potato festival. Alsace
potato festival, potato festival :4.500 euros sent to Peru to finance medical equipment.
Julio Miranda has lived in Lauterbourg since 25 ans. But the rest of his family stayed in Peru, where his brother died in January from Covid-19, in a country where there is a shortage of oxygen bottles and hospital places.
Julio Miranda and his friend Stéphane Frison, from Schleithal, have harvested 4.500 euros for the acquisition of oxygen concentrators in Peru.
Stéphane Frison (left) imagined a solidarity fund to finance oxygen concentrators. They will be loaned by Julio Miranda's family (to the right), who works for humanitarian causes in Peru, to the most deprived, hard hit by Covid-19. Photo DNA / Léa SCHNEIDER
Julio :
“It all started end 2020, start 2021, when my brother, stayed in Peru, fell ill, retrace Julio Miranda. He was watched at home, by a doctor and a nurse, because there was no room in the hospital. He was stable, until a switch : then he needed oxygen.
More, with Covid-19, oxygen bottles are rare in Peru.
The black market works more than the legal route, explain Julio Miranda. Through knowledge, we managed to find one here, one over there. Sometimes, my brother only had three hours of oxygen left, and we hadn’t yet found the next bottle…”
An acquaintance lends them his personal respirator, which allows Julio's brother to be accepted into a clinic.
In Peru, entering the hospital can mean leaving ruined
But after ten days, Julio's brother dies of coronavirus, at the age of 55 ans.
Julio :
“The clinic asked us 70 000 euros to return the body to us. They threatened to burn him and throw him in a mass grave. For very religious people like my parents, it was unimaginable. I would have buried them right away if they had not been able to provide a dignified burial for my brother. ” laments Julio Miranda.
“Carpet dealer” negotiations begin with the clinic : the whole extended family puts their hand in their pocket to bring together the 20 000 euros finally claimed.
A prize pool launched by a friend
This story moved Julio Miranda’s friend, Stéphane Frison, from Schleithal.
“We don't realize that there, entering the hospital can mean losing your home, seizure to reimburse medical expenses. That we have to manage to find oxygen, respirators.”
He then launches, with Julio’s agreement, an online fundraiser to finance oxygen concentrators.
” These are machines that concentrate the oxygen in the ambient air to turn it into medical oxygen ” explain Julio Miranda.
The pot is working well, some fifty acquaintances of Stéphane and Julio contribute to it : in two weeks, 4 500 euros are collected, that are sent to Peru, where Julio's sister has an association that helps the most disadvantaged.
” We have enough to buy two oxygen concentrators, which will be loaned to those who need it. One at my sister's, à Lima, the other at my sister-in-law, in Trujillo, where I come from ” explain Julio Miranda.
” Die because you can't afford to heal yourself, it's different ”
The pot is closed, but the initiative interested the Quetzalma association, based in Plobsheim, which organizes solidarity actions for the countries of Latin America, in particular the distribution of baskets at Easter and Christmas.
Rather than raising a pot, Stéphane Frison and Julio Miranda gave the idea of financing oxygen concentrators to the president of the association, Marlène Bapst.
” The jackpot gave my parents some hope, appreciates Julio Miranda, by helping someone. Because, for them, die when you have tried everything, even if it hurts, it's part of life. But die because we needed a little oxygen, and we couldn't afford it, it's different. If these concentrators don't save even one person, it will already be good ”
Donations for solidarity actions in Peru can be sent to the Quetzalma association via son site www.quetzalma.org
or by check payable to the Quetzalma association, to send to 21 rue de la Mésange, 67115 Plobsheim.
Contact : quetzalma.org@gmail.com
