Date: Tue 08-Jul-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Graves-Honduras-medical-clinic

Full Text:

Student's Mission To Honduras An Eye-Opening Experience [Meghan Graves]

(with photo)

BY DOROTHY EVANS

Manana!

When 17-year-old Meghan Graves hears friends jokingly use the Spanish word for

"tomorrow" as meaning "not now, maybe not even in this lifetime," she might

not be laughing.

As a Newtown High School student finishing her junior year, Meghan recently

spent two weeks in a volunteer medical clinic in Santa Lucia, Honduras, where

she was part of a medical team helping local villagers with the most basic

health care problems.

As a result of this experience, she knows first hand how totally ingrained the

concept of " manana " is to the Honduran culture.

For the Honduran people, " manana " most often means passive acceptance of

whatever life brings, of circumstances that are beyond the individual's

ability to control or change.

"They have so little there, yet they make do," Meghan said Monday, speaking

from her Newtown home at 174 Boggs Hill Road where she lives with her parents,

Patty and Allan Graves.

After returning to Newtown June 19, Meghan said she gained new appreciation

for "the many things I have to be thankful for" at home - her parents, her

country, the town she's lived in all her life.

Even New York City looked "pretty wonderful when I got back," despite the

traffic and the crowded sidewalks.

Meghan's trip to Honduras took place June 7-19, which meant she had to take

her finals early in order to leave before the last day of school June 13.

"Hombro A Hombro"

As part of what she termed a "medical brigade," Meghan joined a group of

students, doctors and nurses from Cincinnati, Ohio, who went into Central

America with the common goal of providing health care to disadvantaged people.

The missionary project, known as "Hombro a Hombro" (Shoulder To Shoulder) was

led by a friend of Meghan's family, Dr Jeff Heck of the University of

Cincinnati, Department of Family Medicine, who has organized several such

trips to the Honduran city of Santa Lucia.

Meghan's mother knew of Dr Heck's plans to bring several students along on his

June trip and asked him if Meghan could accompany them.

At first it seemed there wouldn't be room, but in April Meghan heard she would

be able to go after all. Quickly, she began preparations which included a

round of malaria medication and hepatitis A shots.

"I was awfully scared when I had to meet everyone for the first time in

Florida," she said.

That was where she and the Cincinnati group stopped together for a night on

their way south to Honduras.

Despite the initial feeling of strangeness, Meghan never doubted she wanted to

go, even when immersing herself in the Honduran culture meant adopting their "

manana " lifestyle with all of its bizarre consequences.

"You have to be totally laid back to go there. Things rarely go the way

they're supposed to," Meghan said.

"Our plane didn't even land where it was scheduled to, I lost my suitcase for

several days, and the traveler's diarrhea affected the best of us. But it was

worth it! The people there truly appreciate everything," she added.

She'd studied Spanish for four years at Newtown, and had traveled in Spain

with her ninth grade Spanish class.

"But that was nothing like this experience," Meghan said, remembering the

organized school tour where she and her classmates stayed in high rise hotels

with "fountains in the lobby and glass elevators," and ate "cream puffs for

dessert."

In Honduras, she stayed in the village with the other students and members of

the medical team, living in a dormitory adjacent to the medical clinic.

"We were like family, we became very close," she said.

No Cream Puffs

Everything, including the food, was totally different, Meghan said, though her

hosts tried to cook meals for the Americans that would seem familiar.

She recalled eating a sort of "Honduran macaroni and cheese" that was nothing

like Chef Boyardee, and having spaghetti and meat sauce that she called

"interesting" - completely unlike anything she'd had before, but very tasty.

The village clinic was located in a remote area in the southwest corner of the

country. During their two-week stay, Meghan and the other students were

assigned to work teams allowing them to get to know each other better and to

accomplish their common goals.

Their daily tasks rotated among four different work areas.

In construction, the student team painted the clinic buildings, worked the

soil to prepare for a garden and planted trees. Educational efforts revolved

around water use, such as locating springs, taking water measurements,

checking water storage boxes and teaching at the village school by discussing

the water cycle and the importance of water conservation and sanitation.

At the medical clinic, they assisted the doctors and translators in getting

supplies, wrote out records or entertained the young children at the clinic.

Additionally, the students helped hold women's health meetings in neighboring

villages to teach nutrition and proper breast feeding.

"The babies were often malnourished because the women didn't eat healthy foods

while they were pregnant or breast feeding," Meghan said.

Where family ties were strong, she said that the children seemed happy and

well taken care of. But there were many homeless children, and teenage

pregnancy was a huge problem, she added.

Truly A Volunteer Effort

Everything that was used for the Honduran medical mission work had been

donated, Meghan said.

"You give your time and money to be there," she added, explaining that when

the students prepared to return to the states, they gave away many of their

personal possessions to the Honduran people.

"At the end of the trip, most of the suitcases went home nearly empty. Group

members left behind soap, clothing and shoes for the people of Santa Lucia,"

she said.

In addition, Meghan said the " Hombro a Hombro " program has a big wish list

of items that are desperately needed at the clinic.

The list includes a medical saw for the removal of casts, art supplies for a

kindergarten class, a six-foot step ladder, an extension ladder, painting

supplies, an electric water heater for shower heads, a refrigerator, a

freezer, a four-wheel drive vehicle and educational support for two young men

at a cost of $25 a month each.

Donations and questions can be directed to: Dr Jeff Heck, University of

Cincinnati, Department of Family Medicine, 2446 Kipling Avenue, Cincinnati, OH

45239.