Laguna De Jicaro

May 19, 2026

Today we traveled to a Laguna De Jicaro. This community is extremely remote and difficult to reach by vehicle. Most of the community does not have electricity or potable water and supplies are brought in once a week. The drive was quite rough and long with about a third of the trip being on a very rocky dirt path.

Disease and dehydration were very prominent today and the overall malnutrition and poor access to care were the common lows shared by the team. However the most prominent low for many team members who experience motion sickness was the rough road to access this community. Thankfully no one got sick, but many felt quite ill in the moment.

The state of chairs, desks and equipment in this community is also in poor condition. One of our doctors unfortunately crashed to the floor when their chair fell apart. While this was a low for said Doctor, they are ok, and everyone was able to complete the day without injury.

Highs

Catherine- She gave her cross away to a set of sisters, Maria Ana, age 51 and Maria Antonia, age 40. Maria Ana cares for her younger sister, who was born with a developmental delay and is unable to be left alone. Catherine was happy to hear Maria Ana provide a teach back explanation of everything in the Wellness Bag that she remembered from a previous FOB visit last year. Catherine told her that it made her happy to know that education provided in the past has made a difference in their lives, and that it brings her joy to see the community healthier than when she visited last year.

Dylan shared the joy of getting to know and work with Jose today and learning some simple fun Spanish to allow for some better communication with the people we interact with.

Dr. Alexander gave his cross to a young athlete that reminded him of the athletes he regularly works with at home in the US.

Gabbi shared her first family was very sick and malnourished which was in many ways a “low,” but her high was that we had many treatments available to get them feeling better.

Karla and Ken shared they loved how prepared and dressed to impress all the kids were today for dental.

Julie shared about a little boy named Eric who absolutely loved the book he received and happily shared it with her all through the day. 

Rhonda also shared the joy the books we gave out brought to many kids today.

Allison connected with an older sister in a family. Her younger sister was crying and did not want to be examined. So she, as the oldest, took on responsibility to distract and cheer up her little sister. Even though she also had stuff she wanted to talk to the doctor about, she was patient and selfless and focused on her younger sister. Allison saw the patience and empathy in that action and felt drawn to give her cross to her, so she has a reminder to always use her huge caring heart.

Emberli shared the joy of seeing multiple families she saw last year and seeing the growth, care and education that’s occurred over the fourth year in the program for this community.

Thanks for following along!

Team aMAYzing