Leveling the Playing Field

The other day was a pretty typical day for me when I am on the road. I stayed in a nice hotel (nice to the tune of $200+ per night). I went to dinner at a “fine dining” restaurant (here you can “read” into the message – not cheap; let’s just say a meal for one that comes in at around $85-100). I took a car to the airport - $65 from hotel to terminal transport. I fly so often that I almost always get “up-graded” to first class. I have elite status with a couple of airlines. This allows me the privilege of going to the “Board Rooms” of the airlines. By in large, I lead a very charmed life; a life that can feel a bit surreal at times. All of this is to say that I have a gnawing feeling about my “luxuries.”

Hold that thought for just a moment and let’s talk about an HBI project. We did a study early in 2009 in which we surveyed a large peri-urban community outside of Arequipa, Peru. The average income for a ”household” living in the area was 587.52 Soles per month - or about $205 per month. This is household income that is the sole support for an entire family (including extended members of the family). Imagine trying to support a family of 5 of a real income of $205 per month.

When I compare one-day of my life “spending” to the “household” income of an entire family – I feel shame. I feel like I have been given so much. I feel a sense of obligation to make the most of my opportunities.

Perhaps this is where I find myself. I do not pretend to know why I have been given so much opportunity in my life – but I do know one thing emphatically . . . my challenge is to ensure that every thing I do in my life is about creating opportunities for others.

The other night when I returned to my hotel room from my “fine dining” experience, I was greeted in the hall by one of the hotel staff. He was pushing a large cart of laundry. As we passed one another in the hall, he carefully and purposefully moved to the opposite side of the hall and profusely apologized for “being in my way.”

I walked back to my room with a sense of “uneasiness” – why am I so “important” that I should be provided such reverence. Then, it suddenly dawned on me . . . we ALL deserve such reverence and courtesy. The true measure of one’s life is not the experiences that we amass, but the opportunities that we help to generate so that others can have experiences that empower and celebrate who they are.

Our work is a great challenge. We are seeking to ensure that everyone knows how important he or she are and that everyone has the opportunity to feel special. We are “building bridges” for change – one day at a time.

Stuck in Washington, DC

What I thought was going to be a quick trip to the east-coast for a day-long meeting at the SAMHSA Campus in Rockville, MD has turned into a 5-day adventure in the unpredictable "nor'easter" weather of the Atlantic seaboard.

To say that the District is having a snowstorm is a substantial understatement. The amount of snowfall is record in its volume. I am "stuck" (literally - as there are no flights out until Monday) in the DuPont Circle area and have a two-day hiatus from my normal schedule.

It is interesting to break one's "normal" life-cycle and take a forced break. I feel caught between two emotions - one, I miss my family and want to be with them; two - I am provided a real luxury of totally resting, catching up on work, and having unstructured free-time.

The temptation is to get totally caught up on my work (let's just be totally honest, I will never truly "catch-up" on my work); this is a bit of a false door, as I would end up getting back home just as tired as ever. Rather, I can take advantage of this time to rest, relax and really focus my energies.

There is much work to be done in our goal to transform the world by building bridges of collaboration and cooperation - and I am excited by this great opportunity to really re-charge my batteries.

Elohim - God is alive

Photo: The "bathrooms" outside of the Elohim school.

Elohim (אֱלהִים) is a Hebrew word that expresses a broad scope of concepts of divinity. In addition, Elohim is used as a name of God in Judaism. It is a word that expresses the love that God has for all people.

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of visiting a small school nestled above the impoverished community of Mariano Melgar in Arequipa. The impoverished surroundings of Mariano Melgar are nothing in comparison to the desperate poverty that one experiences in the area that surrounds the Elohim school.

I was first introduced to the Elohim school by Susi Prescott. Susi is a dynamic woman from Australia who has dedicated her life to helping this area. She is the sole source of fundraising and a stable "life line" for the people who depend on the Elohim school.

Ms. Prescott, Father Alex and the director of the school (Sra. Rosa) all met at the school to try and figure out a way that we can collaborate toward the betterment of the community and the children of the school.

Like anything - the possibilities are endless; and, it looks like we will be bringing our "Team Peru" group to the school for a community assessment, clinic, and school-based project in July. We will be partnering with Father Alex and bringing Peruvian physicians, dentists and nurses to the school to assess for malnutrition and oral pathology. In addition, we discussed the implementation of a Water Filtration unit in the school.

I am really excited about this project and look forward to helping the Elohim school in anyway that we can.

Day 3 - Arequipa

Wow - what a full day. I was on the go all day yesterday. Everything fell into place.

Last night I had a chance to sit down with Sr. Hugo Corzo Isenrich from the marketing and PR firm "Fire 2.0 Studio." Hugo and I talked for a couple of hours about marketing, social connection and using the web to make a difference. It was a fantastic meeting.

