6:30am wake up call. 7:30am get on bus. 8am arrive at clinic. 8.05am time to set up clinic. Our team arrived at the clinic at 8am, and we were delighted with the space we were given to run our clinic. A doctors office, a dentists office, a pharmacy, a nurse's station and a make shift waiting room were all set up, and within minutes we had our clinic. Patients began to arrive around 9. There were patients from all age groups from young babies to a woman as old as 88. The morning was at a nice steady pace with 24 people being seen by our doctor ;Doctor Steve, and 10 by our dentist; Dr Tammy. It was also a quick learning experience for many of our volunteers as many have no medical training but boy, did they get the job done.
Two of our volunteers including our program director, visited three homes in the local community to conduct interviews in order to better understand the needs of the community. The first house that was visited was a beautiful family of 6, there were four children, three girls and a boy and both parents. They lived in a wooden house with two rooms, one with a small bed for them all to sleep in. The father is unable to get work and the mother makes tortillas to sell. The papa stays at home to look after the children while the mother works close to 12 hours a day. They were a great family, very friendly and open about their story. Two other homes were visited. Each family was wonderful and very welcoming. Together in Hope is very excited to share their stories with you.
Two of our volunteers including our program director, visited three homes in the local community to conduct interviews in order to better understand the needs of the community. The first house that was visited was a beautiful family of 6, there were four children, three girls and a boy and both parents. They lived in a wooden house with two rooms, one with a small bed for them all to sleep in. The father is unable to get work and the mother makes tortillas to sell. The papa stays at home to look after the children while the mother works close to 12 hours a day. They were a great family, very friendly and open about their story. Two other homes were visited. Each family was wonderful and very welcoming. Together in Hope is very excited to share their stories with you.
In the afternoon, our whole team came together to work at the clinic and assist wherever they were needed. The afternoon was much busier than the morning with families coming to see the doctor and dentist. Some of the children had their first tooth extraction, and got to bring their tooth home for the 'RATON' to come take it(the Spanish equivalent of the tooth fairy). For others it was their first time seeing a doctor, the children got a lesson in how to hear the heart beat! At the end of the day the grand total of patients seen was 61 between Dr Steve and Dr Tammy, not too bad for our first day! It was an amazing start to what I can only see as an amazing week!
No comments:
Post a Comment