DRs Ignacio Castilla and Nicolas Jimenez who initiated the project developed in the forests of Arauca as doctors

As a strategy while we knew the population and they knew us with our work for being such a difficult area, we started work where they would lend us any establishment. This, a small hotel in the jungle converted into a provisional Health Center

Subsequently, the community gave up land where the project would be developed. With the support of the Hospital Order and the Bishop of Arauca we started a small clinic initially with 2 doctors and two nurses. There was little travel due to the violence of neighboring towns

When we managed to get the resources of the Government of Italy, the construction of more comfortable and permanent houses for the staff that by this time (5 years after starting) were already part of the project could begin. All the land was heavily deforested and the human team would be in charge of its reforestation as can be seen in other photos

Traveling through the jungle was not easy, even the Colonization had not done the subsequent damage. She lived where she could, fortunately the population gradually became attached to the project and became its protector itself.

This house was donated by the Esmeralda Arauca community, and the first doctors were installed there. The Kiosk was for their relaxation activities. I had only one room

First Dispensary built with the support of the Hospitaller Order of San Juan de Dios. It had two offices, a small clinical laboratory, a pharmacy and a healing room. We still had no trees and the heat inside was unbearable

Doctors Nicolas and Ignacio with a nurse enjoying the Arauca river. AN invaluable gift from Mother Nature that few will have enjoyed

DR Nicolas Jimenez, (standing) one of the two founding doctors in a leisure time with some doctors from the first days of the project.

As the humanitarian and neutral character was reaffirmed, the respect of the population and their confidence in aspects such as how to care for nature appeared. Thus, the Clinic became a refuge for found or abused animals. Here with our caretaker and gardener

Dr Pepe, our volunteer Italian surgeon, joined the group and remained in spite of the most difficult circumstances, such as when 7 hospital workers were assassinated for being "informants" of the army. An absurd episode that suspended Italian aid. HIS permanence was one of the arguments that served to convince the Italian Government to continue aid.

Trip of our team to a town called "GOD FORGOT US"

Dr Camilo Casas, Chief Celina Buitrago and Dr Castilla at the end of surgical days in a small surgery room, initially a healing room converted by necessity. There were no more operating rooms nearby, Dr. Casas traveled frequently to support campaigns to intervene in General Surgery patients although he operated on what needed to be operated.

Here performing a surgery with candles and flashlights. Thanks to our respected neutrality most of the time, we operate wounded guerrillas and military sometimes in the same fighting. Unlike other hospitals where the wounded were "auctioned off", they always respected us. We had both sides hospitalized in the same room and nothing ever happened to us in this regard. Our human team always had the courage to plan their lives before the possibility of such an affront and the people supported us.

The buildings were not the soul of the project, it was their genete, as here one of our nursing managers Patricia Alvarez, mobilized patients between the surgery room and the rooms using a wheelchair manufactured by Dr Nicolas. The patients always appreciated that care of the people of the Hospital and that was their salvation in difficult times. The human team and their passion were the success of the project.

The beds where the patients of the first dispensary slept were metallic, they were folded in half, very far from being a hospital bed and the overcrowding by necessity today would be unheard of in times of coronavirus. Only the passion, the leadership and the love for the patients so that the patients themselves will bear those difficulties with immense gratitude.

Our doctors planting trees to tree the land where the project was developed

Dr Camilo Casas in one of his Humanitarian Days in the first dispensary.

Our healing room was forcibly converted into a Surgery Room when the guerrillas began to arrive wounded and the need was to operate them with what we had or let them die. So in the beginning with Ketamine and Valium we did many surgeries to guerrilla and army wounded that saved their lives. Many human dramas remained in the memory of those difficult days.

Dr ANtonio Ramirez Sanchez, a surgeon who fell in love with the project and dedicated himself to teaching surgery in particular to some of the members of the hospital so that they could respond to the demands of the region since we were the only hospital in many kilometers. His views were an honor and his activity allowed us to classify him as a teacher.

Shortly afterwards, a new, very hot, prefabricated structure was built, destined to hospitalize patients because they came from far away and it was already very difficult to leave them hospitalized in town, as was done in the beginning.

