Saving Lives in Sabalos, Nicaragua, by Sunrise Rotarian John Jones
Our very special guest speaker for Thursday, February 16, 2023, was our own member, John Jones. John gave us an up-to-date summary of the status of our international project in Sabalos, Nicaragua, including the current status of political issues that have limited the club’s ability to continue its dental and eyeglass mission in Sabalos. Our first visit to Nicaragua was in 2008. After Nicaragua we sent missions to Mexico, Haiti, Guam, Samoa, and Vietnam. The club then decided that Nicaragua was the most effective place to continue our missions due to proximity, past experience, and dire need. We were invited to the area by one of the Rotary clubs in Nicaragua and John, Peter Hoberg, and Steve Zwick did an exploratory visit in 2010. We’ve been there constantly since that first mission dispensing eyeglasses and providing basic dental care. One of our great successes as a club was the construction and equipping of a surgery center in Sabalos.
Sabalos is on the Rio San Juan in southern Nicaragua. To get to Sabalos you have to fly to Managua, take another flight to San Carlos, and then take a 3-hour boat trip down the Rio San Juan to Sabalos. The Sabalos region is very poor. John estimates that the average daily wage per capita is $2.00, although there are very few jobs in the area. Prior to the Surgery Center anyone needing surgery had to take the boat down to San Carlos since there were no other effective medical facilities in the region. John told a pre-Surgery Center story about a woman with a difficult pregnancy who lost her baby while en-route to San Carlos. Now, the Surgery Center is fully equipped with an ultrasound machine that allows for the early diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy-related problems. In fact, John mentioned that during an 11-month period in 2022, the Center performed 7,200 ultrasounds, a variety of surgeries, including breast surgeries and hernias, and lots of X-Rays. We are saving lives in Sabalos!
The political situation in Nicaragua continues to make our work in Sabalos difficult. We were unable to do our January 2023 mission due to the lack of governmental approval. Non-profits in general have had a very difficult time; in the last year alone over 2,500 non-profits were closed down. Our own non-profit, San Juan Rio Relief, is working hard to get approval for another mission and further projects. The main barrier is the need for signature verifications, called Apostilles, for the various members of the Board of Directors of San Juan Rio Relief. The directors are in different states so each needs to get the appropriate apostilles from their own Secretaries of State, further drawing out the process. We are half-way there! We have a number of projects on hold, including the resumption of cataract surgeries, the eye and dental mission, and better utilization for the Surgery Center. A key issue is our hope that we can convince the Nicaraguan government to assign specialists to the Surgery Center, including a gynecologist, a radiologist, and a surgeon. At the present time the emergency room is not in operation due to the lack of staffing. John estimates the cost of specialists if $1,500 per month for each specialist.
Thank you, John, for the valuable update. Your dedication, amazing perseverance, and effective diplomacy have made this phenomenal project happen. We, and the people of the Sabalos region, appreciate all of your herculean efforts.
