Book Donation to Children of Cojutepeque

PazSalud recently had the opportunity to donate over 200 used Spanish children’s books to a small library in the community of La Esperanza; a poor community in Cojutepeque, El Salvador.  The library was founded by Maryknoll lay missioner Rick Dixon and offers the families in this dangerous neighborhood a safe place to read, check out books and do arts and crafts.  The children were very excited to receive the books and quickly had them unpacked and out on the tables.  It was fun to watch them examine the book covers and illustrations, read a little and decide which ones to take home.  Before long, there was a line-up of kids with books in hand, waiting to check them out.

PazSalud has worked in Cojutepeque's hospital several times so this is an excellent way for us to stay in touch with, and give back to, this community.  If you would like to donate Spanish children's/young adult's books that PazSalud can bring down to El Salvador, please contact Kathy Garcia.

Rick and Kathy at the Maryknoll children's library in Cojutepeque

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

Children's Day

PazSalud held a medical mission in San José Villanueva in 2012 and we returned on Saturday to celebrate Children’s Day with some of the less fortunate children in town.  Long-time PazSalud friend, Rosy Melara, and her church group put together a mini fiesta for a group of kids and their parents complete with toys, games, pizza and a clown and invited us to participate.

PazSalud is committed to working with our mission sites long after our teams have returned to the U.S. and this was a fun way to continue that commitment.  It was truly a memorable afternoon.

Rosy Melara (left) and Sandra (pink shirt)

   

Making a future possible

PazSalud met Sandra in 2012 when she came to our General Medical Mission in San Jose Villanueva.  She was born with arthrogryposis; a congenital disease characterized by joint contractures and muscle weakness.  When we met Sandra she was eleven years old, and very limited in activities: she had never been in school.  Sandra had been abandoned by her mother at birth and was living with her grandmother, who took her to physical therapy when she could afford the bus fare, but didn't try to enroll her in school because of Sandra's physical limitations.  Sandra's family has very limited resources - there is no electricity in the home, but plenty of loving and supportive family members.

Happily Rosy Melara, a Salvadoran nurse who has been a long-term volunteer with PazSalud mentioned to  PazSalud’s then in-country coordinator, Sr. Susan Dewitt, that she had a degree in special education, and soon Rosy had volunteered to teach Sandra the basics - learning her letters and how to write.   Rosy found that Sandra was bright and eager to learn, but also that her physical limitations tired her out very quickly.  We decided that Sandra needed a tutor who would assist her in the classroom with writing, studying and achieving.  Happily, the local school's director was enthusiastic about having Sandra enter first grade, and even helped us find a tutor with an education degree.  For the first time in her life, Sandra had a chance.  Here she is with (left to right) Rosy Melara, Sandra's tutor Sonia, and Kathy Garcia and with some of her classmates.  

This chance was made possible by a generous donation from PeaceHealth's Rosanne Ponzetti and her family who committed to sponsoring a child.  They provide the funds needed to pay for Sandra's transportation to physical therapy and her individual tutor. Sandra's class work was helped greatly by a desk that can be adjusted to different levels so she can work either sitting or standing.  Sandra's personal school desk was hand-made for her by In-Country Coordinator Darren Streff.  Sandra has now graduated from first grade with high marks, and is moving along in school.

Simple, affordable donations like these can make a huge impact on someone's life in El Salvador and PazSalud is proud to facilitate this type of empowering opportunity.  If you'd like to work with Sandra or any of our other deserving Salvadoran children, please contact Kathy Garcia in Eugene.

Learning and flourishing

Kathy Garcia writes:

On a recent trip to El Salvador I had the opportunity to visit with 12 year old Sandra, one of PazSalud’s special patients. PazSalud first encountered Sandra about two years ago during our general medical mission trip to San Jose Villanueva. When we first met, she was a very shy 10 year old who had been born with arthrogryposis, a condition of weak muscles and inflexible joints. Due to her disabilities, Sandra had never been able to attend school until just over a year ago.

