Jet boat will be an ambulance in Peru

Press, 11 May 1977, Page 15

Jet boat will be an ambulance in Peru

There will be more at stake than a pleasure cruise when a Rhodesian man goes jetboating on rivers around Christchurch this week. Mr Julian Latham, who works in an isolated jungle valley on the eastern side of the Andes in Peru, has come to New Zealand to learn how to handle a Hamilton jetboat. The funds to buy the boat, which will be used as a river ambulance, have been raised by a Dunedin woman, Miss Louise Sutherland. She has been acting as the New Zealand representative for the Amazon Trust, a London based organisation which co-ordinates aid projects in Peru. “In the last 10 months, Miss Sutherland has been lecturing all over New Zealand has raised $lO,OOO for the jet-boat — an incredible feat,” Mr Latham said.

A keen cyclist who has peddled her way through 54 countries, Miss Sutherland visited Peru in 1974 when she cycled over the Andes and down into the Amazon jungles of Peru. She is a trained , nurse, and worked in the local hospital for 18 months. “While she was working with us, she used to travel up and down the nearby river and she could see the need for a jet-boat. The river is very treacherous. We use canoes on it, and each vear between 80 and 120

people are drowned." Mr Latham said. He first went to the tiny town of San Francisco, in Peru eight years ago, to advise the people about improving their agricultural methods. He became involved with the plight of a family of five orphans, and since then has “brought up” 74 children.

He says life in the area is very cheap. “About 60 per cent of the babies die at birth and there is a great'lack of knowledge about health. The people suffer from TB and malnutrition, plus parasitic problems such as hookworm. They need to be educated on how to prepare their food properly and about general hygiene practices.” How will the jet-boat help? “We are going to establish about 20 clinics along the river, and the Jet-boat will go up and down about twice a week bringing in the sick and injured. The clinics will be staffed by barefoot doctors — natives of the region, who will be trained for one year at San Francisco’s hospital,” Mr Latham said.

Even though there are still tremendous problems with disease in the area, he has seen changes for the better. “There used to be no marketing system, and the merchants owned the people, paying them a pittance for" the crops.” he said.

Mr Latham encouraged the people to start their own co-operatives and then sell their products directly to the capital. Lima. “Now, the farmers get the direct benefits of the spiralling prices for coffee and cocoa,” he said. But the change in the traditional system was not welcomed by the merchants and Mr Latham’s life was threatened several times. “One night we were asleep in a small hut, when a friend who worked for one of the merchants warned us to leave. Two hours later the hut was blown up by dynamite.” Mr Latham has set up a model farm in Peru, based on maize production and poultry. Several of his orphans now have farms of their own and Mr Latham helps them with any problems. He is also working with some British engineers, who are building a road in the area.

“We hope that power will be generated in the area soon, and we will be looking for help for that,” he said.

“I will be having talks in Dunedin next week before returning to Peru.” He says the inhabitants of the area need to be involved in the projects, "otherwise they collapse, because they do not like having things pushed on to them.” The jet-boat will be delivered to Peru free by the Dairy Board.