In the background, Dr Argemiro Gallego, Observe how the trees and flowers planted by all the team members begin to give that atmosphere that always characterized the project and that evidenced everyone's commitment to nature. Today we have visited many hospitals where a flower is not seen, or because their teams do not have leaders and relevance. Where you live you must have belonging

Already the trees planted by all begin to cover deforestation, becoming an oasis of beauty for the population. Many villagers used to walk around the dispensary because of their belonging to him

Aguachica Arauca Health Center, abandoned after its nursing assistant was assassinated by the guerrillas for having spoken to a group of soldiers who passed by.

Bridge destroyed by the guerrillas during the passage of a truck.

Esmeralda Arauca Health Center whose nurse was also killed by the guerrillas.

Travel to the jungle knowing populations that would join the project

The JUJU river is one of the fun places on weekends in Summer. Some members of the hospital are seen. This small river separated the Hsospital from the town

Isaias, an indigenous Tunebo who voluntarily joined the project in its beginnings and gradually learned various tasks in the Hospital until he became the mechanic, watchman, gardener, messenger ...

Here with "Arturo" a Boa Constrictor rescued by the population and who learned to live among us for a time.

To show the fruits of the reforestation carried out by the whole group. Only group leadership and passion were needed. It was also a useful activity to face the confinement that was sometimes experienced with difficulty. There were no telephones, to call you had to travel several hours for example and count on the guerrillas not having destroyed the telephone post (Telecom). Mother nature gave us tools for confinement, especially in times of more violence.

Dr Kamal Jassir, a doctor of great stature who purchased a private bed, accompanying Dr Giulio la Greca, Italian professor who obtained the funds for the project. Dr La Greca who did not hesitate to support Drs Ignacio and Nicolas from the beginning, risking to know the region that was going to help.

Some of the women in our team contributing feminine beauty to one of the roads that we built to unite the different buildings that appeared over the years. Observe the vegetation. We made the roads with the leftover material from the buildings

This bridge over the JUJU River connects the town of La Esmeralda with the Hospital. It was built by a bishop who was in charge of the Peasant Youth Homes of that time and had experience in these works. It was built with the help of the community

The community helping to pack the supplies of our equipment before moving to any town in the middle of the jungle. In the foreground our dentist

A typical celebration of the region, with music from the eastern plains of Colombia offered to members of Hsopital as thanks for their work

The project leader Dr Ignacio Castilla

The destruction of the jungle, promoted by the Government with the false belief of giving land to peasants. After the destruction, the land always remains in the hands of large landowners. Even today the jungle is burned and destroyed in order to give land to the poor peasants but they remain in the hands of large landowners and narco-cultivators

Dr Giuilio la Greca and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy who agreed to travel despite the risks to know "El Gusanero" one of the most violent towns in Arauca and where we create the philosophy that if the community built the Health post we provided it and attended to it, both Italian traveled without the support of their embassy thanks to the management of the group

Of the first donations received from Italy were these SUSUKI vehicles with which it was easy to move a doctor, a Chief nurse, a vaccination assistant and the driver. It came out of the mud easy. Thanks to the vaccination program, it was one of the regions with the best vaccination rates in the country in areas like these. Here it is almost underwater due to a flood caused by a bad calculation by oil company engineers that obstructed the normal flow of water in the savannahs causing a great flood.

During the same flood there was a need to evacuate the dispensary and relocate to schools and hotels in town. The Esmeralda community and the hospital team built a 600-meter channel that served to lower the water level of the town and the dispensary while the oil tankers solved the problem.

Travel to the jungle with Italian journalists interested in the project. Their importance was key because they always considered that we did not resemble any project with an air of colonialism that they had known in Africa.

A summer break when temperatures drop to 42 ° C in the shade. This pool served to immunize the wood of the building and it was left to turn it into a "pool" that allowed to relax in the hot times. It only served to sit and drink some beer

In summer when water was scarce, any episode of rain had to be exploited

Dr Ignacio Castilla surrounded by our dance students.

