Macapá (Agenzia Fides) – Religious Camillians continue their health project in the area of the largest river in the world. We are talking about the “Camillians at the mouth of the ‘Amazonas”, and Fr. Raúl Matte, Camillian priest and doctor, who has been taking care of the indigenous communities of the immense delta of the Amazon for 40 years. Thanks to a ‘hospital boat’ Fr. Raúl visits thousands of patients, where no doctor would be able to arrive.

Thanks to this project, the incidence of some diseases, such as leprosy, has dropped considerably. Others, such as anemia, malaria and other parasitic diseases are kept under control through information and training. Fr. Raúl arrived in Amapá, Para State, on the northern Atlantic coast, in 1972. With his hospital boat, donated by the Order of Malta, he has reached the most remote places to give assistance. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 21/05/2016)