6/18/10
The new clinic was closed this entire week, causing hundreds of patients to either wait for medical assistance or take the long and costly 3 hour trip to El Progresso. I couldn’t understand why the new clinic would be closed during a very busy week…so I asked. It turns out that there has been an ongoing nurse strike throughout this week (that may continue into next week) due to some missed wages in Yoro (the government here is responsible for paying wages in the healthcare system). Because our nurse in Punta, Gloria, is part of the same union as the nurses in Yoro, she has also been on strike this week…with pay (why not strike every week if you can get paid too?). In light of these and many other financial problems in the country…the mayor of Yoro like many of the senior officials throughout Honduras, went to South Africa for the world cup this week (largely in part by money from the tax payers). It is tough to deal in a political environment full of corruption, abuse of power, and a general disregard for the true needs of the people.
…Once again we (Hannah, David, and I) woke up at 4:40 am today just in time to see the sunrise…again. We met up with the walking group (14 women today) and proceeded on our now daily walk/run…we covered 3 miles today and spirits were very high. This weekend I am going to make a exercise/running charla (information guide) to help these women avoid injury…we still have some women running in sandals and others who don’t bring water…both are especially important for the women, many of whom have never participated in regular exercise. The group is going to meet next in the afternoon on Monday… to walk through the mountains haha. Today we are heading to Lake Yojoa the largest lake in Honduras for the weekend....No internet out there but it should be an awesome weekend i'll have a post up about it soon! Have a great weekend and Happy Fathers Day Dad, Marc
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