Our first full clinic day in Estanzuelas, and all is very
well.
Yesterday I exchanged congratulations with Marvin Hernandez,
our amazing chief organizer for the Estanzuelas community. I was relieved that we’d come through the
airport arrival and the customs process with no problems and in record
time. He was relieved that all the
organizational pieces – the invitations to patients, the welcome at a local
school with dancers and lunch for 120, the rental of tables and chairs and
canopies, the organization of volunteers for the week had gone without a hitch.
And now we’re off and running, working our way through the
opening day questions and glitches (there are always a few of these). Medics have paired up with interpreters,
we’ve figured out how to write up the references for patients who need further
tests or specialist care, and every clinic is full of Estanzuelans telling
their stories, talking about their needs and anxieties, being fitted with new
glasses and being heard with attention and respect.
Especially on Monday, it always feels like a river
overflowing: local volunteers, PazSalud providers, interpreters and patients:
we’re all trying to figure out the flow. By Friday we'll have everything clear - and then we have to leave!
(Photos, top to bottom: Brian checks a young patient's heart rate; Carol helps a woman choose glasses; Darren listens to a story; Lorna and Moises give patients their medications.)
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