So I apologize that it has been weeks since my last post. The past few weeks have been absolutely nuts for me. Basically since I moved into the house I have been attending meetings with Julia at Aliñambi to discuss the nutrition program we want to start to implement starting with the children at Aliñambi and then hopefully with the success of that program, expand it on into the communities to improve the over health of children. I had also been meeting with Julia about the clinic we put on on August 28th and 29th, and finally, have had meetings to finalize the contract between us, Aliñambi and HealtheChildren (the US based organization that is funding the Aliñambi clinic expansion and nutrition program). Even though it was a crazy few weeks and lots of work with meetings and poster making and everything, it all really paid off in the end!!
Me in front of my Nutrition posters with some fruit in hand!
Our clinic was a great success. Over the 2 days we had 133 patients total (we had hoped for a little more but it was great to meet and help the amount of community members we did). The clinic consisted of 2 doctors and 1 PA (which was amazing for me to see that PA's can come down here and do amazing health work! Now I really cant wait to become a PA and start doing this kind of work!) and we had a pharmacy with tons of medication that all Manna volunteers have brought down over the past couple years and lastly Manna, us, put on a dental interactive talk where we taught kids the proper way to brush and floss their teeth! Many people down here don't realize how important brushing and especially flossing are to one's health. So our charla (that is what a little 'talk' is called down here) went amazingly and we gave out a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss to all the kids that participated. It was so adorable to teach all of them and have all of them so eager to learn. I also made nutrition posters that consisted of specific nutrition facts based on Ecuadorian fruits and made a food pyramid catered to Ecuador and finally we had Health Jeopardy where patients could win t-shirts for right answers while they were waiting to see the doctors. It was truly an amazing experience.
Me and Jens in front of the dental charla posters!
Haley and I with our dental charla audience!
2 girls from my group maintain the Manna Ecuador Blog that is for anyone and everyone who has donated, supports or is just curious in the happens of MPI. I wrote the guest blog this week about the clinic so here is the link so please check it out! (and not only for my blog but also check it regularly because they write bout 5 times a week about all the stuff we do so...they are better than I am ! Sorry :) ) Oh and here is the link: http://openhandsdirtyfeet.blogspot.com/
So anyways, back on track....The clinic was a great experience and being so involved first handedly and being actively involved in it set up and creation made me really see this experience differently than free clinics I have done in the past in Mexico. Being so involved and having so much contact with the patients made me realize how much "power" we have down here solely for being Gringos. It was crazy to see how these people would just walk into our clinic and put their trust and lives in our hands without knowing anything about us, without knowing our credentials, and accepting that we knew more and could take care of them because we are Americans. They assume we have X amount of knowledge about medicine and about health that they don't ask questions along the lines if we are qualified to be giving health advice and care. It really took me aback and made me so happy that we are able to help these people because we do have more basic knowledge to share about health but at the same time it kills me to see how they perceive us and that we have so much 'power' to help and change how these people live and hardly anyone acknowledges it.
Being able to see how a PA can work down here in South America has really given me more passion and excitement that I have chosen the right career path for me. I cannot wait to be able to be in the position to help people on a greater level. YAY!!
Jens and an eager patient!
Haley and I sporting the t-shirts I designed and got made (my first Ecuadorian project and success)!
So now that this clinic is over, I am starting to work with Julia and Aliñambi on getting their nutrition program and hopefully soon will start working on Aliñambi's clinic expansion. Schools down here started this week and so we are starting programs at our library next Monday the 14th. I am helping out with Adult English as well as starting a new class with Jackie to teach kids about science and natural sciences/environmental science. So my weeks of business are going to continue for awhile and since our kids natural science class is a new proposal, we are just crossing our fingers that kids come and enjoy it so we can continue it throughout the year!
Well, that is about it for now! Sorry for the late and sparse updates! We will all be getting into more regular routines now so that will be nice. I will let you know how are classes begin next week!
Hope all is well in your respective parts of the US and that you had an awesome summer! (so sad its coming to an end) And I heard it was Labor Day up there today so I'm super jealous of ya'lls holiday haha!
Salud + amor
Krysta
Now its very easy to contact with doctor .
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