Patient Pre-surgey Meeting

We just completed out second and final meeting on Saturday to prepare our cataract and pterygium  patients from Tamanique for the upcoming PazSalud Eye Surgery Mission on May 11.  The pre-surgery meetings are designed to go over the logistics of the event, address their concerns and provide them with an opportunity to ask us anything they want.  We're anticipating that we'll have 67 patients this year among which we'll have 48 cataract and 23 pterygium surgeries (some patients have more than one surgery).

A huge 'thank you' goes out to Maira, Rosa and Rosy for all the help they gave me in coordinating and conducting these meetings.

Rosy, Rosa and Maira fielding questions from the group

Rosa registering a patient

Maira conferring with a patient

Donation to local NGO

Thanks to a generous donation from some of our providers, I had the pleasure of passing on this much-needed equipment to a local NGO that provides subsidized and free eye care to poor patients in Santa Ana, El Salvador.  The were thrilled to receive the devices which will help them provide better, more comprehensive eye examinations to the population they serve.

Medical donations

After every mission, PazSalud donates surplus, unused medications to the local health clinics who are very grateful to receive the items, most of which are not available to them.

This is one of the many ways PazSalud demonstrates it's commitment to the communities with whom we work and show our appreciation for all the support they gave us to make our February, 2015  mission such a success.

Mission volunteers

Absolutely essential to a successful mission is close collaboration and coordination with local volunteers and once again we’re lucky to be working with a motivated and capable team of people from Tamanique.  The volunteer team assists us with myriad tasks during the mission and without them it would be impossible for us to provide the care we do in the rural areas we like to serve.  They identify needy patients for the mission, coordinate their transport to and from the mission site, they register patients, help them navigate the various stages of the mission, interpret for our volunteers and help with many, many additional tasks.

Their dedication and devotion to helping the poorest members of their community is inspiring and we’re proud to work side-by-side with them to create a healthier and happier future for Tamanique.

Maira, our local coordinator, explaining the mission to volunteers

Discussing the patient flow at the mission site

Our diagram of where the medical team members will be located

Autorefractor

Thanks to the generosity of our many donors, PazSalud was able to purchase a new autorefractor for use on all our missions in El Salvador!  This machine enables us to accurately determine the prescription glasses a patient needs as well as precisely measure various parts of the eye.

This amazing new piece of equipment will help us bring better vision to many, many Salvadorans who could never afford prescription glasses let alone a visit to an ophthalmologist or optometrist.  Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible!

Picking up the autorefractor from customs at the airport

The distributor setting up the machine

Testing it out

 

Sr. Eleanor Memorial

The untimely passing of Sr. Eleanor Gilmore this past July saddened everyone whose life she touched.  As the founder of PazSalud, she made such an impact on so many Salvadorans that the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace and PazSalud knew her life and time in El Salvador had to be commemorated and celebrated.

Sister’s Susan, Margaret Byrne, Margaret Jane and Grace flew down to El Salvador a few weeks ago and working with PazSalud, we organized a mass and lunch where people had a chance to express their love and affection for Sr. Eleanor.

The CSJP sisters presenting Sr. Eleanor's picture to the mass celebrants

Sr. Susan speaking at the celebration

Sr. Margaret Jayne

More testimony of Sr. Eleanor's friendship

Lunch buffet

Visiting Walther

During one of Kathy’s recent trip to El Salvador, we called up Walther and arranged to visit him.  Walther – PazSalud’s first scholarship student – is currently finishing up his studies in engineering and working with a team tasked with designing and installing a municipal drinking water system for his small pueblo just outside Panchimalco.  We got to see his job site and meet his coworkers then we went to his house to greet his family.  It was a great afternoon in a really beautiful part of El Salvador.

Walther and coworkers

Control panel of the well driller used for the project

Walther, his grandma and niece