Clinica del Cercado

   This morning we drove about 55 miles west of the guesthouse to set up the health fair.  The Solid Rock Organization has funded schools in surrounding areas of San Juan and the building we were at today was affiliated with the organization.  It consisted of a health clinic, a school, and a church building within a small area.  This location was originally chosen by Solid Rock because of a previous lack of education, poor health, and low birth weights.  This area operates off a grant funded by the government to provide milk monthly to children or families who's weights and health statuses are monitored through the program.  Today was the one day a month milk pick-up.  They purposely planned for the health fair to be at this location on this particular day knowing many of the community members would be coming for their milk.

   We had 6 total health topics: CPR/choking, Nutrition, Hand washing, First aid and Umbilical cord care, Dental care, and Hypertension that were presented by us nurses and two pharmacy students. Each project was set up in stations with three activity stations in between.  Some individuals were waiting outside the building before we even arrived.  Once we set up, families piled in and split into groups.  A small paper kept track of each station they visited.  A translator was also placed with each station.  I started off each group by passing out suckers to the children to occupy them while attempting to maintain the attention of the adults.  A first aid kit that I had previously put together was given to each one with an explanation of its contents.  I had a rubber fake wound that we demonstrated simple, yet effective first aid on.  We covered small abrasions, large wounds, control of bleeding, splinter and stinger removal, burns, and removal of glass and debris.  The importance of wearing shoes and protecting their feet, especially in children, was stressed because so many run around bare foot through the dirt roads and patios.  Any pregnant individuals or females of child bearing age received one on one attention regarding umbilical cord care and received an umbilical cord care kit.  Again, something like keeping an area clean and dry seems to be common sense but for the population we were serving, it just simple is not.  Adult interaction with the demonstrations followed with a children's activity made for a successful health promotion! 

 

The remaining nursing groups: 

  The area was only a mountain from the Haiti border, so there were occasions where the translations became difficult, as some spoke Creole.  Following the health fair, the medical group took a walk through El Cercado with our translators, while the engineer group finished their teacher work shop.  The views were amazing.  

    Upon returning to the guesthouse, some of the girls and I took a walk down town in San Juan and took a tour of a cathedral.  It had a tower we climbed up to get a great view of the city and mountains surrounding.

On our way back we met a wonderful 13 year old named Jorge.  He recognized that we were from the states and ran over to us asking where Nicole was.  She is a nurse who lives at the Clinica Christiana year round and collaborates with Solid Rock International.  She had actually just returned to America due to a death in the family, so we explained she would not be back for a few days.  It was obvious what a great relationship he had with her and his relationship with the clinic organization in general.  The bond and trust of the community with Solid Rock International is something we went over on our orientation day.  After talking with Jorge for about 10 mins, it was clear the lasting relationships they are building; one individual at a time.

 

Quite the womanizer....actually, probably more mature than most 23 year Americans.

   The rest of the evening was spent eating out at a safe authentic restaurant downtown.  All 30 of us piled into two trucks (yes, 6-8 sitting and standing in the truck bed, just like the actual culture of the Dominican's). The food was good!  Following dinner, we attended a church service that was ran by the youth pastor of Solid Rock International.  They were nice enough to translate the entire service. Again, we are lucky to have them!  We all piled back into the trucks and returned back to the guesthouse for one more barrio clinic in the morning.
  Excuse the mass quantity of pictures.  But down here, a picture is truly worth 1,000 words.