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.

A Little Vitamins . . . and a lot of love

For over 3-years, HBI has been helping to sponsor a young girl and her family living in one of the poorest areas in Lima. I went to visit Ines and her mother this afternoon - and, well . . . she looks great.

Certainly, the skin condition that plagues her entire body is not completely gone; but, she is living her life now. She has had special orthopedic shoes made that allow her to walk without continuously traumatizing the soles of her feet (setting up the cascade for horrific blistering and unbearable pain). Her mother tells me that she absolutely loves school and is a little "Chatty Katy" when she gets home every afternoon.

The money that has been donated to help with the "Medical Fragile Children" program has gone to purchase medications for Ines, to supplement her nutrition, to help defer the costs of schooling and to help the family carve out a better life for themselves.

It is really amazing what came happen to a child when she is given the basic materials to grow and prosper. It is really amazing to see "life" flow through her beautiful little body.

Our hope is that we can help to structure a program that will expand the work of advocating for the needs of medically fragile children living in extreme poverty. And, today I think we got one step closer to that hope.

I am forever humbled by the little souls of this world that persevere in the greatest of lifes challenges and circumstances. I am forever touched by the love of Ines.

Vida Peru

I spoke with a group of some 100+ physicians and dentists tonight at the annual volunteer appreciation event for Vida Peru.

Vida Peru asked me to speak about the work of HBI and the concept of volunteerism. Mind you, speaking to a group of 100+ people at 5:30 p.m. on a Thursday night is never an easy task - but that task was made a significant degree more complicated when you consider the fact that I was speaking in English with a translator. Thank you so much to Reverend Pat Blanchard for her fantastic idiomatic translations.

By the end of the talk only 2-3 people in the audience were snoring, and only a half a dozen or so others had their eyes closed. Not too bad. No, seriously. It was a real honor to be the "key note" speaker for our partner agency's event. I am really excited by the turn-out and more excited by our partnership with Vida Peru. I see a real future for our collaborative efforts to get more Peruvian health professionals volunteering.

I will be meeting with Vida Peru and our staff lawyer (Dr. Cesar Daniel Bueno Rojas) tomorrow morning to discuss the development of a conference for Peruvian providers in September. We are talking about promoting a conference to educate Peruvian healthcare professional working in impoverished areas about the "primary care approach to diagnosing and treating diabetes." We plan to have a one day intensive CME conference and a one day clinic in an impoverished clinic.

Stay tuned for more details on this upcoming project. We will be seeking volunteer presenters (any endocrinologists out there want to come to Piura - in the North of Peru?) for the conference in the coming weeks. The work never ends - and boy, it sure is great (even if I have to be away from my lovely wife and our beautiful Little Alex).

The Need is Great

Like many of you, I have been closely following the media accounts of the tragic earthquake (and the horrific aftermath of human suffering) in Haiti. It seems almost overwhelmingly to fully comprehend the level of tragedy.

HBI has been receiving a number of inquiries as to our potential involvement in Haiti. I have been in e-mail and telephone communication with a number of people who are looking for a mechanism to help. I completely understand the need to help, and . . .

The "and" for me is this - now is not the time for a rush to action in Haiti by HBI. The critical response to Haiti and the needs of the Haitian people is best facilitated by organizations that focus their efforts toward disaster situations. What Haiti most needs right now are teams that are well-equipped, well-trained, fully supported to work in chaotic circumstances.

Military, government and NGO teams are working together to develop viable mechanisms to deliver basic supplies (food, water, medicine, hygiene equipment, etc.) to people suffering in the desperation. Search and rescue teams from around the world are using their honed skills to locate survivors trapped in the rubble. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières is desperately working to bring their expertise into the country to facilitate triage hospital services and "front line" care delivery. The Red Cross is putting together delivery mechanisms to get food and water to isolated areas of the island nation. And organizations like Partners in Health continue to delivery high quality care in makeshift clinics and hospitals.

Our support should be focused on helping these wonderful efforts. Now is the time to donate to the numerous emergency response efforts that will save lives and decrease suffering.

In the future, as the need for "bridge building" efforts become the focus of the needs in Haiti - HBI may be involved. The mission of our work is to support in-country organizations and efforts. The best way that we can do that is to shine the spotlight on the work of the organizations that are making a difference in Haiti today. In my opinion, the best thing that HBI can do at this time is to encourage our supporters to donate to organizations like Partners in Health and the American Red Cross.

There will be a time for organizations like HBI to get involved in supporting Haitian efforts to rebuild their country - but until then, we will support those organizations that are fully equipped to meet the immediate needs of the people of Haiti.