Builders of Peace
Our theme today was Service and Stewardship. This is an interesting topic of discussion amongst our group, as we came on this trip to be givers. However, we find that we receive much more than we give, from people that at first glance have much less than us. But the "less" is of material things, and the "more" is the joy in their faces, their actions, the lack of complaining, and the pure, sweet laughter of the children.
Our Wednesday started with the women sending the men to the worksite. While the women went to the spa, the big, strong men were breaking a sweat mixing cement. This is the story Paolo was telling at the worksite. In reality, the women elected to tour one of the local national hospitals.
El Salvador has a private and public healthcare system. The public system is accessible to everyone who is employed and pays taxes. The private system is for those who can afford private insurance or can pay cash per service. Those living in extreme poverty or working "under the table" essentially have no access to healthcare. Ahuachapan, the department (county) where we are, has one national (public) hospital for the 360,000 residents.
Hospital Nacional General Francisco Menendez, aka the General Hospital, was kind enough to have us tour the facility. With three nurses, a PA, and a doctor, you can imagine the questions we had. And we were fortunate enough to have Dr. Easy-on-the-eyes Cruz, the chief resident, give us a tour of the facility. We toured the emergency room, and he gave us a great impression of what access to healthcare in El Salvador is like. For example, there are only three ambulances. If a woman goes into labor, she might have an hour bus ride to the hospital. There was a line of at least 100 people for the clinic to see a doctor. The equipment was dated, but they had all the basics. And above all that, the nurses wear starched white uniforms and caps. We really enjoyed the visit and decided we'll stick to wearing scrubs.
The women returned to the worksite to see how the men kept themselves busy without us. They seemed to manage okay. One of the houses was in a holding pattern until the roof is put on, which left us to work on two of the other houses. The day consisted of more painting and mixing cement. The houses are progressing nicely during the week. There is rumor that tomorrow we may break ground on a new house.
At lunchtime we were greeted by Ana Maria, who is the head of the Santa Ana Habitat office. She is very passionate about her work and her hopes for the future for the people of El Salvador. She mentioned the common theme that we're not just here to build houses, but we're here to build relationships. It definitely requires us to take a step back from wanting to complete each task quickly to be assigned another. It's about putting the shovel down and talking to the woman walking past you with her granddaughter. It's the belief of Habitat, the community, and these volunteers that these families can live above their current conditions. We are so grateful to have this short moment of time in this very special place.
"How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." -1 John 3:16-18
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