SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- Port Perry's Dr. Elizabeth Russell consoles a young patient with a tennis ball. She's one of 11 health-care professionals from Scugog participating in a Feed the Children mission trip.
Scugog helping hands stretch to foreign land
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- Hernando shuffled into the long line outside the dental clinic, shoulders stooped and eyes staring at the dusty ground.
The 19-year-old Salvadorian labourer was close to tears as he bit his lower lip, almost certain that his broken front tooth was going to be yanked by its roots, leaving a gaping, unsightly hole for the rest of his life. To a handsome young Latino man in his prime, this was a major loss.
Fortunately for Hernando, this was the day that 'Dr. Jack' came to town. Working out of a makeshift mobile dental clinic set up in a cinderblock classroom in the village of El Cedro, Port Perry's Dr. Jack Cottrell and his wife Michelle work at a feverish pace with a dental team of seven Canadian and Salvadorian professionals. Gripping the arms of the portable dental chair, Hernando nervously awaited his fate. Minutes later, Dr. Cottrell had worked his magic, and the young chico was staring at his reflection with a wide grin. His tooth had been fixed.
Striding out of the clinic, shoulders back and hair slicked to perfection, Hernando greeted his unbelieving friends with a dazzling smile. Far more than his tooth had been restored.
Our medical team of 24 doctors, nurses, paramedics and support staff is once again hosted by the charismatic and very capable Efrain del Rios. This is the fourth trip for Feed the Children Canada to Central America, and every time we are in the region, Efrain has managed logistics, procurement of drugs and supplies, and of course, police guards.
Mr. del Rios is an ebullient, confident Latino man in his late 30s with an easy laugh and a sparkle in his eyes. He now has become good friends with Dr. Tony Brown, a physician at the Medical Associates of Port Perry.
When asked why he spends so much of his time with a charitable organization that feeds the poor and works mostly in the slums and distant villages of the region, Mr. del Rios gives a shrug and a thoughtful grin.
"I am indebted to life. I have been given so much, and it is my way to give back to the people," he explained.
In a part of the world where money buys power and influence, Mr. del Rios has chosen to work on behalf of those with no money and no status in society. Thousands of lives depend on his generous spirit and tireless efforts.
The drive from San Salvador to El Cedro takes more than an hour. We leave the four-lane highway crowded with rainbow-coloured school buses, Mazda pick-ups and diesel-belching transports, and wind our way up the hillsides on a country road. Women cling to the back of motorbikes that zoom past us, throwing dust in the faces of men carting firewood on over-laden bicycles. Eventually we inch along a rutted laneway to the village perched atop a ridge.
The medical clinic is set up in a school with multiple classrooms and a central courtyard. Dogs run in and out of the line-ups and occasionally under the legs of the doctors and nurses examining patients. The schoolyard takes on a festive atmosphere. The whole village seems to be aware of our arrival -- it's the first time they have had a visiting medical team for several years.
Local women cook tortillas and papusas (corn flour, fried beans and peppers) and sell roasted corncobs sprinkled with syrup and shredded cheese. In the heat of the day, temperatures soar to 35 C.
Dr. Paul Puckrin, another Port Perry physician, chats breezily to our security guards about their automatic weapons as he waits for the next patient. His wife, Karen, examines a crying baby in the arms of a worried mother, while daughter Julie takes photographs for the official blog on the FTC web site (www.ftccanadateams.blogspot.com).
Meanwhile in the next room, Port Perry's Dr. Elizabeth Russell removes a benign growth which has plagued a local farmer for years. Nurses Charlene Dart and Anna Jewell are seeing patients of their own next door, many of whom suffer diarrhea and malnutrition from parasites in the drinking water.
Down the hall, I chat with an injured 75-year-old farmer who fell 20 feet out of an orange tree and injured his back. I could see the cataracts in his eyes from the other side of the room, and I wondered if this had something to do with him missing that last branch.
We send them to the temporary pharmacy across the courtyard, where Chris Ritskes, the pharmacist from the Port Perry hospital, dispenses pain relievers, antibiotics and vitamins, amongst other things. Directions are given in Spanish through an interpreter, and each prescription is labelled with a pictogram to ensure it is taken as directed.
We are joined in our efforts by three Salvadorean doctors and a local dentist. They work pro bono for the benefit of the poor people who either can't afford the care, or live too far away from a clinic. Some of us have learned basic Spanish, which is a source of ongoing laughter for our 10 interpreters. Over the course of a day, the team manages approximately 500 patients.
After dressing an ulcer on an elderly woman's leg, I get a farewell in Spanish as she stands and gives me a warm embrace.
"We give thanks to God for all you have done for us today. We're so happy that you came from so far away to see us in our village," she says.
I try my best to tell her that I feel the very same way.
Other members of the team have similar stories to share by the end of the day. It seems in a land where life is so often hard and unforgiving, even the smallest kindness is precious.
Dr. Steve Russell is a Port Perry physician and one of 11 health-care providers from Scugog taking part in a Feed the Children mission trip to El Salvador from April 18 to 27.