Friday, June 24, 2011

Greetings from El Salvador,

I realize that my update may be "old news" by now. Most of the team members have already posted their experiences via Facebook and texting. When we are in a place with Internet access, the iphones and laptops immediately pop out. Also at the CEDEINFA office we have access to free telephone service and there is usually a line to call back to the states (especially on Father's Day).

The team has returned from four days "in the field." We visited the northern part of El Salvador (Metapan in Santa Ana) with brigades on Tuesday and Thursday and a day of recreation in between. We spent Wednesday morning at a resort pool park, playing "Marco Polo" and learning that "Fresca" (the soft drink) is not Spanish for strawberry. Wednesday afternoon we were in Juyaua where we walked and walked and walked and walked and then walked some more to the waterfalls---which were well worth the long hike. The waterfalls were absolutely stunning and the water was cold, clear and silky. We were also able to squeeze about an hour at the beach on Thursday.

Thankfully, the rainy season has finally begun and the afternoon storms have resulted in cooler more comfortable temperatures.

We all are safe and in good spirits, but several of our team members have become ill---not knowing whether to sit on the toilet or kneel over it. It is amazing how well everyone has bonded and kept their sense of humor while sharing details of their various bodily malfunctions. (I will spare you the graphic details even though they have been posted on Facebook, too.)

Tomorrow (Friday) morning we are off to the market for a little shopping and in the afternoon we will have our last clinic in the Rosa Virginia Community. Then it is back to the workshop to begin preparing for the August team and we will end our last day in El Salvador with our farewell dinner with the CEDEINFA staff.

The photographs we have taken do not do justice to the beauty of El Salvador nor do they adequately convey magnitude of extreme poverty and need among many of the people here. We have been talking about our experiences as we prepare for our journey back the United States on Saturday. I am personally very grateful to all the members of the June team for their willingness to come help the "poorest of the poorest" in El Salvador.

Happy Thursday night from El Salvador,

Eddith Dashiell
team co-director

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Greetings from El Salvador!

Since my last update the Ohio U./Ohio Northern team has completed two more medical brigades. We were in Daniel's hometown on Thursday for a full day brigade. Last year approximately 200 people came to the brigade in Agua Calinente. However, Thursday, for some reason we had less than 100. I teased Daniel, saying that the people in his childhood community probably did not come because they were still cooperating from his 40th birthday party. [Daniel celebrated his 40th birthday in his hometown in April with FOUR days of food and music.] However, we were able to make up for the small numbers at Agua Caliente with our half-day clinic on Friday.

Yesterday was Father's Day in El Salvador and we spent the morning in the Regalo de Dios Community community and saw close to 200 patients. Last night was CEDEINFA's 7th anniversary. The dinner was held in at a nice restaurant and the program was a celebration of how the organization has grown in seven years--with the unveiling of CEDEINFA's new logo. The Ohio team was recognized during the dinner with certificates and lots of grateful applause. Team members took lots of photos that I am sure have already made their way to their Facebook pages (the miracles of technology). Today team members were up by 6 p.m. for their early-morning bus ride to La Laguna, Chalatenango for our next all-day brigade. Tomorrow afternoon (Sunday) we have an afternoon brigade scheduled in Amatepec. Monday-Thursday of next week we will take our clinics "on the road" to several communities in the northern part of the country with a day at the beach scheduled for Wednesday.

Happy Saturday and Happy Father's Day from El Salvador,

Eddith Dashiell
Team Co-director

Thursday June 16, 2011

Agua Caliente (Daniel’s home town – he is the leader of CEDEINFA, the organization we are working with)

Cowboy country. Most men wear a cowboy hat. As we set up for clinic boys ride by on horses. Cows and calves graze in the shaded valley beside the dirt heap that is our path up to the partially constructed church. The building faces towards the countryside and a lush green hillside. Large openings in the block construction face this pastoral scene, suggesting that the final construction will have large windows, bringing in the light and richness of God’s country. This is a place even I could worship, though perhaps not with the same fervor as this congregation.

Our first patient: an 84 year old man with an irregular heart beat. He is already taking a heart pill and a blood pressure pill. But he still has times when his heart races and he gets chest pain. The EKG machine is fortunately functioning and we can send him on his way with an EKG page that reveals his atrial fibrillation and various heart blocks. He’s already taking aspirin and I encourage him to continue. Not much more that I can do – he has already outlived most of his peers. Though I did see another 83 year old man who tells me “god has touched him” (literally translated: he feels it is almost his time to go to heaven.) He says “I am deaf, I can hardly see, but I can see pretty girls like you!” Later when we’ve sorted out the problems we can help him with, I tell him he can go up for his medicines (to the pharmacy in the building up the hill behind us). I catch myself and say “Not THE up-up!” he says, “yes, I thought you were telling me to go to heaven!” And we all laugh. No it is not quite your time.

Katy Kropf

Team Director

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Greetings again from El Salvador!

Yesterday we visited two communities--Valencia and Duarte Melendez, which are two of the three communities that are the focus of CEDEINFA's mission. Today we visited one of the newly established communities in San Salvador--Las Victorias. More than 70 families have made their home in Las Victorias--which used to be the city dump---four years ago when hurricanes destroyed their homes on the east side of El Salvador. When we visited Las Victorias for the first time, the houses were nothing more than cardboard and trash bags. Today, the tiny houses are made of tin and concrete....but they still have dirt floors. The families have planted grass and trees, but the water is still unfit for them to drink and they have to get water from across the street. The medical team members said quite a few of the 90+ patients they saw had respiratory problems. The weather is very hot. Even though the country is in week six of its rainy season, we haven't seen a drop of rain yet. After lunch the team was able to cool off by going to the local pool--complete with waterfalls and refreshing cold water. We returned to Casa Bethel for a Salvadoran dinner of pupusas and fried plantains. Tomorrow, we will travel to Agua Caliente--the hometown of CEDEINFA director Daniel Menjivar--for an all-day brigade. Friday we will be in the Regalo de Dios Community for a half-day brigade and then celebrate CEDEINFA's 7th anniversary Friday night.

