Objective:
- Provide subsidized medical services to all people in the Cangrejal River Valley.
- Create a safe environment that assures each patient their worth and to experience the love of God.
The concept for nonprofit clinic was birthed in our desire to serve our own people. As committed doctors from the valley we believe in helping the people that watched us grow up and helped us fulfill our dream. It is our desire to stay in the valley where we were born and serve the people that we identify with.
We offer medical consultation and medicines at low cost. We ask the people to pay a little for this service, because we believe this symbolic amount helps preserve the personal dignity of the patient and family. (about 6 dollars per patient)
The Cangrejal River Valley covers about 1,000 square miles. Its major feature is the river which flows north to La Ceiba, Honduras. There are about twenty communities alongside the Cangrejal River, south from La Ceiba, Honduras. There is only one way to enter and exit the valley. The dirt road that connects the communities with La Ceiba is about 31 km (22 miles) long. Of the twenty communities, seven are situated along the road, but the other thirteen are located away from the road and people must either walk or ride a horse for one to three hours to get to the road.
There are 3 buses that run daily in the morning and afternoon. The road is usually in very bad condition due to lack of maintenance. In addition to lack of maintenance, heavy yearly rains often wash out the road making it very difficult or nearly impossible to make it to La Ceiba to receive the necessary medical help.
There are 3 public health clinics located in the valley with a first aid trained nurse in each clinic. The most the nurses can do is to refer patients to services in the city because of the lack of training and supplies.
A private clinic located at 21 km (15 miles) up river is open three days a week, and unfortunately transportation to go up river is very difficult with the bus and clinic schedule.
Education statistic: 50% of all population finished the sixth grade; 3% finish high school and only 0.5% has graduated from a university.
Income: Most of the men work in agriculture, while a few families own small general stores. The women do home labor and traditionally are in charge of health care for children and elderly family members.
This region, the Cangrejal River Valley, falls below the statistical average of Honduras, which in a global measure, is classified as “the poorest nation on the mainland of the Americas”. An estimated 80% of the population lives in poverty. With a population of roughly 8 million, the un-employment rate is above 50%. From a global comparison, Honduras is on the International Monetary Fund’s short list of the poorest of poor nations on the earth.
Most of our emergencies are due to machete injuries. Other emergencies consist of fractures of bones caused by motorcycle accidents; toxic reactions to snake bites; toxic reactions to insect bites, such as scorpions, bees, spiders; and diseases associated with mosquito bites.
Under the best of travel conditions, the nearest government public hospital in the city requires nearly 60 minutes of travel one way for the people in this region. During the rainy season, when travel is restricted because of flooding, the government hospital in La Ceiba may simply be inaccessible. Even if one reaches that hospital, chronic shortages of personnel and supplies make the effort a gamble, and “extra” expenses, such as food, lodging, medicines, and materials, makes this care prohibitive for our people. From a physical perspective it boils down to this: with the simple “wear and tear” diseases of life, Hondurans in the countryside are likely to suffer without relief.
A long-term goal is to educate the population in order to promote good health through our medical service, personal informal teaching and our testimonies. We were born and raised in the Cangrejal River Valley which makes interaction with the population easy. Certainly we know that people will be receptive to health education, self-improvement and spiritual growth.
Mission: Provide respectful, quality and compassionate medical help to all the people in the Cangrejal River region, and at the same time present the plan of salvation to every patient that visits us.
Vision: Our vision is to create an environment of trust, respect and simplicity with the goal of being the best health agency by focusing on both community and spiritual needs.
Goals:
- Give medical service to children, teenagers, men and women.
- Provide free medications to patients.
- Minor surgery procedures.
- Specific female care, such as gynecological service and taking pap smears.
- Collaborate with hospitals to provide care for seriously ill patients and major surgery procedures.
- Train community volunteers on emergency plan, following established protocol.
