Learning to see - Monday

We started today as we start each day, with breakfast, and then a reading of the day's gospel, followed by discussion and meditation. Today's gospel told the story of the blind man who shouted out to Jesus for help, even when everyone else told him to shut up. He didn't shut up.

Although Jesus sent his apostles in teams of two, Sister Fran sent us out in teams of three, perhaps figuring we needed a little extra help. The goal was to "con vivir" (share life) with people in the village of San Hilario (Saint Hillary), a very rural village with about 400 people. The village was founded in the early 90's, as part of the peace settlement following the civil war. The people we met there fought with FMLN (rebel alliance) during the war and consider their lives better off now than before the war.


Our team (Sandy, Elizabeth, & Chris) visited 3 families as part of the experience. With each family, we sat down to talk about the medical concerns of one family member, which was a bridge to talk about life in general. We encountered the most difficult situation meeting a young mother with a 2 1/2 year old daughter who was mostly confined to a hammock since she did not have the coordination or awareness to stand up. We also visited a family who had recently harvested the yearly corn crop and share a roasted ear with us. On the front door was a small flag with "fmln" and a check mark to signify their recent vote for the fmln party. Olga, Melinda, and Linda formed one group, and managed to perform a urinalysis on site. John, Lisa, David, and Christine formed the third group. All of us discovered John's hidden talent in creating instant designs and mesmerizing children with pipe cleaners.


In the afternoon, we visited the nearest hospital in the town of Jiquilisco. There we met the hospital director Dra. Juana Idelia Lopez de Cortes and Dr. Ulloa the director of the hospital residents. Due to the hierarchical nature of the Salvadoran health care system, the director of the hospital was newly appointed since the election of the new president in June. On the bright side, with a president from the FMLN party for the first time ever (Mauricio Fuentes), the hospital staff felt hopeful that there will be better funding for healthcare in general. Also, people can come to the hospital and get treated for free (wouldn't that be nice in the U.S.) On the downside, when Dr. Ulloa was asked what medications they had a hard time getting at the hospital, he told us that for 2 weeks, they had no iron tablets, folic acid, or Tylenol.


Our day ended with a joyous visit with 5 young men and women who have been recipients of scholarship money through Sister Fran. 2 are currently in university, 3 in high school. Delmi studies law while acting as a community catechist and rainsing her 6 year old daughter. Lorena studies broadcasting and runs a community TV and radio program discussing youth issues on the radio. We were inspired by their desires to further the causes of their community in justice, freedom, and solidarity with the poor.

From Melinda

So much to say. Highlights. We rode in the back of Sr. Fran's pickup truck El Salvador-style to Mass last night in a neighboring community. I saw lightning bugs for the first time on the road. Fr. Pedro's homily was riveting. We were welcomed by the community. Today we made home visits in San Hilario. The town was named after the husband of a woman that my team had the privilege of visiting today who was killed during the war. I have no doubt that the people we visited gave much more to us than we gave to them. We learned much about ability to pay as a barrier to care and about the challenges El Salvador faces in providing adequate nutrition to all citizens, urban and rural, poor and middle class.

In the afternoon we visited a hospital, where we met the dynamic new director. We learned about the shift occurring in health care policy in El Salvador with the new government administration that is in the process of providing access to care and medications without respect to ability to pay. We toured the hospital and came face to face with the contrast between our hospitals and theirs.

At dinner we were inspired by the commitment to community of 5 young adults sharing with us what they hope to be doing 5 years from now. Every morning and evening begins with a period of reflection and sharing. We are graced by the presence of Sr. Fran and Sr. Pauline in our days here. And I am amazed by the inspiring presence of the members of the delegation.

Melinda

From Lisa

Monday

Instead of walking the halls of our Providence buildings, today, your delegation was walking the dirt streets of a small village in Tierra Blanca. There were three medical teams that made home visits. Our goal wasn't to fix anything or anyone but to be together with the needy in the community -- to learn about where they live and how they live and to somehow make a connection, to offer a healing presence. All of these words seem so trite when, in fact, everyone in the group is struggling to articulate what is going on in our hearts and in our heads. Just know that we are stretching ourselves and are relying on our families at home to help keep us grounded and centered. Making the children in the homes laugh and smile with some old dinosaur stickers on index cards or a single piece of candy was a delight. The visit to the hospital here -- to see the stark halls, the dogs walking through the meeting space and to hear the children crying was another experience. Even after years of traveling to various corners of the world, I, indeed, feel like I am becoming a citizen of the world.

Lisa