The door opened to the small hotel room in Bonanza and I
think I almost gasped as I saw a big fluffy mattress, a modest sized room fan,
and then turned the corner to see the bathroom with a real toilet and running
water. The first thought that jumped into my head is Que lujoso (Wow! This is luxurious.)
I spent the past month traveling to different Acción Médica
Cristiana project sites in the RAAN or North Atlantic Autonomous Region. (I
talked a little bit about this region in my previous blog post). I visited
midwifes, natural medicine doctors, and community health leaders in their
homes; I traveled with a mobile medical team to 8 different communities that
are located hours from a road or health center; I stayed with a hospitable
family for a few days that lives on the Prinzapolka river; I went to a Regional
Assembly in Puerto Cabezas with inspiring volunteers; and I talked and met a
group of young people who are helping to educate their communities about sexual
rights and health.
I want to be able to share the humble living conditions I
experienced not for you to feel sorry for the “poor people”, but more to
understand the differences in the way you live and the way people live in very
remote areas in Nicaragua. I had a brief time to live in solidarity with such
wonderful people and I want you to be able to understand the lifestyle, too.
Also, I hope to share not just what I “did” and experienced, but more the
stories and experiences of the people I encountered. The people who I will
carry in my soul… in my view of life forever.
The Mobile Medical
Brigade
After spending a week in Rosita, it was nearing the time for
me to move on to a new project site and I was helping count medicines for the
upcoming mobile medical brigades. Many AMC projects receive funds from AECID()
to help execute and organize medical brigades with local doctors and nurses.
AMC also receives donated medicines from Farma Mundi and the ministry of Health
or MINSA. The brigade travels 7-9 days
to remote communities where people live hours from health centers or hospitals.
Sarah, the other Mission Fellow who is
stationed in Rosita and Carolina were scheduled to travel with a team of two
nurses and two doctors for 8 nights. They would travel on horseback for hours
at a time each day, sleep in hammocks, and bath in rivers. Jokingly I mentioned I wanted to go, too. Doña Cecilia who is the project
coordinator for Rosita immediately began thinking aloud about how we
could organize and call the big boss lady, Yamilet, in the main office to see
if I could go. We could run out and buy a hammock. I already had rubber boots.
I didn’t need any money. Wah! For a moment, I was really excited, but then I
started thinking about how we would be messing up my original schedule (how
North American) and then I started getting worried about sleeping in a hammock
and all the other challenges I would encounter. (It was weird because I’m
normally such an adventurous person.) However, it was also because I had just
found out my Uncle Kent had passed away and it made me sad/worried I would be
without a way to connect with my family during his funeral- it would be our
first day of traveling. After being able to talk to my family, being able to
think and reflect and morn, and lots of positive pressuring from Doña Cecilia,
I decided I had to go and I reflected on how many people are actually willing
to visit these people. I was willing. And after the trip it felt more like a privilege.
The first day on our adventure we
loaded up the truck with AMC personnel- Sarah, Carolina, Jorge (carolina's boyfriend) and
myself and then picked up the nurses and doctor from the local hospital. We
rode with 5 in the front and 5 in the truck bed on top of our luggage. Once we
arrived to the end of the road took our luggage and put each back inside a
plastic bag and then a large sack. The sacks were tied together in twos and
then thrown over each horse. One horse was loaded up as a carrier- the large
ice box with vaccines was loaded up on the horse along with heavier luggage.
The first day it took us 6 hours
to arrive to San Augustin and the horses sloshes and mushed through mud almost
the entire time. I just had to relax and stop worrying about my horse or it
would have been an even longer ride. The most impactful realization I had was that I was riding my horse on the day of my uncle's funeral and he was a real cowboy- he would be so proud. The whole day I thought about Uncle Kent and his family as I rode.
