In late November, Rotary Festival City Stratford partnered with HHART and Rotary Wasaga Beach, to provide much needed medical outreach clinics in poor Dominican pueblos and Haitian descent Bateys round Sosua and Puerto Plata.Rotary members Nancy Totino, and team leader Jean Aitcheson from Festival City, James Sillers of the Passport club, Nell Vrolyk of Sarnia, Roope Tsutsunen, Rotary Exchange Student from Finland, several (hopefully) soon to be Rotarians, and dedicated people made up the 25 member contingent.
Over 1200 people received health and hygiene teaching, assessment and treatment by nurses and physicians, lab assessments, full pharmacy support, reading glasses, sun glasses, and hats, and dental fluoride treatments for children ages 5 to 14. Every person received new toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap thanks to the support of friends of the team members. Rotary action was appreciated, as team members received smiles and ‘gracias’.
The team packed and carried 70 hockey bags, each 50 pounds full of medical supplies and sports equipment from the Stratford Mission Depot. These supplies were used in the team clinics and left behind for the ongoing health and community support of numerous village centres, clinics, Bombero stations, hospitals and community outreach groups. One clinic was held in Batey Pancho Mateo, in a new community centre where our club supported a Rotary Global Grant to furnish the medical, dental and nutritional equipment.The team employed 18 young Haitian descent men and women who spoke Spanish, Creole and English as translators, now friends of the team. They helped get the history of the patients with hypertension; respiratory, skin and vaginal infections; headaches and musculoskeletal aches and pains; new and already diagnosed diabetes; ulcers and lacerations; scabies, lice, and intestinal worms; the common condition of Pterygium, a tissue growth over the white and cornea of the eye; mobility challenges; and the nutritional and social results of poverty. The translators then described the treatment and follow up.
There were hundreds of heart breaking and heart warming stories. A late 50’s grandmother brought her 3 month old granddaughter she is now raising, because the mother left 3 days after the birth and never returned. The baby was healthy, and we were able to supply the overwhelmed abuela with formula, cloth diapers, and clothes, and support grandma’s health so she could raise this precious one. Their situation will now be monitored by a local group through Rotary.In several of the villages, we took a 5 gallon container of a nutritious, tasty, sweet, oatmeal drink along with hard boiled eggs to give to the children. One little boy had a mug of Aveno, and offered to give it back to have an egg. “No, you can have both” was conveyed without words. Only a few egg shells were on the ground as the children took the egg home. One hard boiled egg shared with a family!
For more stories, or interest in medical supplies recycling or medical missions, contact Jean Aitcheson jkhsn@quadro.net