Thursday April 23, 2009

The main objective of the El Salvador 2009 project is to bring medical and dental care to communities in need. There are many components necessary to support the provision of that care.

Every morning the team hauls 18 large bins of medications to the day’s site. Over the course of 5 clinic days, this traveling pharmacy will dispense 42,000 vitamins; chewable for children and tablets for adults, and almost as much medication for parasites. Doctors, nurses and paramedics have access to 67 different medications to treat their patients. The list of medications dispensed in the pharmacy has been carefully chosen to reflect the needs in the area, but is also based on the availability of these medications in the host country. It is important that any medication prescribed during these clinics, particularly ones to meet long-term needs such as blood pressure medication, can be procured locally after the team has left.

Part of providing care is providing nourishment for the body and mind. Each clinic day, a distribution centre dispenses food packages containing enough lentils and Vitameal, a highly nutritious and fortified food product, to feed an entire family. Every family that sees the medical or dental team receives a food package. Families are also given such necessities as shoes, clothing and undergarments. Small things that provide a huge amount of joy are children’s toys, especially stuffed animals and soccer balls. Many of the items we are able to dispense have been donated directly to FTC Canada to be distributed to communities in need.

Every team member has donated their time to be here.  Some have brought their own equipment along with them as well. Every team member covers the cost of their own travel and accommodation. Even so, the team requires additional, often costly support materials. Occasionaly, a clinic must be built from scratch, requiring crews to haul in items like tarps, tables, chairs and generators. Every site must have hundreds of bottles of clean, drinkable water and portable washrooms to keep the team functional.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the local support team. The Medical-Dental team from Canada is comprised of 24 people. There are an additional 26 FTC Central American employees and volunteers who are vital in our efforts to bring care to areas in need. We could not do this work without the help of local doctors, dentists, interpreters, security, administration and registration staff.