next year to see how her patients are doing.

Erik is a physiotherapy assistant who has always wanted to do community work. He graduated from Grant MacEwan. He enjoys the CAMTA experience because all of the team members are there to work with each other and to help the patients. He loves the experience of a different culture as well.