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Saving Lives
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| CARE works with many of the poorest communities in Honduras, providing longer-term development assistance to help people in their efforts to improve their lives. |
Today we traveled farther south in Intibucá to San Marcos de la Sierra -- one of the poorest towns in Honduras. Through the lush carpet of fallen pine needles, Esteban Cabrerra, a local health volunteer, and I walked to visit a community-managed health clinic. The sky was a fading blue and the air cool and crisp under the reaches of pine trees above, unlike the hot and suffocating air in Choluteca.
In the surrounding rural communities, most families believe that all sicknesses can be cured with a lot of love and faith. For some illnesses this is true, but because of the living conditions -- dusty unpaved roads, wood stoves inside houses without chimneys, severe rains and temperature changes -- children are prone to respiratory infections like pneumonia.
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| Working with community volunteers to save lives, CARE has established 26 health centers throughout southwestern Honduras. |
To help save lives and improve health in general, CARE established 26 basic health centers throughout southwestern Honduras that are managed by more than 300 community volunteers. CARE has trained volunteers like Esteban Cabrerra to educate families on preventative health practices.
During the two-hour walk from the main road, Esteban said that a couple of years ago, just after the project began, he got word that a baby was very ill. He went to the house where he found a baby that was sweating and breathing rapidly. He told the mother that the baby had to get to a doctor as soon as possible. Despite his warnings, the mother refused to move the baby from the house. That night, Esteban went to get the doctor -- it took him two hours on foot and three more riding in the back of a truck to reach him. The next day, when he returned with the doctor, they discovered that the baby had died earlier that morning.
"The whole community was saddened by the loss," Esteban said with a glazed stare. "Afterward, people started to ask about the clinic and attending training sessions. They questioned how the death could have been prevented."
Before the CARE health project started, there were around 15 cases of severe pneumonia each year in San Marcos de la Sierra. In the past year, there was only one.
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| Community health volunteer Esteban Cabrerra sits with young Cruz. |
This time last year, Esteban said that a mother, with child in arms, came running up to the clinic in fear. Her 2-year-old, Cruz Humberto, had a severe case of pneumonia. Esteban gave the boy acetaminophen for the fever and an antibiotic for the pneumonia. This time, without hesitation, the mother agreed to get her child to a hospital.
"Here we are today a few months later," Esteban said with a healthy Cruz sitting on his lap. "He will always be a part of me. I'm so glad I was able to help save this boy's life."
During the day, I spoke with eight other dedicated volunteers. They said they very much like being a part of CARE and providing a service to their communities.
These community volunteers also have been trained to work with pregnant women and children to help prevent malnutrition, diarrhea and to convey messages on reproductive health, basic household sanitation, child-rearing practices and nutrition.
Programs like this are part of CARE's "holistic" approach to development that is referred to as Household Livelihood Security. This approach entails taking a deep look at connections -- roads, agriculture, the environment, health, water and sanitation, education, food security, small economic development and emergency relief and rehabilitation. It means working with communities to determine what mix of programs will lead to greater self-sufficiency.
The people I met during this trip didn't want handouts, they wanted to work to build a better Honduras and lead healthier, more productive lives. The courage and resilience of the Honduran people never ceased to amaze me. I imagined myself being in their shoes and asked myself if I could handle the stress and anguish they've been through, surviving life before and after Hurricane Mitch. I couldn't honestly answer that question. Living in the U.S., many of us have a lot to be thankful for -- running water inside our homes, electricity, a bed to sleep on, education, a good job, paved roads, a ready supply of food. The list goes on and on. This journey through Honduras allowed me to see things differently and appreciate my life even more.
A Message from CARE's President on the anniversary of Hurricane Mitch.
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