Monday - Buena Inversion

Today, we visited a small village only 15 or so minutes from the hotel called Buena Inversion, Spanish for “Good Investment”. It seems like this village will be one of the larger of the week considering we dewormed (including pills sent home for husbands and other children) 350 people and the doctors saw 229 patients. Of these 229 patients, more had an emotional need for medicine rather than a pressing physical need; however, three will become cases for Children Without Choices (a girl with a damaged leg from a car crash, a child with a tinge of pneumonia, and another girl with a serious UTI).

Buena Inversion

Other than the standard medical procedures that took place in the village, some of the men worked on a construction project in the local preschool. Materials were sent to the village earlier this month, and the citizens had already completed the work that we were supposed to do! Instead, we continued to improve the walls of the preschool by replacing the rotten studs and hanging new cement boards for the walls.

Construction Project

There were a few interesting stories to recount from today. At the deworming station, children balked at the new taste of the medicine, struggling to keep it down. Good thing we had gummies for afterwards! After a Honduran volunteer pricked fingers to do hemoglobin tests, Joyce struggled to give Band-Aids amidst the sweat and blood. Michelle and Eileen sharpened their Spanish working with Phyllis in a packed pharmacy. After the medical brigades wrapped up, we set up coloring stations for the kids, and Kaitlin painted some of the younger girls’ nails. Linda met a girl from the local school in eighth grade who spoke excellent English. Ilissa studies on scholarship (“beca”) at a bilingual school and has high hopes to go to a university to become a teacher or psychologist.

Children Coloring

Painting Nails

With the construction project, Bob, Ken, Matt, and Vern were assisted by a local carpenter named Nery. After the original delay waiting for more materials to come, the men got right to work, even staying an hour after the medical brigade to finish up the walls of the preschool.

Line for the clinic

There are only two injuries to report – Ken pinched his hand at one point, and Vern suffered from some biting ants. The welts aren’t too itchy, but the ants sure sent their message. Despite the minor pains, the team as a whole is healthy and looking forward to days to come.

Buena Inversion

Even though the community seemed quite impoverished, there were glimmers of hope throughout. Be it Ilissa striving to teach her siblings English and help her community, be it the local Hondurans fixing their own preschool as soon as the supplies came last week, or be it the three Children Without Choices cases that we came across, hope is thriving in Buena Inversion.

Jon, for the Team