This is a special guest blog post by Nadia Masroor, who has joined us on the last few health outreach trips to Yoro, Honduras, and who recently returned from Honduras:
Our February trip to Olanchito
and La Hicaca provided some excellent feedback on several ongoing projects. On Thursday
February 12th, Dr. Bearman and I had the wonderful opportunity to
meet with Padre Pedro and the rest of the Catholic priests in Olanchito for
lunch.
Afterwards,
Dr. Bearman, Padre Pedro, and I met with the Pico Bonito Foundation to discuss their
progress on current projects. Pico Bonito has successfully installed
chlorination systems in La Hicaca, Chorro Viento, and Puerto Rico. Those living
in these three villages are encouraged to use the chlorinated water cisterns
for their water supply. In order to determine the efficacy of chlorination, the
2015 brigade team will plate and incubate chlorinated water to assess
microbiological growth. As for those who do not have access to the cisterns, an
estimated 90-100 filters will need to be distributed in June 2015.
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| Hike to Chorro Viento |
The
Pico Bonito Foundation has recently installed new cook stoves in many of the
homes in LaHicaca. According to the foundation, each cook stove costs about
$100. We plan to continue this project by funding Pico Bonito to install
another 15-20 cook stoves this year. Padre Pedro and Rosa, who is the nurse
providing care to the people of La Hicaca and surrounding villages, will determine
which impoverished homes are most in need of cook stoves. In conjunction with
the cook stoves, the Pico Bonito foundation has also agreed to install new
latrines for the people in Sector La Hicaca. Approximately 15-20 latrines,
which cost $100 each, are projected to be built throughout the village this
year. Lastly, in order to replace the deteriorated school latrines, we have
requested 4 new latrines to be constructed as well, which have been estimated
to cost $800-$1000. To say the least, our meeting with the Pico Bonito
Foundation has enlightened us on the plethora of projects we can initiate in
order to improve living conditions in La Hicaca and surrounding villages.
Later that day we met with Dr. Alma Nunez from
the Ministry of Health to discuss the June 2015 brigade. Historically, La
Hicaca has been the clinic site for 3 days and Lomitas has been the clinic site
for 2 days. This year, however, Padre has advised spending 2.5 days in La
Hicaca and 2.5 days in Lomitas. By increasing clinic time in Lomitas, Dr. Nunez
and Padre hope that the brigade will be able to extend its care to more people.
The total number of brigade clinic sessions will remain the same. In addition,
Padre Pedro will work with the Ministry of Health to provide dental services
for 3 days, covering both La Hicaca and Lomitas.
Based on Brock University’s findings from the
June 2014 brigade, the majority of the population suffers from Trichura, which
cannot be effectively treated with albendazole alone. Thus during this year’s
brigade we will be distributing oxantal pamoate in addition to the albendazole
to provide enhanced Trichura coverage. Padre Pedro has taken on the task to
inquire and purchase both the albendazole and the oxantal pamoate.
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| Cistern in Chorro Viento |
Dr. Nunez
has proposed aggressively promoting the brigade via Radio Catolica broadcast in order to increase awareness and participation. Therefore, Padre Pedro will
collaborate with Radio Catolica in order to provide the brigade dates and
details about the services offered. We hope to see an increase in the number of
people who attend the brigade in June.
On Friday
February 13th, we traveled to La Hicaca so that could meet with Rosa
in el Centro de Salud. Rosa graciously agreed to continue sanitation education
and to take on the latrine and cook stove projects with Pico Bonito. She has
also requested an additional 300 speculums for cytology exams.
In the
afternoon, we had the opportunity to examine the water cisterns with the new
chlorination systems in La Hicaca and Chorro Viento. We drove to La Culatta and
climbed up to Chorro Viento. The 45-minute hike was definitely not an easy one
and made me appreciate the 5-6 hour journeys many people endure to come to the
brigade. Below are some pictures of the cisterns and the chlorination system
installed.
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| New chlorination system in Chorro Viento |
We attended
Mass on Friday evening, traveled back to San Pedro Sula Saturday morning, and
flew back to the US on Sunday. Although a short trip, we have gained a
substantial amount of knowledge on current programs implemented in La Hicaca
and surrounding villages.
I cannot
wait to return in June- to see the progress and of course, to see my friends.
