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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 11-June 24-Vacation Day

    3 tuntia sitten, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    The final day is usually set up as a vacation day where people can do a little bit of touring at the end. This is optional and some people chose to go home yesterday after the clinic was over. I had originally planned to take the option of going to the Maya ruins, but that was canceled because they were not able to get a driver. Consequently, I went with the majority of folks that wanted to go to the beach, anyway. It was a very nice beach that was kind of low-key and was part of a resort. It was a Monday so not a lot of people were there and also this is definitely the low season for any type of tourism in Honduras.

    I’m not a huge beach person, so when they made plans toward the end of the day to go to another beach where there was a lot of shopping opportunities, I decided that would be fun because it was a chance to see something different.

    We then headed back to the hotel via our two mini buses. A short time after leaving the beach the other bus broke down. Over time they were able to get it back on the road, but it was very slow. The bus company eventually sent out another bus and everyone got to the hotel. I have heard this was not the first time this group has had a bus. Break down

    We have a 6:00 am flight home, so I’m going to publish the final chapter of this blog. Thanks for following.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 10-June 23-Leaving San Luis Behind

    23. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    We started the day with a award ceremony and took group photos as we finished up our stay in San Luis. Before we could do that, however, we had to remove the wandering horses out of the pavilion. We then loaded everything and everybody into our two buses and headed toward El Progreso. This would work out to about a 5 hour ride including a stop for lunch at Pizza Hut. The amount of poverty and shanty houses was remarkable as we drove out of the mountains. The scenery, however, was spectacular.

    Security was once again very prevalent. We had two armed soldiers on each bus with AK-47s and even at Pizza Hut the doorman/security guard carried a shotgun.

    We checked into the Casa Blanco hotel and it was fantastic. The hot showers were great since we have only had cold shower.

    I wanted to show a videos of a cool plant down here. It acts like a Venus fly trap.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 9-June 22-Last day of the Clinic

    22. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F

    Story of the day….As I mentioned before, despite being poor, many folks try to wear their best clothes when visiting the clinic. I particularly noticed one lady dressed in a pleated dress. I asked if I could take her picture. She agreed, but also wanted to know if I could send the photo to her son. She had no phone. I got her son’s phone number from her and with the help of one of the Honduran medical students, we texted the photo to her son.

    Today was the last day of the clinic so I’m going to talk more about that. The last few days we topped over 1,000 prescription, which is why several people told me volunteering in the pharmacy was the most difficult assignment. By the end end of each day I am really dragging.

    Two of my favorite people on the trip are Dr.Steve and his wife Velinda. Dr. steve is a recently retired doctor. Like me, he and Velinda are on the trip for the first time. Steve is so easy going and makes fun of everything in the most light hearted, yet positive way. He is one of my roommates and always has a smile on his face. His wife, Velinda, is my main partner at the pharmacy. We have had so many laughs and she has been an absolutely delightful person to work and chat with.

    Our primary pharmacist had to cancel at the last minute, Dr. Kent and his wife Martha stepped in to run the pharmacy. Kent is also one of the doctors who is my roommate. Martha answers hundreds of questions a day from the helpers with absolute patience and knowledge. Kent may be one of the most remarkable people I have every met. All day long he is hit with questions and issues that change at least once every minute. Yet, I never saw him get flustered. He always keeps his cool and always showed kindness and patience.

    I saw Kent work with a sick young girl and his style as as a doctor was amazing. Here is my favorite observation about Kent. A group in the U.S. makes pretty cloth bags we can put the prescriptions in. Kent had to sit at a desk and check and approve each prescription. I remember him seeing a prescription for a young girl. He says to me….”We want to make sure we find a real pretty bag for the little girl”. Despite the chaos around him he is still looking at ways to be kind. How remarkable.

    Like I said, Kent checks every prescription us amateur pharmacist pull together. He was telling me about the funniest mistake he encountered. The prescription called for medicine to deal with bad sneezing. However, the helper accidently selected a stool softener medicine. That could have had funny consequences.

    The clicic only ran 1/2 day on Saturday so we spent the afternoon inventorying the remaining medicine and packing it up for next year. In the evening the town threw a big dinner for all the U.S. and Honduran volunteers, including the cooks, housekeepers, and the other invisible local helpers. I’ve included a little video of the band that performed.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 8-June 21-Day 5 of the Clinic

    21. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Before breakfast, I decided to take a quick look at the line waiting to get into the clinic. An hour and a half before we opened the line was already 100 yards long. Again, I like to people watch so I included a few people shots to my photo gallery.

    One shows the huge leaf someone found. It was very cool.

    I received an invitation by dentist Susan, of Hanover, PA, to observe what they were doing in denistry. Basically, they are trying to restore smiles. They had a young man that was getting serious decay in his front teeth and would eventually loose his front teeth. I would stop by every 15 minutes or so to see how things were going. After the work the young man got a chance to see the results in the mirror. He smiled broadly. He was already a handsome young man, but this was a life changing event for him. As I was about to leave I told him, in spanish, he was going to have many new girlfriends. He laughed so I assume he understood me.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaPortuguese Camino 2024

    Day 7-June 20-Day 4 of the Clinic

    20. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ 🌧 72 °F

    Today was another full day at the clinic. I will say it is physically exhausting since you are usually working from 8:00 am to almost 6:00 pm. Yesterday, we topped filling over 800 prescriptions for that day. Most patients will have 2-3 individual prescriptions to be filled. It is a lot of fun interacting with the Honduran medical students helping at the pharmacy. It gives me a chance to practice my spanish.