Hugo's company (he is the owner) is going to donate their services to help HBI brand and promote the "Third Annual Arequipa Healthcare Conference and Training Symposium." One of the first things that we are going to do is re-name the conference. "Third Annual Arequipa Healthcare Conference and Training Symposium" is a descriptive name that is a bit too cumbersome to brand - as I was told by the expert (Hugo).

As such, we are going to try and launch a Blog and Facebook Page branded under the new name for the conference and a catchy/edgy logo for the event. Hugo said something last night that really made sense - he said that in order to attract our target population for the conference (young Peruvian healthcare professional who are working with the poor and underserved in Arequipa or professionals who are interested in working with the poor and underserved) we need to use a "degrees of separation" scheme.

He suggested that we advertise and promote on the internet and through Social Networking channels because of the ability of the Web 2.0 utility to create a "snowball effect." He told me of a restaurant (A Punto) that he has been working with to use Web 2.0 to promote their image and brand. He said that in a three day period - from the time of the initial launch of the Facebook Page for the restaurant, they were able to amass over 300 "friends" without any direct advertising. Just through Social Networking.

Hugo believes that we can do the same thing for the conference - and even HBI Peru. He is going to help us "snowball" our efforts. I am really excited.

Oh by the way - we met at "A Punto" last night . . . and it is fantastic. I recommend a visit when you are in the beautiful White City.

Day 2 - Arequipa

Photo: A look from the front stoop of the volunteer house - not too shabby!

I did it. I actually did it. I had my very first meeting totally in Spanish - without a translator.

Okay, it was really bad (3-grade level) Spanish that I was speaking; but, the meeting went very well and everyone pretended to understand me. I may be a little too naive?!

I have two more full days left and 5-days worth of meetings and plans to facilitate. I have my fingers crossed really tight that it will all work out. Tomorrow is going to be very full - with a few meetings yet to be scheduled.

One thing I never cease to be amazed by in my work - things seem to fall into place. If you need 4-hours to have 4-meetings and you only have 2-hours - something happens to allow everything to flow together.

Tonight I will be meeting with a group from St. Olaf's College in Minnesota. They are all pre-medical and pre-dental college students and are here for a service experience. I am looking forward to hearing about their adventures - as they have been in Peru for over 3-weeks already.

Okay - that's it for now. More to come.

Day 1 in Arequipa

I arrived in Arequipa this afternoon to a refreshing change of weather. Gone are the hot and humid days and nights - replaced with pleasantly warm days and cool nights. Hooray!

I hit the ground running with meetings and planning. Tomorrow will be a full day preparing for Monday and Tuesday where myself and a great friend of HBI's Steven Dougherty will be meeting with collaborators to fully plan for our April "Third Annual Arequipa Healthcare Conference and Training Symposium" (aka: the CME and CNE conference).

Speaking of the conference - we have almost filled our schedule of presenters. This is fantastic news and will really allow us to ensure that the conference is "first rate" this year.

More news to follow tomorrow!

Humility

Photo: Luis Enrique, the Peruvian volunteer that introduced us to

Hogar de Vida and one of the children from the home.

This afternoon I had the privilege to visit a small non-government organization (Hogar de Vida) that focuses their services toward HIV+ children and their mothers.

Sitting on the dirty sofa in the practically empty living room of the home, I watched child after child run around and play. The house was filled with mother's and their kids. The Director told us that the house reaches maximum capacity at 21 women and children - but that they routinely take more and have them sleep on the floor or wherever they can fit.

She told us that the organization works with practically nothing. They receive a small amount of food from the government programs - but this food is never enough to feed the more than 70 HIV/AIDS women and children that come to the house everyday for food (this is in addition to the 21 families in the house).

She asked if we could help them to purchase a "milligram" scale so that they could accurately measure the medications they needed to provide to the children every day. She told us that they had been struggling to use the old scale because it failed to provide accurate readings - and "getting the right dose for the child is very important."

She told us of her struggles to gain the financial donations to send all of the children to school. For, although their tuition to school in the public system is free - they needed to pay the extra expenses to keep the children in the schools. She told us that the cost for one child is not great - but when compounded by 21 children, the task becomes almost impossible.

As we talked with the Director a few of the children came to the sofas where we were sitting. They instantly gravitated toward Christina (a wonderful young Peruvian-American woman who volunteers to help translate for our work). They hung on her arms and affectionately hugged her chest.

Watching the little girls made me realize that there is so much more that we can do. It made we realize that the work we are seeking to accomplish will never end. It made me realize that ever little child deserves the best care, love and compassion we can possibly offer.

Sitting on that couch today with two little girls who are both HIV and TB positive - was really humbling.