A song to tell vinchucas to leave my home

The Tarija region of Bolivia, on the southern part of the country, is not only famous for its grapes, peaches, peanuts, vegetables, its wine industry and the pleasant climate, but it is also famous for its love of music and songs.

Locals find every excuse to sing; when they are in love, to their children, to their plants, when they are in pain and even to fence off diseases. Every community has its own musical festival and Eric, a 10-year old from the Tarija region is taking part in his school’s contest.

Eric, during his school's singing contest

Eric lives 52 kilometres from Tarija, close to the Camacho river, he loves going to school and for his school’s singing contest he has chosen a song about the Vinchuca beetles.

"I had measles and cold, convulsive coughing, vinchucas paratises, and chicken pox, but look how strong I am that am laughing so hard."

Eric wrote the song while taking part in one of Plan’s projects whose objective is to combat the spreading of the Chagas disease.

Vinchucas are insects that bite people at night while they sleep. They transmit a deadly disease called Chagas, which infect the blood of people and animals. Vinchucas thrive in the cracks of mud bricks and thatched roofs of poor housing, typical of rural areas of Bolivia. Families in these areas also tend to live close to where they keep their infected animals, contributing to the high level of infestation.

Children can be treated and cured only until they are 12 years old. The Chagas disease accounts for 13% of deaths of Bolivians aged between 15 and 75 years. It is one of the most serious and widespread parasitic diseases in Latin America, the principal cause of heart disease and, according to health officials, should be considered as one of the main causes of infant and maternal mortality in the country. 40% of Bolivians are infected and 70% are at risk. For children, the statistics are terrible: 70% of those in rural areas and 11% of those in peri-urban areas are infected, as are 20% of children under a year old and over half of women of childbearing age. USAID estimates that seven children are dying from chagas disease every day in Bolivia.

An excited group of children learning about home improvement

Children have been learning about the disease, hygiene and home improvements through songs, dance and plays at school and at community meetings. Their enthusiasm has influenced parents to change their habits. As Eric put it: “As soon as we turned out the lights, vinchucas appeared and we couldn’t sleep. We know they transmit Chagas disease. That is why we improved our house and keep it clean.”

That is why he chose the song on the vinchucas for his school’s contest; ‘Winged vinchuca, wicked insect, now with my improved house go look for another home.’

Since 2000, 56,629 families in 152 communities have benefited from the project. Each member of the family participated in the improvement of their house; from order and tidiness to the way their home was built.

Children affected by the disease were treated; they were then taught how to prevent it, becoming agents of change in their families and their communities at large.

Tackling the incidence and spread of the Chagas disease also required the local communities to focus on establishing a system to monitor and alert communities, local and regional authorities to outbreaks.

Some 10 promoters per community were trained to carry out educational and supervisory work, and to authorise the distribution of building materials. The community promoters, local authorities, health staff and community leaders also attended workshops about establishing vinchuca information posts (VIPs) at community and municipal levels. These are surveillance posts through which communities can monitor and control infestation, secure the support they need from the relevant government ministries and municipalities, and maintain high levels of knowledge and appropriate behaviour among the local population. Once established, management of the VIPs is transferred to the Ministry of Health (SEDES) and the National Health System.

The project’s success to date is reflected in the launch by the Bolivian government of a programme to control disease in the home, based on the methods used by Plan and our local partner Pro Habitat. This will contribute not only to improving homes but also to training families about different diseases, including Chagas, caused by insects.

"My whole family would like to thank for the project, for giving us the possibility of a healthy life," said Eric at the end of his school's contest.

69% of families in Santa Cruz have now sufficient potable water throughout the year, an increase of 9% from our previous study in 1998 the increase of access to potable water in Altiplano has risen from 18% to 38% during the same period the percentage of families practising measures against the Chagas disease in endemic areas in Tarija and Chuquisaca has increased significantly, and indeed the project’s target of 43% has been exceeded, reaching 57% in Sucre and 66% in Tarija