Hola Gamma Zeta,
Today we went to our first village, El Cacao, which is located 33 miles (54 km) north of La Esperanza. We woke up at 6AM to load the bus and then headed to Rhonda’s mission for breakfast. After breakfast we got on the bus and arrived in El Cacao around 8 after driving on the all-dirt-road for a little over an hour. I began setting up with the dental clinic, where Dr. Mike Dent and Dr. Bob Wright were the dentists. Setting up required sterilizing the tables, chairs, other equipment the dentists use. I assisted the dentists for about two hours. I mostly brought in new patients, sat them, placed a drape and bib on them, and cleaned the drape when they were finished. Joe and I switched after two hours and I started working at the pharmacy. In the beginning, I just made sure the nurses placed the correct medication for each script before handing it over to the families. After getting the hang of it, I was able to fill the prescriptions myself. We ate lunch at noon and afterwards Joe and I were able to play soccer with the children. It was truly a great experience, especially seeing all the smiles from the children being able to kick around the soccer ball with us. Following soccer, Joe and I went back to the pharmacy for a couple more hours. Before cleaning up for the day, Linda (Seth’s wife) brought us to one of the homes in the village. Although the family was very poor they welcomed us and we were able to talk to them in spanglish for a few minutes. Following our talk, we packed the bus and headed back to La Esperanza. It was a great first day and we both learned a lot about how the volunteering days look like. Tomorrow we will be better prepared to help the Honduran people in Buenas Aires (not the capital of Argentina).
Buenos Noches,
Paul
Joe and I overlooking the view at the school in El Cacao.
Entrance to the school in El Cacao
Joe and I with the children of El Cacao