Claudia Vega

We explained to the people.

We stayed there.

And we were there to answer questions.

And they told us, thank you.

They were really grateful because they told us, like, people usually come and they don't give back the results.

So I think, like, having their relationship with the community show up and, you know, deliver what you promised, I think that's very important.

There are a lot of things that I think, like, it's a process that never ends.

I'm still learning a lot.

Like, for example, the last time that I went to the communities and told them that the results were not that good, like, they were exposed to high risk of mercury.

One told me, like, so, doctor, what, now I died?

Like, I was like...

What should I do?

When you go there and see the situation that they have and you, like, giving them another problem to worry, they have other problems to solve.

I'm still, like, thinking in a way, like, how can we make a difference for them?

And I think that's one of the things that we're doing right now is try to empower more the community.

Like, for example, the next step is training them to do it, for them to produce information.

And we're trying to create a system that they can show these results.

So they are aware.

And like also you're taking advantage of the indigenous knowledge, right?

Because sometimes as a researcher, usually we stay like 10 days, for example.