Something Of Value Report - June Newsletter

Something Of Value

Report

Pan American Health Service, Inc. Box 888, Keene, TX 76059 www.panamhealth.org

June 2011 Dear Friends – Warm greetings from Peña Blanca, Honduras! In the background I hear the cheerful songs of unseen birds ringing through the trees, and as I listen, I savor the knowledge that many happy, healthy children reside on the PAHS campus; most rode the little blue bus to school today, and a few – the ones recovering from malnutrition – are napping or playing in the Casita Feliz, ready to cheerfully sing out: “Hola, amigos!” to anyone who walks past their window. This is a place that is blessed with beauty, love and the joy of children who are touched daily by your generosity!

May has been an eventful and exciting month on campus! Grades for the first quarter of the school year are out, and we are delighted to report that 7 of the children who live in our home are on the Honor Roll for having earned a 90% or higher average in their studies. Many more have maintained an average of above 80%. We are especially proud to see that several who struggled last year have turned a corner and dramatically improved their grades! It is a triumph for our children and a source of encouragement for their caretakers.

Some of our Honor Roll children pose by the “Little Blue Bus”.

The older girls were home between semesters from their university in Costa Rica, just on time to catch a trip to a remote beach – 5 hours walk from the end of the road – to improve the well at Punta Sal. Stephen and some of the team worked at the well, extracting mud then preparing concrete, while others hauled rocks up from the beach to use around the well. There was time, of course, between hauling rocks up from the beach and preparing concrete, to enjoy swims in the light blue-green waters of the placid bay, to sip fresh coconuts growing overhead, and watch colorful sunsets at day’s end. Special thanks to you who are sponsoring these young ladies’ nursing and education training! It was a treat to have them home briefly, as they encourage the younger children and set a great example of what is possible.

The Central Texas Medical Center, in San Marcos, Texas sent their Mission in Motion medical team, once again, to spend the week of May 16 – 22 blessing communities in our area with their loving professionalism. In four days the team, including 5 physicians and a nurse practitioner, treated 1,960 patients. The first day on our campus they treated 690 patients. The other 3 days were dedicated to going to remote areas where high transportation costs limit access to health care. The love and Punta Sal beach where our children built a well & enjoy time in the sun. gratitude seen on humble faces touched our hearts and made primitive working conditions seem trivial. The hearts of the givers, as well as the receivers, overflowed with joy, bringing Proverbs 17:22 to mind as we bounced home over rocky roads: A merry heart is like good medicine. We are grateful for the partnership with CTMC to share medical care and love with communities around us!

On Day Two of Mission in Motion, in a remote village, we were blessed to find two new little patients in need of nutritional rehabilitation. Five-year-old Elvin Antonio, accompanied by his father - a day laborer, and his mother with a healthy baby-sister in arms, came to see the doctors because of Elvin’s lethargic state. He answered questions only by tiredly closing his longlashed eyes. One week after Left: Elvin Antonio, 5, awaiting transportation from the field clinic to arrival, caregivers at the Casita the Nutrition Hospital. Right: Elvin, two weeks after admition.

Feliz proudly reported that both Elvin and Pamela were eating well. Nearly 2 weeks into recovery Elvin is now smiling brightly!

Pamela is a one-year-old twin brought for the team to see by her young mother. The other twin is fairly healthy, but their mother reported that whenever she gave Pamela milk, diarrhea resulted; therefore little lactose-intolerant Pamela’s diet consisted mainly of sweetened corn starch gruel. Pamela’s face is moon-shaped and sad, framed with a few thin strands of hair, and her feet are swollen, cracked, and peeling, evedince of protien and multiple vitamin deficiency. We rejoice that Elvin and Pamela are on the road to recovery with the nourishing food, medicine and loving care which you help provide.

Stephen and staff learn how to make a variety of dairy products.

Pamela slept most of the time during her first week in the Nutritional Rehabilitation Hospital.

Our dairy cows, and the young men who care for them, have given us another problem: More milk than the children can drink! Soymilk is given to a group who are lactose intolerant, and the rest get all the milk they can drink. We recently hosted a government sponsored professional training institute that taught 15 of our staff and older children to make cheese and other dairy products that don’t spoil as fast the milk does, as our refrigeration capacity is limited. The children love fresh cottage cheese to go with their warm tortillas! The Engineer advised us that we will need to upgrade our milking facility to properly handle the amount of milk we are now producing.

We recently said good-bye to Peter and Verna Sonnentag, retired teachers, who spent 2 months volunteering their time and talents for our children’s benefit. They held after-school tutoring sessions for older children, and Verna helped sew uniforms for the little ones of the Casita Feliz, our nutritional rehabilitation center. The Sonnentags also gave a generous donation from their church family in Idaho, so that our campus could connect to fiber optic cable to give us reliable internet connection; now we can receive high quality devotional and educational programming for the children to watch. We are very grateful for their generous investment of time, talents and resources.

Thank you for your investment in our children’s lives. Your prayers, generosity and kindness are a blessing to many, and your partnership is greatly appreciated!

With love, Anita Zelaya-Youngberg, RN

www.PanamHealth.org