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,
