Last Days in Nicaragua

I'm typing this up as I eat my last dinner in Nicaragua.  Hard to believe 3 weeks have already passed and tomorrow we're going to pack up our belongings and take a bus down to Costa Rica.

Our stay hasn't been short on interesting people.  We had the pleasure of meeting one of them yesterday, a local natural medicine practitioner.

We even had her take a look at us for the full immersive experience. It was very interesting, to say the least.

Today was bittersweet.We said goodbye to the great people at the Roberto Clemente clinic, where we did most of our work.

We visited the place next door and saw that the water tower frame has been completed.

We also dropped off our donations to various clinics.

Patient charts at Guastcoto

Patient charts organized using a donated cabinet in Las Salinas.

We then took our last Spanish class in Nicaragua.  We must have gone through at least a couple year's worth of high school Spanish right there.  I learned way more than translations to gun show ticket jokes and how to cool slang to make me the hippest guy on the block, really.

To end the day, we spent more time on the beach.  Costa Rica students coming to Nicaragua, make sure to visit the pink beach.  Also make time for the hotsprings.

We've all had an incredible time in Nicaragua.  I mean it.  The memories we made here are unforgettable.  We met amazing people.  We visited patients in their homes, saw them in the clinic, and even saw some incredible surgeries.  We were there in the community working with the people and making a real difference.  This is why the LMUV program is so special. 

Costa Rica, here we come.

The Past Couple of Days

Yesterday...

We presented another set of first aid talks, this time about dehydration, hyperthermia, and heat stroke, as well cuts, wounds, burns, and blisters.  Annies were out in full force, as the audience reviewed material from the first set of talks.

We donated money towards the building of a water tower for the local clinic.  In the afternoon we even got to help build it.

Today:

We delivered more charlas, this time at a day care center.  Kids learned about making healthy food choices and brushing their teeth.

They also participated in a little exercise.

After all that, it was drawing time, followed by pinata time.  Sometimes I miss being a kid.

Weekend Update

We went a few days without an entry.  Here is the update for the past few days.

Wednesday: We went from house to house doing nutritional assessments and administering vaccinations.  We gained a better idea of the living conditions around Las Salinas, the area served by a public clinic.

Thursday: We delivered our 2nd part of a refresher first aid course.  This time, we covered CPR.

 

We even made our own CPR dummy, as Josh explains.

Friday: We started the day viewing surgeries in Rivas. First I saw above-knee diabetic leg amputation.   Then I took a tour around the hospital.  It's a public hospital and Sukhi mentioned the large difference in between public hospitals and private hospitals.  Private hospitals are much more well equipped, but don't have nearly the patient load of the public hospitals.  Public hospitals are free and are seemingly always full. After the tour I saw a woman give birth. It began vaginally, but became a C-section when the baby's heart rate dropped and the woman grew tired of pushing. Thankfully, the baby was ok. It's a boy!

Then, we took a trip to the island of Ometepe for some hot volcanic hiking action.

Statue in Rivas:

We arrive in Ometepe, in time for full moon beach photos.

Saturday: We hike up to the mountain and get plenty muddy on the way up.  Ask Boramee how the way down went (hint: there's even more mud involved)

Sunday: We leave back for Limon, prepared for another week of awesomeness.

First Aid Training

Short and sweet post.  3 videos + bonus footage.










Thursday, we have first aid session #2: CPR.

The Weekend

This weekend we took the time to relax and tour around the city of Granada.

At the outskirts of the city, the volcano Mumbacho can be seen looming in the background.  In the city itself, there is a heavy Spanish influence.  Granada is a land of colorful buildings,

cathedrals,

and of course so much more that simply can't be translated into pictures.

We also took a boat tour around the small islands in the area, which were created from chunks of rock thrown from Mumbacho.  The islands are mostly occupied by vacation homes, but there was one island in particular that was inhabited by monkeys.

We spent today at Laguna de Apoyo, a volcanic lake that offers a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of nearby Granada. 

Week 1 has been amazing, and after a weekend like this, we are recharged and ready for more.

Yesterday's Health Fair

It's been a busy past couple of days for all of us.

Yesterday, we presented another water filtration charla, at a 3rd clinic. 

After the presentation,  we headed back to the Roberto Clemente clinic for the health fair.  By this time, the new baseball field adjacent to the clinic had been clinc, and many of the children were already playing a game.

The Baltimore Orioles donated jerseys and caps.

There was also a pinata that was put up for later in the day.

 Then there was a cultural dance performance.

 Now, time for our health fair charlas.  There was a very packed house.  Josh and I started with a smoker's lung demonstration.

Boramee talked about healthy food choices.

Sara and Sukhi discussed healthy tooth brushing habits.

Josh and I also brought out the beer goggles we made and let the children participate in a game of catch.  Will they catch the balloon?

No.  They're beer goggles.  No matter how good you are a baseball, alcohol will always mess you up.

Later, the pinata was put to good use.

 We all celebrated by going to the beach, jumping for joy, and having a great meal.

(Tanya, one of the FIMRC workers, is a both physician and a ballerina)

Preparing for Tomorrow's Fair

Today we delivered the water filter presentation to another clinic. In addition, we prepared for tomorrow's health fair for the local community.

We created educational materials including fruits,

beer goggles, and more.

We even stuffed a pinata.

We searched hard for the hole for the candy, but in the end we created one ourselves in the backs of their heads.

After some preparation, it was time for Spanish classes again.  The instructors gave us some carambola...

...and we gave them instructions on how to play blackjack.  Sound like a good tradeoff to me.

Tonight we continue preparation for the health fair.  This is going to be an amazing event.

Este es bidon. Este es filtro de barro...

Today was our first visit to a public clinic, and there was a marked difference compared to the private clinic we were in yesterday.  It's free to the public, but there are less resources to go around.

At the back of the clinic was a small garden used to grow herbal remedies.

We are happy to report that the incinerator built last year was in full use.

Today we also put the finishing touches on our charla, a short lecture we made about using a water filtration system.  Contaminated water is a problem to many people here, and the implementation of water filtration systems can lead to a large impact.    We spent much of the time creating a script and memorizing it.

Some of us had less to read. Some of us had more.

So, how did it go?

The nurse putting in the first liters of agua into her new filter:

Now let's celebrate with some awesome mood lighting: