Chagas disease is something that very few people outside of Central and South America know exists, yet it currently affects over 11 million people and has become one of the major health problems in South America. Of those who are not treated, 30% will develop chronic Chagas disease and will suffer from digestive or heart problems that are often fatal. First discovered in 1909, Chagas has been called “the AIDS of the poor,” and was expected to become less and less of a life-threatening problem as society developed and living conditions improved in Latin and South America. However, many living conditions in rural areas have yet to reach this point of development.
Led by Dr. Mario Grijalva, the Tropical Disease Institute (TDI) at Ohio University has been involved in trying to combat the rate of Chagas infection in rural Ecuadorian communities. In 2009, the TDI has created the “Healthy Living” project as a long-term effort to “support socioeconomic development of rural communities as the main tool for the control of Chagas disease in the province of Loja in southern Ecuador.” I intend to document the communities of Guara, Chaquizcha, and Bella Maria in Loja Province, Ecuador, where the Healthy Living team will be working this summer for my Master’s Project. I will be in the field from June 16th through July 31st, 2013. The end goal for this project is to create a video piece 10-20 minutes in length that attempts to investigate what members of the communities themselves think about the Healthy Living Initiative.