A reminder of all the ingenuity shown in coping with the "confinement" that was sometimes felt during the periods when we had to protect ourselves due to violence. I am sure that many of those who lived there in this project today in the Coronavirus crisis had better tools to cope with it.

The celebration of a birthday in the first years, in the first dispensary. Always the spirit of unity and spiritual strength was very important. The sick were the motivation ... IN the foreground Father Isaac who, at 85 years old and weighing 120 kilos on arrival, linked himself as a poatriarch, demonstrated that there is no age to decide to help those in need. HIS great Value, having joined a group of young people without barriers, like one more. He became the economy of the new hospital and the soul of spiritual support for the group. A saint...

On the left aspect of the difficulties in the region, the situation of the indigenous people. The roads in winter. Up transfer of a patient when we still did not have stretchers.

Father Isaac Herrea and Father Christmas in one of the many Christmases celebrated in the hospital

Members of the Italian Government, the Hospital order and the director of the Clinica San Rafel de Bogota in the company of Dr Castilla knowing the region

The first pharmacy, made with donations from people who supported the project from Bogota.

Reading the letter from the Government of Italy approving the aid for the project. In the photo in the background Father Juan de Dios Castillo, provincial of the Hospitaller Order, Dr Nicolas Jimenez and Dr Ignacio Castilla

Arrival of Dr Giulio La Greca, president of the Fatebenefratelli Foundation who was in charge of managing the funds of the Italian Government. Engine taken in Arauquita Colombia

Celebration in the Emerald the arrival of De La Greca to the Arauca Emerald

Our final rooms, already with an exuberant nature as a result of everyone's work, of the resilience to face all the difficulties that were experienced in those years

The houses were designed thinking of keeping people together, they shared a bathroom between two rooms. They had wide corridors and there were places to read or have fun on the weekends in gatherings where the spirit of Antioquia was easily felt. Most of the human team came from ANtioquia because their commitment was evident from the beginning.

A view from the water tank of the new hospital where you can appreciate the beauty of everyone's effort, who simply with passion and leadership turned this place into an oasis, as we have already said.

The beauty of our population

Two of our most committed women, nurse and dentist, teaching school children to dance. The commitment of our team with the population was vital for its integration. We teach in schools, we developed a farm to teach, but the most important thing was what we learned from them. The difficulties of the community were the motivation to always seek to grow. We don't need to be left or right, just want to help.

Dr Mario Silva who committed himself to the project, an Antioqueno made with tezon, of Antioqueno origin worthy representative of his race

Our administrator walking through our homes. The inhabitants of each house answered for the nature planted in their gardens

ONE of our nurses and one of our doctors resting on the river

Our bacteriologist, our administrator and at the ends two nursing assistants in a leisure time

Here reviewing the plans of the new 100-bed Hospital when the Italian Government agreed to contribute through the Roman Fatebenefratelli Foundation

For the ceremony of the first stone of the new hospital a very special act was made. At this time there were several institutions that had helped us, the Hospitaller Order, the Government of Italy, the Fundacion Fatebenefratelli and other institutions, but we considered that the merit belonged to the people. For this reason, anyone who felt their hospital was asked to place any stone in a mound. 465 "foundation stones" were placed by each person in attendance. The party was financed by the duels of hotels where we hosted relatives of patients, the owners of bars who always joined when there were economic difficulties, the owners of pharmacies and many more people. The religious ceremony was held with the Bishop of Arauca, Monsignor Jesus Emilio Jaramillo, Father Pedro Saavedra of the Hospitaller Order and Protestant-Evangelical Pastor Luis Prieto.

Dr Ignacio Gonzalez and some people "preparing" food for the first stone ceremony

After many difficulties, the construction of the definitive Hospital began. It was built on a strategic site equidistant from most of the populations that existed at that time. Its design was made thinking that it was a unique donation and therefore it had to be done with a modular, fresh design, with many gardens inside and durable materials

Definitive Hospital B Ricardo Pampuri in the Esmeralda Arauca. 100 beds, with all the corresponding support services. Currently it is run by the public EPS of the Arauca department.