Rosy Melara (on the left in the photo above), a Salvadoran nurse we have worked with for many years, also has a degree in special education, and volunteered to tutor Sandra for several months to get her ready for the Salvadoran school system.  Then she was able to start in a local public school with the aid of a tutor.

Rosy, Darren and I dropped in to visit Sandra at school early one afternoon. It was perfect timing as the kids were on recess. We talked with Sandra’s teacher and her new in-class tutor. Sandra introduced us to the new friends she has made and showed us her workbooks - which were very impressive!  Also, we were able to see the custom built desk that Darren made for her, which adjusts perfectly to her needs.

Although Darren and Rosy visit Sandra on occasion, it had been over a year since I last saw her and the first time for me to see her school. And what a difference a year makes! She’s grown quite a bit, appears to be more confident, smiles often, and is very outgoing. The biggest physical change I noticed was now she can walk flat footed, no longer on her toes as she once did. The twice weekly visits to physical therapy are making a big difference in her abilities.

It was a delight to see Sandra flourishing in school and with her friends.  This is all possible due to a wonderful donor from PeaceHealth who supports the cost of Sandra’s tutor and transportation expenses for her to attend physical therapy. Donors such as this allow PazSalud the opportunity to help foster patients with long term needs.

Mission Accomplished!

We can say, with some pride and a great deal of satisfaction, that we completed our General Medical Mission to San Pedro Perulapan on Valentine's Day, February 14th, after seeing 1,647 people, many of them in two or more clinics.  The week was full of memorable moments - Kathy Garcia enjoyed more than her usual quota of babies to cuddle:

Rosa Aguiar, our team member from Comasagua, El Salvador, signed up a record number of patients for cataract surgery - 81 (we wouldn't be able to handle that many cases, but the list typically shrinks between sign-up time and show-up time):

Ray Moore, Supply Chain Contracts Manager in his PeaceHealth life, took breaks from looking for optical prescriptions to delight children with a magic book that opened onto either blank pages or drawings, depending on....well, that part's the magic.  Ray's kneeling at the center of the photo. Sr. Andrea Nenzel, left, and optician Jackie Kersten, right, are enjoying the show:

Cecilia Jacobson, also part of our Optical Shop team, enjoyed the new look of one of her young clients:

 Dr. Adriana Linares, who mentors new resident physicians, found a possible future student in this little guy with his firm grip on her stethoscope:

The joyful moments continued during our weekend of sightseeing, shopping and relaxation.  The funniest came at the airport, at about 6 AM, when Sr. Amalia Camacho, aided by Dr. Charlotte Ransom, left, finally fulfilled her wish to eat Pollo Campero - for breakfast:

There are thousands more special moments to be shared with family and friends and colleagues in the coming weeks and months, moments from a memorable week. 

Christmas gifts to friends in El Salvador

From Darren:

Just before Christmas, I was excited to deliver presents from PazSalud to some of the special families we work with throughout the year.  Here's a brief update on how they are doing.

Gloribel and her mother Hortensia:  Gloribel is a wonderful young deaf woman that PazSalud has worked with for several years by helping her to go to school.  She has made tremendous progress in recent years and has a loving family that helps her along the way. (Also she's really not twice the size of her mother, just a camera angle distortion.)

Rosita and her daughters Lupita and Edith:  Rosita is a double leg amputee who lives with her two daughters in El Paraiso; a modest rural community just outside of Chalatenango.  PazSalud has worked with her over the years to help her obtain some of life's basic necessities to ease the burden of everyday existence for the poor in El Salvador. 

Sandra (blue shirt) with her grandmother Maria Ines and her sister Elizabeth:  Sandra is a beautiful girl, born with arthrogryposis, who PazSalud has been helping to attend school.  With the help of an individual in-class tutor, Sandra has made great strides in the past year and recently passed into the 3rd grade.  Education coupled with physical therapy ensures that her condition no longer limits her potential.

