Tuesday -Work Day #2

a report from Sarah Schmalzle, M.D. and Ed Schmalzle, maker of dangerous slinkies


I'll start the blog off tonight with a bad joke made popular by Paul Susman-- there have been no casualties so far!

We started the day off with a delicious and nutritious breakfast at JHC, made by Kathleen and members of the Nicaraguan staff. The morning proceeded on with a sobering discussion by Jenny Atlee of recent and ongoing events in Honduras, and the parallels to similar situations throughout Central America. In short, a social movement had been picking up steam over the years and real and positive changes were beginning to come to fruition. The president was implementing social programs that would be of great benefit to the poor and others. Unfortunately a military coup in 2009 removed him from power and from there a 'dirty war' has been waged by the military against the Hondurans. Just like in Nicaragua in the 1980s, those involved in social justice, education, etc. are targeted and terrorized. Assassinations, murder, "disappearances" and fear are widespread and commonplace.  According to Jenny and other sources, much of this military activity is believed to be strongly supported by US dollars and military involvement under the guise of 'fighting the drug war'. Jenny's group, The Friendship Office of the Americas, provides international accompaniment to human rights defenders, to bear witness and record what is happening there. Read more at www.friendshipamericas.org

The rest of the day was spent doing work at the clinic, eating, doing work at the clinic, and eating again. Todays projects included making more concertina-wire-wrapped-around-rebar-barriers, or as Janice likes to call them, large "death slinkies". No major injuries there, and we made sure everyone was up to date on their tetanus shots!  Others painted the outside of the clinic and repainted the bars on the windows. The roof was also swept of debris and the grounds were tidied up. After working on the death slinkies, Kathy steadily sliced up paper for prescriptions to be used in the clinic.

Inside the clinic, Drs. Don, Marion, and I (Sarah) saw patients. Don saw a mix of adults and children, Marion saw women, especially anyone with a gynecologic complaint or pregnancy, and I saw general adult patients and those with HIV. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are grateful to be of service, humbled by the trials and tribulations these people have endured, and hopeful that more services can be offered in the future. JHC does a remarkable job of filling in the gaps in health care in this country, but they can only do so much given the expense of medicines and supplies, and the lack of resources in this area.

We also did a quick tour of the cotton gin led by Becca, one of the JHC folks. We saw and heard about the process of producing organic cotton including receiving it from the individual farmers, removing debris, and putting it through the gin to separate out the seeds. The finished product then is sold to organic cotton producers, including Maggie's Organics (www.maggiesorganics.com/).

As we reflect on each days experiences, one thing that always comes up is how impressed we are with the sacrifice and dedication of Jubilee House Community, who have now been living and working in Nicaragua for 20 years! Please check out their website and support their work! And please let us know that you're reading the blog so we feel loved!