Happy Wednesday from El Salvador,

Eddith Dashiell
Team co-director

Wednesday June 15, 2011

Las Victorias (community on the old trash dump)

Toward the end of the morning clinic Katie, one of the medical students, came to tell me about a patient who could not walk to the make-shift clinic to be seen.  We wove our way down the dirt pathways passing homes made of tin and plastic and a few of block, to arrive at her home where she is lying in a hammock with her swollen leg elevated.  A large crusted mass protrudes from her nose.  Her lungs are noisy, not clearly pneumonia, but something is going on.   And a thick, sweet smell emanates from her.  She reports pain in her bones when she stands, difficulty walking for the past several weeks, sores in her mouth, loss of appetite.  The leg became swollen 6 months ago when she had a bug bite and then redness and swelling.  The swelling hasn’t gone away since, though the medicine they are putting on it – an oregano poultice –is helping to bring the swelling down.  They tried going to a doctor several months ago, but they waited and waited and no one helped them so they returned home without any medications.  A nurse who periodically comes by injects tramadol, a weak opiod, into her gluteal muscles when the pain becomes severe, but this is 12$ for each small bottle.

As I take in her history and exam, I struggle to figure out what we can do for her.  Her problem is bigger than  our meds will resolve.  Is it cancer? An untreated cellulitis that resulted in the swelling and another process affecting her nose and lungs?   We concoct a solution for her to swish in her mouth to calm the mouth ulcers . Antibiotics to potentially treat a lung infection.  A baggie of pain meds, though not very strong if it happens to be cancer pain.  Her family stand by, taking in the instructions.  Thanking us and blessing us for our help.

Katy Kropf

Team Director

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Duarte Melendez – tour of the community, with the final perspective from the overlook from the bridge that crosses the busy highway. 800 families Daniel said, and now many have hot red “Claro!” satellite dishes that adorn their roofs, beacons to outer space and U.S. and Mexican exported culture. This is gang MS 13 territory. There is no mistaking who controls this area. Human-sized black letters “MS” are painted on trees and buildings all around the enclosed community. Several of us commented that it is hard to image this as gang territory on this tranquil Tuesday afternoon. Children run down the narrow passageways that are designed to confuse outsiders and police officers that might dare to follow someone in. Women in aprons, their hands covered in Masa corn meal stand in doorways watching us pass by. The narrow pathways are filled with debris: old tires, construction remnants, rubble, roaming half-naked chicks and chickens. A young girl climbs two walls with one foot on one building, the other foot inching up the other building. This is her home; she runs and plays and climbs here. There is no sense of violence or danger in her mischievous grin.

Later, in clinic, a precious 3 year old tells me “Mi papi se morio hace tres meses” – my daddy died 3 months ago. I look to her grandmother who accompanies her and she shakes her head in confirmation and points to her head with her index finger outstretched, miming a gun to the head; “He was killed.” I look back to the little girl and she sits calmly, smiling even.

Lots of respiratory infections – wheezing, asthma, coughs. More than I’ve seen anywhere else. This does not feel like a healthy place, though the children run and play and giggle like children do.

Another patient: a gang member released 3 months ago from prison, covered with tattoos and tinea versicolor (fungal rash). Some in his gluteal region, groin and all over this trunk. “Stay out of trouble” I admonished as we concluded our visit. “La libertad es dulce” he responds to me with a nod and a smile over his shoulder - liberty is sweet.

Another man, denies drinking alcohol for the past 14 days, though he still reeks of poverty and alcohol. His feet send off a great odor when I ask him to take off his shoes, and at first I think huge chunks of skin are flaking off. Fortunately it was chunks from his shoe inserts adhered to his moist and macerated feet. I tell him he needs to wear socks, but when my translator explains this to him he tells us that he doesn’t shower very often and when he finally does, if he has socks on he can’t get them off as they become adhered to his feet. Okay I nod, we’ll stick to giving him some cream for the fungus and see if that helps even a little.

Katy Kropf

Team Director

Monday, June 13, 2011

Greetings from El Salvador!

Our first clinic was a great success. We were in a small community in the city of San Salvador and saw approximately 80 patients. The group is already bonding and working well together. Most of the patients were treated for coughs and stomach aches. I overheard most of the students talking about how much they learned today. After today's 1/2-day brigade team members got to be tourists visiting some of the historical sites in El Salvador. Today we ate all U.S. American food...Pizza Hut for lunch... hamburgers and fries for dinner. Tomorrow we will be back to traditional Salvadoran fare and a heavier schedule with brigades in two different communities with larger populations.

Happy Monday from El Salvador,

Eddith Dashiell
Team co-director

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Greetings everyone! The Ohio University and Ohio Northern team has arrived safely. As I type, team members are busy organizing for our first medical brigade in the morning.

I will provide a more detailed update later. Please forgive any typos. I am using a Spanish keyboard on a computer that also spell checks in Spanish.

Eddith Dashiell
Team co-director