Sonia with her children Julia, Kelly and Harry; Sonia and her family have been with PazSalud for several years and as with Rosita, we work with them to ensure they are able to live safe and comfortable lives.  Sonia works incredibly hard to provide the best possible future for her children and PazSalud is happy partner with her in this effort.

PazSalud is honored to participate - in a small way - in the successful futures of these families and all the amazingly resilient, deserving and loving people we have had the pleasure of meeting over the years.  Merry Christmas.

New glasses for Fatima

We heard recently from the mother of a young girl we'd seen in our 2012 mission to San José Villanueva.  Fátima has very limited vision, but her mother Luz learned that new glasses would make it possible for her to go to a regular school instead of School for the Blind.  Darren writes:

I drove out to San José Villanueva this morning to meet Luz de Los Angeles (Fatima's mother) and Fatima to give them the donation.  Wow, what a cutie Fatima is!  As it turns out, Luz was able to get donations from two other groups towards her total of $100 and needed only $60 from us so that is what I provided to her.  I like the initiative on her part and felt great about giving her the money.  And check out the glasses, those things are serious.  

After, I offered to take them home since I knew they traveled a long distance to meet me in SJV this morning and although they told me it was 20 min. one way, because of the road condition it took us 45 min. to get there.  But I got a few good pics of their house so it was worth it.  Plus we had fun in the car.

That wasn't Darren's only glasses-related errand that day, as he notes -

Finished with that I went to Santa Tecla to drop Kelly's glasses off with Sonia.  She lost the nose pads so I took them in and spent $5 to get them fixed.  Now I'm going to walk over to Galerias to meet Cristobal and give him the remaining $26 he needs for his glasses.

For anyone who wonders what we do when mission teams aren't in El Salvador, this letter is a good example of the on-going work of follow-up, assistance, and connection with the places where we've ministered.  The photo shows Fátima with her grandmother and her new glasses in the family home.

Dr. Dale's Reflections

Dr. Dale Heisinger recently sent us some reflections on his experience in eight of our PeaceHealth Missions.  Dale is both a great pediatrician and a kid magnet - it helps to look a bit like Santa Claus, no doubt.  Here's what he has to say:

I must admit that I was at first somewhat apprehensive about going to a 3rd world country, but those fears were laid to rest very soon after meeting Kathy and Sister Eleanor.  Their organizational skills and the thoroughness of their preparation laid to rest any fears that I harbored.  The change in leadership from Sister Eleanor to Sister Susan, and now to Darren Streff did not in any way deter from the integrity of the Mission.  

Each trip generated wonderful memories of encounters that forever left their mark on me. The cultural differences between El Salvador and the United States are stark, but the contacts with the people showed me how closely as human beings we are all connected. Salvadorans are a warm, compassionate people who were so appreciative of our being there; many shared gifts that were modest, but given with such sincerity that they remain some of my most treasured possessions.  

I saw many disorders that were rare in the US and many that were medically challenging. For instance, parasitic disease is rampant in the children since the water is untreated, and exposure to cooking smoke generates prevalent reactive airway disease.   I frequently saw GI illness due to poor sanitation and many skin conditions (mostly infection) because of lack of hygiene.  And there were those cases of rare diseases that were quite challenging; i.e., congenital hypothyroidism (cretin), undiagnosed encephalocoele, retrolental fibroplasia, SLE, arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, and the list goes on.

All of us who participated came away from the mission better global citizens, perhaps more compassionate about the international human condition, and appreciative of the strength and courage of people who endure in conditions that most of us have not seen nor experienced.  In addition we developed an appreciation for cultural diversity and learned to practice medicine with limited resources and lack of support diagnostic services (imagine, no access to MRI, etc.!)  For many, it was a spiritual experience. I feel strongly that all of us who practice medicine from every discipline should participate in international medicine….all will be better human beings for doing so.  

And for those skeptics who feel that we really can't do much with such compromised infrastructure, and lack of services I would counter with a statement from Sister Margaret Jane Kling whom I met in El Salvador:  I had told her that I wasn't sure that I did very much to improve the health of the people, to which she replied:  "it isn't what you do, it's who you are."