The brigade, coordinated by Cindy Alvarez, set up a health post in the Chinatown of Lirquen, in the municipality of Penco, one of the areas most affected by the blaze, with 80 percent of the homes burned to the ground.

“We give consultations there, but in addition to that, we as ELAM graduates go to the sites where people whose homes burned down are unable to leave because they have to clean up and remove debris,” Dr. Mario Gomez Mannarelli told Prensa Latina.

He explained that they first assess the number of children and adults, whether they have any chronic conditions, and if their health is unstable, and then provide them with the necessary medications. “That’s how we always act in the face of disasters. It’s what we learned in Cuba,” he said.

The doctors, who are part of the development NGO ELAM-Chile, traveled to Biobio at their own expense and brought their own medications.

“We’re the army of White Coats, and we present ourselves as doctors who graduated in Cuba, from ELAM and the Henry Reeve Brigade,” he concluded.

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