Epifania "Fani" Cotos Duran

Epifania "Fani" Cotos Duran is a Peruvian community nursing leader. She worked for a community house affiliated with the Anglican Mission in Perú. She founded and led the community health program at the community house of St John the Baptist, in Peru. She is one of the founders of MOCEP, Christian Movement of Peruvian Nurses part of the International Community of Christian Nurses in Latin America. Duran's mission was to give love to children and families in difficult situations. She strives to provide preventative care, support, and accessibility to health care.

Anglican Mission in Perú

Perú is traditionally Roman Catholic. In 1973, Bishop Bill Flagg (bishop) started an Anglican Church Ministry in Perú. The Anglican Church was concentrated in three major cities: the capital Lima, Arequipa, and La Paz. David Evans (bishop) succeeded Bishop Bill Flag, and was the Bishop of Perú when Duran worked at the Anglican community house. The mission was the Mission of St. John the Evangelist (San Juan Evangelista), Pamplona Baja, District of San Juan de Miraflores

Christian Movement of Peruvian Nurses (MOCEP)

Duran was involved with the Christian Movement of Peruvian Nurses. The movement started in 1976, and promoted bible study groups for students and nurses. MOCEP held yearly international conferences. At the 1980 Conference Perú became the first Latin American country to become a member of the "Communidad Internacional de Enfermedades Cristianas" (CIDEC), The International Community of Christian Nurses.

Duran was a leader in Perú for the Nurses Christian Fellowship international.

Epifania's Work

Starting in 1981, Duran worked at a community house affiliated with the Anglican Church in Pamplona Baja, Lima, Perú. She developed a one room health care clinic in the community house.

Duran stated the clinic operated on two principles. Firstly, a healthy life. Secondly, to give complete care encompassing spiritual, physical, and mental health.

wrote: "[w]e work on two principles. [First] to help people maintain a healthy life. [Second] to give them complete care - spiritual, mental, and physical help."

Duran worked with four to five hundred families in El Brillante, an impoverished area of Lima. The community's main problems identified were malnutrition, contamination, poor housing, high unemployment, and low adult literacy. Duran advocated local town councils to address a rubbish disposal problem in Lima.

The program was also staffed by missionaries and Peruvians, including Heidi Hawkins from the South American Missionary Society (SAMS USA), Steve and Di Lee from BCMS, and Juan and Elisabeth Sedano from Perú. Duran collaborated on the Anglican Church's health program with a social worker named Esperanza Hidalgo.

The Anglican mission's health program focused on four pillars: health education, medical care, social education, and employment.

To promote health education, Duran regularly visited twelve local schools three times a week to educate on health topics. A church missionary periodical, states the program tackles "Typhoid, Tuberculosis, Abortion, Teeth, Sex, Drugs, First Aid . . . anything that will help the Children lead a healthier life." Duran gave reports to the local education office regarding her work. Duran and Juana Espiritu, a social worker at the diocese, did a survey that found that 1/2 of the Pamplona Baja population was under 15, which helped inform that school visits should be prioritized.

The medical aspects of the program included a Tuberculosis Program. Duran, a team of doctors, a social worker named Esperanza Hidalgo, and a local pastor would visit families afflicted fortnightly. The program had resources to treat six families with medication and check-ups. The program received a donation from Germany and was able to supply medication to 21 additional individuals.

Social Education included health talks, adult literacy classes, and workshops. The periodical states that several women learned to read and it greatly enriched their life. Some of the workshops included sewing, wood, and leather workshops aimed to provide training that could become a source of income.

In 1990, Duran founded the organization Movimiento Cristiano de Enfermeras Peruanas, the Peruvian affiliate of CIDEC-AL (Comunidad Internacional de Enfermeras Cristianas – América Latina).

Impact

Duran helped the community in many ways. Share magazine stated it took a year to completely trust her, but she became a public figure who acted for their physical and spiritual needs. She was loved and revered by the community.

Duran was still working at the Medical Center in Pamplona Baja in 2006. She would go to communities and provide education to women. Every other Thursday, a women's group at the San Pedro mission would have health orientation on topics such as nutrition and hygiene. Duran also goes to diocesan educational projects to instruct how to weigh and measure children to ensure proper growth.

In May 2006, a group of nursing students and their professor from Michigan University joined Duran to do children's check-ups.

Duran is now retired. She is the Emeritus Lead Nurse Care Coordinator for the Ines Project for Medically Fragile Children. The Ines Project has had a tremendous impact in Perú, and supports almost 100 impoverished families annually to identify gaps in the children's medical care and provide appropriate solutions.