Iquitos, Peru and the surrounding Loreto region has been devastated by the largest and strongest floods in the region since 1986. The rivers started swelling in February and are finally receding.

And that’s where a group of Doherty High School students are going next week.

They’ll work in conjunction with Adopt a Village International, a Colorado Springs-based nonprofit that provides aid and medical care to poor people in the Amazon region.

The six Doherty students, and Spanish teacher Mike Verdermaine, will provide clinical care to villages devastated by the flooding. All students, who leave Monday and will return June 24, have taken several years of Spanish.

Melissa Chowning, 17, who will be a senior this year, said she’s nervous, but excited, about the trip.

“I’ve seen pictures of the area, but I have no idea what it’ll be like,” she said. The natives “have built their houses higher, but the floods are record-breaking, and they have little supplies.

“I’ve never been out of the US. It’s going to be a huge opportunity to use our Spanish to help people.”

The students will set up stations in a village and work there. The villagers will go through a line and end up with the doctor, so they get education, vitamins and professional medical care.

For one activity, the students will teach dental hygiene and distribute tooth brushes. The students also will teach wound care to deal with such common ailments as infections from parasites.

“A lot of these places will not see proper medical care for several years,” said Karen Yuan, director of crew operations for Adopt a Village. “It’s too expensive to rent a boat and get care.”

So the program brings care to them – where 33 percent of the local population under the age of 5-years-old is malnourished.

“We don’t traditionally work with high schools, but one of the teachers from Doherty was so impressed that he wanted to get his students involved,” Yuan said.

“The experience transforms the lives of young people. I have kids say it was one of the most powerful experiences in their life.”

Some 200,000 people have been displaced in the areas where Adopt a Village works.

The natives, although grateful, are often reserved.

“I find that the children respond very openly. The native population is a fairly reserved one, and they show appreciation that, while not bubbly, is very heartfelt,” Yuan said.

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Contact Nathan Vail: 636-0187