2005-03-11 - 8:14 p.m.
my friend joel from Honduras. We were in mexico together. he continued on to honduras.
Bro-
I went to a place called ciudad blanca today...
Essentially it is a psychiatric home for the homeless and the
forgotten...truly the unwanted people of society...the bottom barrel
of the 3rd world. We arrived with a group of volunteers that are here
for a week. I was asked to go along to be available for medical needs
that may arise.
As we walked in there was the stench of urine thick in the air. Cobb
webs wrap the walls and the bathrooms are covered in shit. They have
no TP so theu use old newspaper when it is available. I didnt know
where to start so I asked some of the volunteers to bathe the patients
and tell me where they had bedsores, wounds, etc. There was a
Fransiscan Brother there who is in charge of the place but you can
tell that there is too much work for him alone. He treats many of the
open wounds with poultices and they do surprisingly well. Eventually
we had a conveyor belt for these cachectic appearing patients. They
would be carried to the shower where two girls would clean them
including their excriment as many are incontinent of both bladder and
bowel. From there they were carried to cots where we would evaluate
and clean their wounds, redress them and return them to their beds.
The Fransiscan man has a good heart but you can tell he is
overwhelmed, although he can provide them with their greatest need
which appears to be an overwhelming amount of affection, something
these people have needed for their entire lives no doubt. We all left
feeling shocked by the experience I think...Im going back as many
times as possible. I want to take my brother Sam too. I think it
could be the experience that shows him how much opportunity there is
for him to be a servant, a lesson that will hopefully win out against
the messages he is inundated with in the states about more convenient
things like money, materialism and power.
In regard to our system...Above all we need to have a place that we
are passionate about...Then we need to study that place and identify
their problems and what resources are available...I love Honduras.
Ironically there is a hospital being built here at the orphanage and
they are going to need people to help get it started. The goal is to
equip it with surgical facilities, and hospital beds. I have told the
director that I am interested in returning to help start things when I
am done with my residency training. He was excited and said ¨Only say
the word and we shall be healed¨..a biblical phrase which gives me way
more credit than I can accept. The hospital will be for the
surrounding community as well as the orphanage. My immediate goal for
this long-term plan is to learn the language. The other thing that I
like about this place is that there are children that can be
educated...
Peace,
Joel