    The other night we walked into the town of San Luis. You can see the huge inequality that is so prevalent in Latin American - wonderful homes with incredibly poor houses nearby. I have included a few photos of the town.

    It is still wonderful to people watch at the clinic and capture a few photos. I have added a few more. If we catch up with the incoming prescriptions, which is not often, I will spend a couple of minutes walking around.

    I was talking at dinner with a lady that is with the group for the first time and like me, she is a general helper. Her role is as a dental assistant (no experience). She is working in the. clinic that does fillings and tooth restoration. She is amazed what they can do. Many of the patients have badly decaying front teeth, but after the restoration they have almost perfect front teeth. After the work is done, they show the patient the results in a mirror. The expression on their faces is priceless. It is a life changing event, especially for teenagers.

    After the pharmacy was about to close, one of our military security guard soldiers stopped by to get some medicine. Our doctor, Kent, checked him out and I filled a prescription for him. To see Kent examining the soldier while the soldier was carry his assault rife, was amazing.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 6-June 19-Day 3 of Medical Clinic

    19. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    I want to start with 2 special people. Cecelia is 84 years, originally from Venezuela, and has attended this medical trip for 11 years. She acts as one of our translator and helps to hand out prescriptions at the pharmacy. What a fabulous and inspiring lady.

    Coto is a local that helped set things up at the school beforehand. His english is about the same as my spanish. We have agreed to only speak spanish whenever we meet, which is several times per day. It has been wonderful practice for me. I have gotten more use for my spanish on this trip than any vacation. I have to read and write all the prescription in spanish. To be honest, it has not been a problem since my writing and reading are better than my listening..

    How do things work at the clinic? First of all, there is a long line before the clinic opens. Many people travel by foot for miles. Folks then register and staff identifies what services they will need. Everyone then gets parasite medicine. Folks then disperse to the dentist or doctors where they get a preliminary assessment. Eventually, they get their dental work or visit the doctor. The last step is getting their prescriptions. Of course, since their are hundreds of people each visit day, there is a lot of waiting, but they are all so patient. Everyone that makes eye contact with you smiles at you. Three elderly gentlemen wanted to shake my hand and thank me. We are realizing that although everyone is poor, the adults and children try to dress up and look their best.

    The pharmacy, We usually have 6-8 people running the pharmacy. .Yesterday, we filled over 700 medicine prescription. Most people will end up with 2-3 prescriptions. My main partner is Velinda, She is the wife of one of my roommates, Dr.Steve. We have a whole crew of hard working Honduran medical students helping us out, too. The last few photos are of the pharmacy. .    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 5-June 18-Day 2 of Medical Clinic

    18. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    I’m going to concentrate on people in this post, but also talk a little more about the pharmacy operation where I have been helping.

    The first photo is of Ruth and Daniel Castro. They are the organizers of the medical clinic. They organize about 10 clinics a year in Honduras and have been doing this for over 40 years.. Here are two people that use their faith to make their country and the world a better place. It amazes me that they still have such a high level of enthusiasm.

    I still can’t believe I spent the entire day filling prescriptions. I suggested we set up a rewards card system, like CVS, but the idea didn’t fly. They put the prescriptions in these hand made cloth bags made by a women’s group in the U.S. The folks love them.

    I walk around in my scrubs and all eyes are on you as you walk by. It is like being a celebrity.

    My goal today was to get some photos of some of the adorable children. I had a variety of appoaches. Some time I would quietly snap a picture. One time I sent one of the 16 year olds, Brady, out to get some photos. Brady is just adorable himself and so much fun. I also brought along some origami birds and handed them out to some of the kids.

    I so admire these down to Earth medical professionals who volunteer their time to help those who can’t afford to visit a doctor or a dentist. My 3 roommates are all general practice doctors and just so low key. Kent has come on these trips for over 20 times.    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaHonduras Mission Trip 2024

    Day 4-June 17-The Medical Clinic Begins

    17. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Who are the volunteers? We have 40 team member, of which 23 are under 25, including several teen agers. The teenagers have been fun. We also have almost a equal number of Honduran doctors, dentists and medical students.

    As we arrived at the school complex where the clinic was held, there were already lines. Until the end of the day there were crowds of people waiting patiently.

    I was with the pharmacy team. We had about 12 people evenly split between Americans and Honduran medical students. I started out with Velinda, a fist year volunteer. We just created packs of common requests……vitamins, antacids, etc. However, by mid-afternoon we were doing complete requests of 3-4 medicines. My roommate, Dr. Kent, approved everything that was pulled together,

    I got to watch Bill and Susan do their dental work. I flew down with both of them. There are so many of these professionals who volunteer their time year in and year out to help others. Some of these people seem to one miracle away from sainthood..    Lue lisää

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  • MatkaajaPortuguese Camino 2024

    Day 3-June 16-Setting up the Clinic

    16. kesäkuuta, Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Before breakfast I walked around our compound , which is normally a school with dorms. After breakfast we had a several hour orientation and the general helpers, like myself, received their initial job assignments. I was assigned to the pharmacy. A job in the afternoon will be to set up all aspects of the clinic so it is ready to roll on Monday morning.

    After the meeting, a small two person team, who run the infrastructure, asked if I was handy. I said I maintained a rental property for 23 years. They said they needed help setting things up. They said they were setting up a dental suction system. I claimed my rental properties had 3 or 4 suction systems.

    There will be a strong security presence all week. I’m writing this blog after dinner in our dining hall. Six feet away are three soldiers eating their dinner with AK47s hanging from their necks.    Lue lisää

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