Running head: Service Learning

El Salvador Service Learning Project

Betsy Loughlin
SUNY IT

Running head: Service Learning

2
Introduction

In efforts with the Episcopal Diocese of El Salvador a selected few students from Carolyn
Christie- McAuliffes Public Health 2 class at SUNY IT will be assisting in the setting up of 5
different learning centers for 11 days for the people of El Salvador that cannot afford, nor have
access to medical education. The People that fit into this category are classified as poverty
stricken, live in small villages and have no way to reach medical attention on a routine basis. As
well as not being afforded the luxury of prompt medical attention there is no set learning
framework for the basic first aid needs in these villages that could save or prolong life. The
underprivileged class of these individuals delegates the health care both available and provided
to them. In order to treat the individuals in the villages we would be traveling to we prepared for
our travel by packing suitcases full of thousands of medical supplies that were donated by
physicians, drug companies, drug representatives and other vendors. The supplies would be
packed and recorded into numerous gifted suitcases that would accompany us on our venture.
The Arrival
When we arrived at nine in the morning at the church in the middle of a Central NY snow
storm with our two empty suitcases each in hand we saw many of the volunteers that would
accompany us on our trip. Everyone was busy at different stations that were set up in the
basement of the church. Some stations were overloaded with glasses of different prescription that
would go to the vision booth once we reached our destination, others consisted of dental
supplies for the traveling dental clinic planned to go. There were over a thousand mini toothpaste
tubes and tooth brushes as well as surgical supplies. Against the far wall was the pill center.

Running head: Service Learning

There was Tylenol, Motrin, vitamins, antibiotics, gauze bandages, crutches, slings, flip flops, and
some other odds and ends. Everything was being meticulously counted and logged into bags.
Assigned Areas
Once we slightly acclimated to what was going on I went to find the coordinator of the
Mission of Miracles trip to see what service I was going to be providing while in El Salvador. I
was set to work with one of the Nurse Practitioners and provide medical attention to the people I
would meet. Thankfully I would be able to provide some skilled nursing and provide hands on
care. I was excited to know that my nursing skills would come in handy and I would have a
chance to positively impact some lives.
After finding out which area needed help breaking down, counting and bagging the
supplies the group of us started working. I started the morning working at the dental table taking
hundreds of the cardboard toothpaste boxes apart and placing the individual tubes into bags
counting as I went. We packed over 1,000 tubes that day. Many paper cuts and bleeding cuticles
later we had all the tubes bagged and ready to be packed. In the afternoon everyone teamed up
and finished breaking down the remaining pill bottles. Once everything was bagged and counted
we started packing our suitcase with the supplies to a limit of 50 pounds each suitcase.
Pulling it together
At four in the afternoon we gathered after the days packing was complete and listened
about the things we might encounter while in El Salvador. The people we would be seeing and
providing care to are people in remote villages, most without running water. The villages serve as
their livelihood and their ability to seek medical attention was slim to none. It was explained that
there were taxis that could provide them with transportation for a fee of $60 each way, but these

Running head: Service Learning

people did not have the money. We would be meeting a doctor by the name of Daniella that
would accompany us to the villages and oversee our mission.
We all came to an understanding that due to the rarity of this type of provided service the
people would come from other villages and wait for hours to be seen by the medical providers,
dentists, social workers, psychologists and lay people. Their appreciation would be
overwhelming and the gratitude would be surprising. However, we were warned that we may
feel as though we are just band-aiding problems. The truth was that the doctor was there with
us, and as she did every year she follows up on her routine visits to these villages with all the
new and established health concerns that are found both during the mission and those that were
previously diagnosed. This is a clear example of how class dictates the health care provided. The
poverty that the people that we would be meeting find normal has kept them from routine exams,
vaccines, obstetrical, chronic and acute care. The simple education of how to treat and prevent
some things by hand washing cannot be practiced due to the unavailable clean water.
In Conclusion
In a few hours I learned that the words read in the text book about the third world
countries were truly isolated from modern amenities as simple as blood pressure screenings. I
was really going to experience the way of life of these communities and villages that do not
consist of the destination cities we see posted on travel brochures and on commercials. I will
not set any expectations for this mission. I do not truly know what to expect or what my eyes will
see. The impact this journey will have on me is unknown and if I attempt to imagine what it will
be I will only take away from the experience. I intend on keeping an open mind, a smile on my
face, a soft hand, and pray my interpreter can read the translated information I will bring.

Running head: Service Learning