To the Editor:

Again Newtown and Sandy Hook have surpassed our wildest dreams, and all we can offer in return is our humblest thanks and appreciation. This May, a team of eight volunteers from Newtown traveled to Honduras to provide medical and dental services. Although we are still number crunching, it looks like this team saw about 3,000 individuals during our stay. And what makes us immensely proud is that the level of care, the level of knowledge, the level of compassion is unsurpassed in this hemisphere. Truly. All of the people on this team gave everything. Our deepest thanks and gratitude to them all.

Incredibly, for six of the eight from Newtown, this was a return trip. We don't know what's in the water down there in Connecticut that keeps fostering such kind, smart and dedicated folks, but all these people drank very deeply at that well. These are your neighbors and townspeople who gave so fully of themselves: Drs Dan and Grace Federman; Dr Eric Chanko and Gillian Chanko; Dr Cindy McNamara, Luke McNamara and Katie McNamara, and Dr Joe Young. And although he's further away, a thank you to Dr Vipul Patel, too. Not only do these folks bring all their experience, knowledge and practical skills to bear, but they also sacrifice time with family and friends, as well as work.

Finally, we need to especially recognize a few team members - Gillian Chanko, Luke McNamara and Katie McNamara. These three young adults do what parents hope their kids will do: actively use their education, skills and kindness to fashion a better world. They are the ones shaping the future. And because of them we hold out hope. (Also, there is no better reflection of the parents than to have kids as wonderful as these.) We need to thank someone - he hoped he wouldn't get a shout out, but we have to - whose skills we have been trying to bring to Honduras for years, but we could not have imagined how profoundly lucky we would be in getting not just an ophthalmologist, but the person of Dr Joe Young. He worked tirelessly, endlessly. He saw every single child in the entire area and made an instant and lasting impact. Everyday he was on his feet for over 12 hours, and through it all, of the hundreds and hundreds of people, every single child and adult who sat in his chair, when they got up to leave, would turn, and would give Joe a hug, because he gave everything he had. And they did too.

Our deepest thanks to these wonderful, wonderful (as Lawrence Welk would say) people, and the community that supports them.

Sincerely,

Terence Noonan and Jennifer Smith

TJIF, Community Health Partnership Honduras

280 Hillside Avenue, Needham, Mass.       June 27, 2016