I’m not going to lie- the first
day was quite a challenge for me, because once we arrived in darkness, I could
barely stand up due to tremendous pain in my knees and lack of food during the
day. Dinner wasn’t ready by our gracious hosts yet, so a group of us decided to
go bath in a nearby waterfall. However, the waterfall was about another 15 walk
in pure mud again. We tried our hardest not to drop our clean clothes in the
mud and made it to the refreshing waterfall. On the way back we were lead once
again by a little girl from the community with a flashlight and managed not to
fall over. At that point my body was officially fatigued and I was grateful to
receive a warm plate of food; however, I had the smart idea to try and step
outside of the house to put on bug spray and immediately slipped out of the
door and landed on my butt and head in the mud as a threw my plate of food in
the air. At that point, I almost cried and yet all I could think too was there
are a lot of people who have to make the hard trip several times a month and
they live with mud all during the rainy season.
We were grateful to have a dry
place to stay and yummy food in our bellies. Also, we were grateful for Carmelo
who walked the 6 hours the day before with the horses and then returned with us
to his community the next day. In the 7 communities we visited, there were
always volunteers who went over and beyond to help the brigade arrive safely,
eat hearty meals, help organize people during the consults, and provide a place
for us to sleep. These families did not receive anything in return for their
help, yet they still were happy to provide amazing hospitality.
Each day AMC lead the crowd in a
devotional, then taught others about the new inclusive health model in
Nicaragua. Then, the consults started. The brigades usually only visit a
community for one day and sometimes the community members still live 1-2 hours
from the consult site. Also, many people pass the entire day waiting to receive
vaccines, pap tests, a humble amount of medicines, and a moment to talk to a
doctor. One night we arrived late to a community and the consults didn’t start
till the afternoon, so some families had to spend the night at the church we
were staying in and head home in the morning because it was raining and dark.
Many of the communities we visited
do not have schools. The children work at home and help with daily chores once
they are old enough. Many of the adults cannot read or write.
However, I met so many community
health leaders and midwifes who work hard to help take care of their
communities.
Mariluz is the mother of 3 little
girls and her and her husband hosted us for two nights. Mariluz recently
decided to become a midwife simply because her community does not have anyone
who is working as a midwife. She already has a lot of work in the house but
decided to attend one of AMC’s workshops in order to learn about being a
midwife. Sarah and I also tried to spend some time learning some of her
everyday tasks like carrying a bucket of water on my head and milking a cow.
Work in the country is no joke, hombre. Mariluz is such a brave and strong woman.
The most vivid memory I have from
the house of Mariluz and her husband Nicolas
is sitting on a bench with their three daughters in front of the house
with the moon shining down on us. The 3 little girls were telling me silly
things and we were all giggling for the longest time, when earlier that day
they would barely even look at me without running and hiding. It was a really
spiritual moment. It was hard to leave that family- A family that is always
willing to help out their community by hosting the medical brigades and be
hospitable, loving hosts.
Don Arsenio is another person
whose care and dedication to his community really touched me. Sarah and I did
an interview with him because he his a community leader, is always helping with
medical teams and is the host to the community pharmacy or botiquin and we discovered he had walked about 13 hours in two days
to help out the brigade. He also worked throughout the entire day of consults
to make sure all the patients were being helped and were in order. Also, Don Arsenio has three children who all
became blind when they were 2 years old and on top of that responsibility he is
in charge of maintaing the community pharamacy.
In final community where we
worked, we stayed at Doña Rosa’s
house. Her and her sister Berta are famous in the area for their hospitality as
well as the efficiency of their house.
The house is still 5 hours from the main road but Rosa has a solar panel
which powers the electricity for her house and the family built there own water
system with pipes leading down from a waterfall on the nearby hill. The kitchen
is enormous at Rosa’s and it is always busy. Rosa is always willing to host
medical teams.
I will never forget the long trip
with the mobile medical team outside of Rosita and all the generous people and
beautiful people I met along the way. I think of how Jesus traveled with his disciples. They were dependent on the hospitality of others during their journey and teachings, yet we often don't think about the people who helped Jesus and the 12 disciples by opening up their homes, providing a warm, dry place to sleep, and gave of their resources so that he could continue his ministry. Lord, thank you for your children who share their gift of hospitality.
To be continued…