The new laundry in the new hospital. The people who worked from the beginning of the project feared that the chaisma, the affection, the love that had made us face in the first new years would be lost. But the philosophy survived that the buildings only have life and are great to the extent of the commitment of the people who inhabit and work there. For that you need leadership and passion

Transfer of elements from the Dispensary to the new hospital, an activity that was developed with the collaboration of the entire community, who assembled work teams with doctors and nurses to organize the anti-gang and new elements of the Hospital. It was an activity that sealed that feeling in his mind. of belonging both staff and community to the new hospital. People not walls are the institution

The first scientific meeting in the new hospital even without the complete real estate. We did not know more than other doctors in the region, we just loved and respected our patients. When we knew of any pathology, we were honest and offered the patient "to present it at a medical meeting", which was nothing more than sitting together to discuss and study the case until a solution was found. That was our success so that patients came from very distant towns that had their own hospitals

The new surgery rooms, with our anesthesiologist and one of our auxiliaries trained by ourselves due to the lack in the region. Everything was bought in stainless steel to have the longest life. Beds, chairs and all the elements were designed to last a long time. They had windows, something new in Colombia, but you had to enjoy nature and there were also internal gardens that did not violate architectural security standards but allowed us to be a tropical hospital.

At the time, the National University agreed to develop a program to specialize our remote physicians, which would be a pioneering program in Colombia and Latin America. The Dean of Medicine and the heads of Intian Medicine Surgery, Pediatrics, ANesthesiology and Gynecology traveled and approved the project. Unfortunately, the guerrilla murdered the Dean and the program collapsed.

Entrance to the final hospital. 100 beds, laboratory for research in tripocal diseases, designed and built according to the characteristics of the region, modular and take advantage of the only donation with granite floors to "last 100 years".

The rooms were designed with the philosophy of being a Private Hospital for low-income people. There was NO law 100 but there was never a lack of recourse because of the union that existed with the community. Patients paid when the harvest came out, the cow was sold "fat" or there was solidarity among the people because of the affection they had for the hospital. It is the photo published in an interview with an Italian magazine about the Project.

The technological leap at the end of the project with the new Hospital built after almost 10 years of effort and sacrifice by many who passed through there. Here our new kitchens. A SUSUKI fit in the freezer

Some of our doctors joking in the morgue of the New Hospital. It was built with hospital technical standards at a time when Colombia still had no requirements in this regard, there were no accreditation standards that we nevertheless applied from the beginning. Several of the country's hospitals copied our design by management of a Health Minister years later.

The operating rooms of the new hospital, far from the discomforts that surrounded the first years when, without anesthesia machines, he had to perform emergency surgeries with Ketamine and Valium completely inadequate today, but that saved many lives.

Our laboratory in the new hospital was so big that the first dispensary fit perfectly

One of the last religious celebrations of Bishop Jesus E. Jaramillo before he was assassinated by the guerrillas. He was the one who motivated DRs Ignacio Castilla and Nicolas Jimenez, along with Brother Juan de Dios Castillo provincial of the Hospital Order, to travel to the Arauca Emerald. They always supported them and thanks to this support they were able to develop the project

Festivities motivated by the team of the Hospital in the "Gusanero" to raise funds for the construction of the Health Center.

Our team including bacteriology visiting the start of construction of the "Gusanero" Health Center.

"El Gusanero" health center very difficult town in the middle of the jungle built by the community after several bazaars motivated by the Hospital team. To earn the population a very brave nursing assistant, Patricia Osorio agreed to go live in the town's brothel with the sole mission of helping whoever requested it. When trust was gained we proceeded to motivate the construction of the Health Center. However, 3 people were later killed for not wanting to collaborate with their work. An excess of passion that brought us problems at the time. We endowed it and attended it on Saturdays. For us to be accepted into the brothel, the management of Dr. Patricia Soto, our bacteriologist who attended prostitutes in the prevention of venereal diseases and her friendship with them, opened the doors for us

Panama de Arauca health center, also built by the community motivated by hospital staff and with funds collected in bazaars and communal parties