Building Desks, Building Hope
By Scott Perry,
Sales Executive
I came across a young girl in the village of Pucallpa. I don't know her name, and she didn’t learn mine. Our team was working hard to complete our goal of building over 40 school desks that day and I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around me. It was HOT and we were working in a small building with little ventilation; it was the only building made of substantial materials in the entire village. I learned later that it served as a school, recreation room, shelter, town meeting hall and for a variety of other purposes.
I was aware that some of the kids and villagers had taken seats around the outside of the room to watch us work, but I was distant and working in my own little world, focused on the task at hand. As the sun began to get low, we realized we would indeed complete our goal today and I began to relax a little bit.
When the work had finished, we began cleaning up. There were a lot of nails on the floor that had bent and been discarded due to poor quality, hardness of the wood and inferior skills of the craftsman – not necessarily in that order! As I was walking around & picking up the nails, this little girl saw what I was doing and began to help. She would repeatedly pick up a nail and then run over and give it to me. As you can see by the expression on her face, she was taking the job as seriously as I was!
When we had finished, she gave me a big smile. I thought to myself, all this time, she was sitting there waiting to find some way she could help out. She wanted to be part of the action and maybe subconsciously wanted to have the pride of knowing she contributed to something that would help out the village. What were the rest of the villagers thinking? Did they want to help too? In the future, what opportunities could we offer them to help themselves better their situation?
Reflections on the Medical Expedition
by Rhonda Grigg, Pediatrician
It was a trip full of unknowns. We had planned to conduct a surgical clinic in Peru. After having problems getting supplies through customs, we regrouped and headed to Ecuador to provide medical care among the poor in outlying areas and in the city.
The ground rules were simple: (1) Be flexible. (2) Everything’s perfect. We went with open minds and had an experience that totally exceeded anything we had anticipated. Our host ensured that all of our physical needs were met and showed us many cultural sites, cultural programs, historic ruins and beautiful gardens.
We attended to 550 patients during five days of medical clinics. A few patients really stood out: One three-year-old came in smiling and running around. If you didn’t know any better you’d think he was perfectly healthy. Inside his chest, however, beats a defective heart. A hole between two parts of his heart diverts large amounts of blood and floods his lungs. Within a few years, if untreated, the pressure in his lungs will build up until no blood goes to his lungs and he will not be able to get oxygen to his body. His family did not have the $4000 for surgery.
Another case that stood out was a six-year-old boy who also looked normal until he lifted his shirt. His sternum (breastbone) was deformed so badly that it practically touched his backbone. He’s grown well so far but that will change soon. There’s just no room in his chest for his heart and lungs to grow with the deformed bone there.
Both boys would die if left untreated. The national Rotarians enrolled both boys in a Rotary funded program for kids who may need heart or chest surgery.
These kinds of trips are long and exhausting. We work hard and give a lot of ourselves. Many people’s lives are touched in the process, but none so much as ours. There’s just something about working together in difficult circumstances and then resting and relaxing together that makes a close bond between friends. I’m looking forward to my next trip.
