VOSH-Connecticut
held its seventh annual eye care clinic in San Juan
del Sur, Nicaragua on January 12-19, 2008. This was
the tenth year of service at this site to the San
Juan del Sur area, the seventh under the auspices of
VOSH-Connecticut, along with three previous missions
under the auspices of VOSH-NECO. The team consisted
of six Optometrists led by Dr. Matthew
Blondin and included: Dr. Jerry Hardison (5th VOSH-CT
mission), Dr. Brian Lynch (7th VOSH-CT
mission)(CAO Legislative
Liaison), Dr. Abby Quinn (6th VOSH-CT
mission), Dr. David Kendrick of British Columbia,
Canada(5th VOSH-CT mission) and Dr.
Michael Gordon(1st VOSH-CT
mission).
We were joined
by 12 first year optometry students from the
University of California School of Optometry at
Berkeley: Kenzo Otsuji, Jenny Nguyen, David Leong,
Jennifer Park (Student Leader), Dale Choi, Jessica
Lee, Nancy Luu, Josie Yang, as well as Nick Blondin
(3rd VOSH-CT Mission), 4th year UCONN Medical
School, and 4 3rd year students from the
Netherlands: Kirsten van Althena, Martine van
Angelen, Elien Janssen, Astrid Snijder. These 13
students were some of the best students we have ever
worked with over the past 10 years, and we are very
grateful for the excellent service and hard work
they all provided as mission members.
In addition to the doctors and students,
the following volunteers were included: “La Jefa”
Segunda:Joyce Krinitsky
5th VOSH-CT mission),
Opticians/Dispensing/Assistants and Translators:
Dottie Byus(4th VOSH-CT
mission), Mareshah Lynch (4th
VOSH-CT mission), Olivia Quinn(5th VOSH-CT mission)
, Tommy Thompson(5th
VOSH-CT mission) and Susie Ruiz (2nd VOSH-CT
mission) and Pre-testing/Project
Assistants: Rebecca Gordon, Justine Hope and
Nick Gordon, all(1st VOSH-CT mission).
Rebecca Gordon served as the leader of pretesting,
and along with Justine Hope, did an outstanding job
in organizing the patient flow & keeping things
moving, and Nick Gordon did a terrific job as a
first time assistant in the dispensary.
Joyce
Krinitsky continues to do her outstanding job as
second in command, and the mission would not be the
success that it was without all of her continued
help, assistance & support. This mission has grown
too large and too complicated for one person to
handle, and would no longer be possible to run
without the assistance and efforts of Joyce
Krinitsky. Opticians Dottie Byus and Mareshah Lynch
returned once again to run the dispensary and did an
excellent job as always. The dispensary part of this
mission is now completely self-sufficient, and for
that we are eternally grateful for the leadership &
support of both Dottie Byus and Mareshah Lynch as
well as their able and outstanding assistants, Tommy
Thompson & Olivia Quinn.As in year’s past,
approximately 50 local residents assisted with the
clinic duties, led for the tenth time by local
doctor Dra. Rosa Elena Bello, with assistance by
school Principal Ana Luisa Mora, who will be leaving
her position after 29 years as school principal due
to the current control of the Nicaraguan educational
system by the new Sandinista government. Ana Luisa
served our mission for 10 years with supreme
dedication and selflessness, and she will be sorely
missed on future missions.
Three
thousand pairs of glasses were purchased by VOSH-Connecticut
from the Virginia Lions Club, along with 3,000 pairs
of sunglasses & 1,000 pairs of readers. Also
assisting with the over-all organization on the
ground was local resident Chris Berry, Esq., along
with his able assistants, Vilma Bustos . We also
thank the entire helpful & knowledgeable Pelican
staff, including Kathy Knight & Photographer Cesar,
for all of their time & wonderful contributions to
the mission. As previously stated, because of the
current global situation, it is no longer possible
to transport any mission supplies with us. This
mission is only able to continue because of the
generosity & support of Chris Berry & Pelican Eyes,
who allowed us space on their shipment container. We
cannot emphasize enough how appreciative & grateful
we are to Chris Berry, because as stated, without
him, this mission will cease to exist. In addition,
because of the new political climate in Nicaragua,
we are extremely grateful for the continued support
& assistance of San Juan del Sur Mayor Eduardo
Holmann, who is now serving his last year of his
four year term as Mayor and who honored us along
with Dra. Rosa Elena Bello for our 10 years of
service to the residents of the San Juan del Sur
area, which we were very humbled and honored to
receive. We are also grateful to Jane Mirandette,
Mike & the Villa Isabella for all of their help &
assistance for many of the mission members who
stayed there. We also appreciate Angelo LaMonica for
his generous donation of candy supplies for the
patients, and our assistant Nicole Rolli for her
help & assistance with all aspects of this mission.
The
clinic was held for the tenth year at the Centro
Escolar Enmanuel Mongalo y Rubio. It was set up
Sunday, January 13, 2008 with 5 examination rooms, a
pre-testing room, dispensary & lunchroom. The clinic
officially opened on Monday, January 14, 2008 at
8:00 a.m. Breakfast was provided each day by VOSH-Connecticut
beginning at 7:00 a.m. Patients were seen from 8
a.m.-1 p.m., with a break for lunch provided by VOSH-Connecticut
from 1:00-2:00 p.m., along with a daily briefing
meeting. Clinic then resumed from 2:00-5:00 p.m. As
in the past, VOSH-Connecticut provided for all
expenses for both mission members and local
volunteers relating to the clinic including
breakfast, snack, lunch and the closing banquet.
