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Impressions of a First-Timer |
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Written by Alan Hinderliter
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Wednesday, 19 July 2006 |
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The medical mission team had a very rewarding and productive first week at the Bongo clinic. As a "first timer" at the clinic, I have been amazed at how efficiently it operates. Thanks to organizational abilities of the "Witch of the Porch" (Raine Lee) and the dedicated help of all who are working at the clinic, we have been able to provide medical care to as many as 40 patients in a day. Some have problems we don't often see in North Carolina: intestinal parasites, anemia from poor nutrition, and scabies, for example. Others have ailments, like diabetes and hypertension, that are also prevalent in Westernized societies. Many have not had medical attention (and have not been able to acquire medications) since the last mission team visit.
One of my favorite patients last week was a man named Pablo. Pablo is 73 years old and still works clearing brush and carrying heavy loads of produce. His chief complaint was of backache and shoulder pain. He had not been to a medical provider in many years and was unaware of his elevated blood pressure. When I suggested that he leave the heavy labor to his more youthful coworkers, he scoffed. "Young people these days don't know how to work!"? he informed me. He left with a medication for relief of his "aches and pains"? and with therapy for his hypertension. He typifies the people of Bongo- hard-working, proud, and very grateful for the medical outreach provided by the members of University United Methodist Church. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 November 2006 )
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Written by 2006 Panama Team
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Monday, 10 July 2006 |
See the following site for more photos of the team in action: Panama 2006 on flickr.com [Round 3] |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 17 July 2006 )
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Written by Anne Sassaman
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Monday, 17 July 2006 |
 I hope you have been enjoying the pictures and the news from the Mission Team. All is going well here, and I think it's the smoothest of the 7 or 8 trips I've been on. I thought you might be interested in some of the behind the scene logistics that are required to make things go smoothly, and what our days are like.
First of all, planning for the trip now begins a year in advance. In fact, you can see next year's dates on the website! Jan reserves the retreat center in Volcan where we stay, and starts dealing with Chris, our wonderful AAA travel agent, to get the best group prices on airline tickets. In addition to recruiting the team, other things start getting busy in the spring, with information bulletins, phone calls and emails to Panama to make sure we have our trusty bus driver, Beto, and the cook, Bete, without whom we would be lost. Closer to time, there are negotiations about nurses and translators for the clinic--this year we have three--as well as other negotiations about travel logistics. Since we work in two different places, we contract with a separate bus to transport the clinic personnel to Volcan at the end of the day. For the last three years, Jan has gone ahead of the team by a week to get things in order for our arrival. And there are always little surprises--such as the fact that the resources of two branches of Wachovia were required to give him the cash we bring with us to cover construction, medicines, meals, and numerous other expenses once we get here.
Our usual schedule is to arrive in Panama City mid-day on Saturday, spend the night in some quarters in the basement of Bishop Pablo's house (one shower, one toilet for each sex), then travel by bus about 8 hours to Volcan. Although we travel the Panamerican Highway, don't think this is like I-40. There are very few adequate rest stops along the way, and the road on the last half of the trip is 2-lane with quite a bit of construction. We're always happy to finally get to our destination in cool (but often rainy) Volcan.
Since we work at two sites, neither of which is in Volcan, the team spends a fair amount of time on a bus. We leave at 7:30 am, stop to pick up ice, and head down the mountain 30 minutes to the clinic in Bongo, dropping off the clinic team to start work for the day. We have a devotional on the bus and a prayer at Bongo. The construction team continues on the bus for another 45 minutes or so to the work site in the community of Jacu, so they are on the bus for 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day. But the bus doesn't stop when the team leaves it at Jacu. Jan and Beto spend most of next 6-7 hours "procuring" needed items, everything from medicines (Jan knows every pharmacy in the surrounding area) to scaffolding (and you can't find that in the Yellow Pages!) to pillows for team members. The relations he has developed over the years with merchants and others are extremely helpful in not only getting the best prices for what we need, but even finding various items.
At the end of the day, we are always happy to return to our simple abode in Volcan (see the photo of our triple-decker bunks on the web site) to whatever Bete has prepared for us. Since we don't really have any sitting area in our dormitory, folks tend to either read in bed (book lights are a must), congregate in the dining hall, or wander over the the Internet Cafe next door, which is where I'm writing this.
So perhaps this gives you a little glimpse into all it takes to organize the trip and how our days are spent. We did enjoy a break this weekend, when we traveled to a pretty little town called Boquete on the other side of the volcano and toured a coffee plantation and had a nice dinner. And of course, we worshiped with our friends in Jacu on Sunday, where we helped them celebrate Children's Day. I'll let Ruth tell you more about that.
Continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and we'll be back with you soon!
Anne Sassaman |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 November 2006 )
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