Blankets for Tamanique

Every year a former PeaceHealth employee and her sisters hand-make and donate quilts to PazSalud to distribute to needy families and individuals from our mission communities.  This year I worked with Maira - our local CIS coordinator who helped us with our General Medical Mission – to identify some people in Tamanique who greatly needed and appreciated this small gesture of friendship and solidarity with the people of El Salvador.  It was a joy to see so many happy, smiling faces at receiving something they will treasure for years to come.

We made two main stops in Tamanique.  Below are scenes from the first delivery:

Maira talking to the group of women

Selecting a blanket

A happy mother

 We then stopped in another area further away to distribute more blankets:

Using the PazSalud vehicle to display the blankets they could choose

 

Very happy mothers

We met some other very needy families along the way and were thrilled we could give them a blanket:

Children of San Jose Villanueva

Once again working with close friend and constant partner of PazSalud, Rosy Melara, we collaborated with her church group to bring a morning of fun, food and presents to a group of poor children in San Jose Villanueva.  The location of our general mission in 2012, PazSalud regularly returns to celebrate special moments with them and of course, to work with Sandra and her grandmother.

Rosy talking to the group.

Children of San Jose Villanueva

Sandra and her grandmother

Mission preparation

Among the mountain of details involved in planning a PazSalud mission one of the most important is coordinating daily lunches for the team.  We need to ensure that the food is healthy and prepared with the hygiene standards to which most Americans are accustomed.  Starting early in the morning and working long days means that good food is integral to a successful mission experience.

Maira and I met last week with a group of local cooks who are experienced in cooking for large delegations.  We discussed menu options and the various hygiene standards to which we’ll ask them to adhere.

Maira meeting with the cooks.

Estanzuelas Committee

During a General Medical Mission in a Salvadoran community, PazSalud’s medical team identifies individuals that need special attention beyond what the mission can offer.  We undertake to work with these people – typically children – and assist them in accessing greater health care in El Salvador.  During our mission in Estanzuelas, Usulutan in 2013, we encountered six such children and have been working with them ever since.

I recently had the opportunity become involved with an experimental committee forming in Estanzuelas; the site of our 2013 mission.  PazSalud teamed up with the local government and several Salvadoran NGOs to create the Local Committee for Children’s and Adolescent’s Rights.  This committee is designed to work with local youth, helping them with basic health, education and living needs.  Our hope is that we will be able to connect our patients from our 2013 mission with this local committee and extend our assistance to helping other Salvadorans in great need.

The mayor of Estanzuelas speaking to the crowd

 

The panel of local NGOs

One of our volunteers from 2013 providing the entertainment

Tamanique volunteer meeting

An important part of the planning for every PazSalud General Medical Mission is preparing the local volunteers for the 6-day experience of hosting and executing a large-scale medical event for their community.  This generally involves multiple meetings of team-building exercises and training sessions to help them identify their volunteer roles and what their specific tasks will be in addition to an orientation on the overall project.

To begin the process, I recently met with local volunteers to explain who PazSalud is, what we do and what our medical missions typically look like.  I will build on this meeting with our local coordinator and try to meet with the volunteers on a regular basis until the start of the mission.

Talking to the volunteers

An introduction and team-building exercise

Watching the PazSalud video on the 2013 General Medical Mission/2014 Eye Surgery Mission

Blankets for San Pedro

Every year a former PeaceHealth employee and her sisters hand-make and donate quilts to PazSalud to distribute to needy families and individuals from our mission communities.  This year I worked with Yessenia – our local coordinator from CIS who helped us with our General Medical Mission – to identify some folks in San Pedro Perulapán who greatly needed and appreciated this small gesture of friendship and solidarity with the people of El Salvador.  It was a joy to see so many happy, smiling faces at receiving something they will treasure for years to come.

Meeting the women and children of San Pedro Perulapan