Over 90 people attended the closing banquet, with
terrific local entertainment provided by Pelican
Eyes, and Joyce Krinitsky, Dr. Jerry Hardison, Dr.
David Kendrick, Tommy Thompson and Olivia Quinn were
all presented with 5 year Certificates of
Appreciation from VOSH-CT. 10 year Certificates of
Appreciation were presented to Dra. Rosa Elena Bello
and Chris Berry on behalf of VOSH-CT.
Over the four-day
clinic period, we saw 2,428 patients broken down as
follows:
| Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Total |
| 1/14/2008 |
1/15/2008 |
1/16/2008 |
1/17/2008 |
|
| 585 |
680 |
621 |
542 |
2,428 |
These totals
represent an increase of 69 patients over last
year’s total of 2,359, and we are at a comfortable
level of approximately 550-650 patients per day for
each of the 4 clinic days, and continues to serve as
a general guide for an average pace going forward
for the future. As in years’ past, university
students under the direction of Dr. David Gullette
of Simmons College provided translating services for
the clinic, for which we continue to be very
grateful.
Throughout the
mission, all communications were held in both
English and Spanish, as in years’ past. Common
pathologies continue to be encountered including
cataracts, pterygia, glaucoma, corneal foreign
bodies, toxoplasmosis, conjunctivitis, retinal
disease, hypertension and some cancers. Our paid
security staff returned once again, and provided
excellent & safe services for all not only at the
gate but at each exam room as well. Follow-up
treatment facilities continue to be lacking, and
while lists of names were kept of needed patient
cataract surgeries, other medical conditions such as
goiters, heart problems and possible carcinomas
remain untreated with little or no further treatment
options.
Numerous drugs were
donated by Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Allergan
Pharmaceuticals and Dr. Bradley Rosenberg, and were
most appreciated and used throughout the mission.
Leftovers were donated at the conclusion of the
clinic to Dra. Rosa Elena Bello. Encore Optical
continues to be very generous in their donation of
lenses & services to patients with special needs,
for which we are very grateful.
VOSH-CT
hired a bus to bring patients in from the local &
surrounding areas for all 4 days, & provided for 4
days of bus service from the San Jorge area, which
worked very well and the efforts of Joyce Krinitsky
in this regard are most appreciated. For the first 2
days, we also saw several hundred Pelican workers,
providing a very nice addition to the clinic, and on
Wednesday a busload of children and young adults
traveled from the Nagarote area under the auspices
of the Norwalk, CT Sister Cities program and led
very ably by Sarah Proescher. While the immediate
San Juan del Sur area continues to show some signs
of economic growth & improvement, the areas
surrounding San Juan del Sur continue to suffer
extreme poverty & need. Water and electricity are
scarce at times, and prices are rising rapidly,
causing some families to be unable to adequately
support themselves. Wages average around $5/day, and
the average per capita income of Nicaragua is around
$700, making it the second poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere. Roads in certain parts of the
country, and in particular on the way in to San Juan
del Sur are in horrible disrepair, and almost
impassable in some places. Promised government
repairs have yet to occur, making travel very
difficult, especially at night. Our increasing
efforts led by Joyce, Kathy & Jane to outreach in as
many ways as possible to the surrounding and
outlying areas are proving immensely successful in
helping us to achieve our goal to provide services &
help as many people in need as possible during the 4
day clinic.
Many local mission volunteers
returned to help us for the 10th time, as
the mission celebrated it’s 10th year of
service in San Juan del Sur, a very special and
meaningful show of support to both Dr, Blondin and
myself. San Juan del Sur is an extremely different
place than it was 10 years ago. Real estate
development has overtaken large parts of the town,
forcing long-time residents to move to other
locations, some within and some out of town all
together. Jobs are more available, especially for
those residents with opportunities to learn English,
but wages remain very low by Western standards and
with rising prices often do not provide adequate
income to support an individual or family. Mayor
Eduardo Holmann has been a special and integral part
of our mission and it’s success over the past 4
years, and it remains to be seen what will happen
going forward after the upcoming new mayoral
election this November.
During a break from mission
activities, Dr. Blondin & son Nick were surrounded
by Nicaraguan army personnel with pointed AK-47
rifles for allegedly trespassing in an off limits
beach area. Only because of the help received by our
now bi-lingual foster child Orlando Sevilla who was
with them was an explanation satisfactorily
received, allowing them to escape unharmed. At the
conclusion of the mission, a lovely closing banquet
was held at the Pelican, and we were presented by
Dr. Brian Lynch with an Official Citation signed by
Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell for our work on
behalf of VOSH-CT, which was very special and
meaningful to us both.
Overall, this year’s mission went
very smoothly, due in large part to the fact that so
many mission members have
worked so often and so well together in the past,
and continue to recognize service above self.
Mission members came away with a great deal of self
satisfaction knowing that many in need were helped
by their generous and unselfish efforts, and VOSH-CT
continues to be grateful to all of those, both here
and in Nicaragua, who work
together as a team to provide eye care to so many
who otherwise would have none.
Respectfully submitted,
