Terrerito, Santa Cruz de Yojoa
The community was founded in 1910. There are 110 families in 93 houses. Seventy percent of the houses have latrines, and 50 percent of the latrines are inside the home. They do have access to water which is 22 kilometers (13.5 miles) away. Education goes from kindergarten to high school, with a total enrollment of 82 students. The rate of teen pregnancy is high, and the mothers receive vitamins at the health center.
Barrett noted that the dental clinic was slower today and the people had healthier teeth. He gave his cross to a teenage boy. Mary seconded the fact the community had healthier teeth due to the fact that less teeth broke as they were being pulled.
Tonia observed that mothers are the same all over the world. She encountered a mother who offered a bribe of a lollipop to her child, in exchange for the boy chewing his deworming pill. Jason also observed the teeth of the people were healthier today so he was able to treat more children with fluoride. He enjoyed playing with the kids, blowing bubbles and painting little girls’ nails.
Mallory remembered visiting this village two years ago, and made friends then and new ones today. She gave the kids paper and crayons, with the instructions for them to draw pictures for the group. There was one special girl who made her a drawing that said “I love you.” Mallory gave her cross to this little girl.
Sharon said that this community seemed better off with different medical problems. She had to do some education with a patient about her pacemaker. Another patient was educated on how long to wait to return to work following gallbladder surgery. Quite a number of people brought results from lab work, needing help reading the medical lingo.
Yolanda spent a lot of time educating on the use of birth control. One girl, in particular, was 15 and was embarrassed to discuss her health issues in front of the family members who were present. Yolanda was sympathetic to her discomfort, and spent time with the girl alone discussing birth control options.
Donnie and Melvin were our gate keepers and crowd controllers. Donnie said that even though it was very busy, things went very smoothly. The soldiers were helpful in keeping organization as well. Our quote for the day is “If God is all you have, you have all you need.”
We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.
