BIANCA, THE CAMO NUTRITIONIST, GOT A CALL FROM THE MEDICAL RESIDENT IN
WOMEN’S SURGERY wondering if she would help with a nutrition
plan for a patient who was to be discharged the next day.
While visiting a rural community with our team, a 9 year old girl with a barely audible voice approached us timidly. Although she seemed happy about the crayons we had for all the children, we noticed that something was not right. When we questioned her older brother, he told us that two years ago she accidentally got a stone stuck in her ear and since then she had had trouble hearing. Some days, the pain and discomfort in her ear did not allow her to pay attention at school. The teacher was annoyed without understanding the reason for her poor school performance. Immediately we knew that she was a patient that had to be treated by our staff from the Audiometry Clinic, and shortly after this she was taken to our technician who removed the stone fragments from her ear.
If we reflect on this case and think that it took two long years for this little girl to receive specialized attention, it is sad. She didn´t have to miss those school lessons and play moments with her friends due to her ear discomfort.For the schools and kindergartens of Santa Rosa de Copán where CAMO is located and the 13 rural schools that are part of the Literature project in the departments (States) of Copán, Ocotepeque, and Lempira, CAMO offers audiological evaluations to detect children with hearing problems. Annually we serve more than 2,500 patients.
This task of providing professional diagnosis to children in different schools is a permanent and we still have a lot to do for those children in rural communities who have learning difficulties related to hearing problems that end up causing school dropout.
Ready for a unique and talented take on a wide range of musical traditions? This Wednesday, September 26, 2018, join us with an evening of Medieval & Spanish Blues. The concert starts at 7:00 p.m.
All Proceeds go to CAMO. Helping the working poor of Honduras by providing medical services, education, and community development. The suggested donation is $15.00 advance and $20 at the door.
It will be held inside the Main Lodge, Sugar Lake Lodge 6881 Kniffen Road Painsville, Ohio 44077. Donated by Wellspring Management Group.
Call: 330-639-5113 for more information it would be helpful if you let us know if you can come so we can have a head count. Save the Date!
Early that morning the pickup and the bus were ready to leave the city of Santa Rosa de Copan with all the Honduran medical teams excited to begin their journey with the medical brigade heading to El Gualme, Corquín Copán; a rural community located in a mountainous region of Western Honduras. After 2 hours’ drive on the dirt road, the teams finally arrived in the community where the people were already in line waiting for the arrival of the brigade, mothers were carrying their children and men by their side looking after their needs. These are the people who see brigades like this like their only chance to have a medical evaluation.
With the medical equipment installed and in operation, pharmacy and the professional volunteers, the line of people waiting began to move, they received services of general medicine, pediatrics, ophthalmological evaluations, audiological screenings, dental treatments and gynecology services (including ultrasound for pregnant women and cytologists). More than 800 services were provided to people with limited economic resources whose primary work is to grow coffee.
Among the people treated, we heard a couple of comments like “it is the first time that my son is checked by a specialist”, “God bless you” and “I wouldn´t be able to pay for my teeth´s treatment”.
For CAMO, these brigades represent an opportunity to bring our specialized medical services to communities like this and be able to follow up with patients who need further treatment or surgical procedures.
Each year, five brigades like this are programmed and organized in collaboration with local governments who prioritize their needs. To date, more than 3,500 services have been provided in five brigades carried out this year in the communities of Azacualpa, La Unión Copán; San Agustín, San Pedro Copán and El Gualme, Corquín Copán.
Even after twenty-five years, we can still be stunned by the great need of the Honduran people. Maria and her daughter Carmen who were desperately in need of cataract surgeries, diabetic and nutrition treatment are just one example of the great need of the poor people of Honduras. Click the link to read their stories. There is so much more we can still do, with your continuous support and donations we can continue to serve people like them.
Two years ago Nixon´s dream of having children of his own seemed unreachable. After falling down from a mango tree and breaking his back, he became paraplegic. His hopes to support his large family as the second eldest brother of eight, his wife and his mother, faded away. He had no way to pay for a back surgery that required eight screws which cost $235 apiece or food for his family; his hopes to recover were nonexistent.However, Nixon wasn´t left alone, with the support of our neurosurgery team he was able to have a surgery that freed him from his pain and restored his mobility. He does not longer have to wait at home for his family to look after his needs; he is now an active member of his family. This week he stopped by our office anxious to share his joy as his wife was delivering their baby at the hospital de Occidente. This time there was no pain reflected on his face, just the joy that this news meant to him and his family.
He reminds us of the importance of our programs for families like his, whom on daily basics struggle so much to make a living. We want to share his joy with you because with your donations and talents you have been a part of his blessings. Thank you.
When Maria Bernarda first came to our office she was looking for diapers for her 12-year-old daughter Nely Ruby who has cerebral palsy. Lacking a wheelchair, she was carrying her daughter in one arm, with a heavy bag full of clothing and supplies on the other shoulder, since they had to spend that night in the rehabilitation center’s shelter. As the CAMO staff approached, they realized she needed not only diapers but, more desperately, a nutritionist’s diet for Nely as well as a wheelchair to give her more comfort. When looking at this mother, we wonder how many miles she has carried her daughter, how many times she has taken her to hospitals and clinics or the rehabilitation center using public transportation. It wouldn´t have been an easy task without a wheelchair or someone to help with the bags.After we made arrangements, Nely´s mother was taken to the nutrition clinic at CAMO which offers consultations, treatment, and follow-ups to malnourished children and adults. Our wheelchair staff also managed to provide a wheelchair to suit Nely’s specific needs.
But since we do not have enough wheelchairs for all patients needing one, it is always difficult to decide who can wait a little longer till the next with medical supplies container arrives.
Every day at CAMO we meet people searching for a wheelchair, a pair of crutches or walkers. Our wheelchair lab and medical supplies allow us to provide solutions. If you have a wheelchair you no longer need, please contact our office to learn how to donate it. We appreciate your kind donations, which sustain our programs.
How can you support the Respiratory Program?
We at CAMO are honored and feel the joy of service to help people like Esau, who was connected to a mechanical ventilator for almost six months, but, thanks to CAMO´s Respiratory Program he was able to have the medical equipment at the right time.
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Equipos y suministros médicos entregará la Fundación Camo a hospitales y centros de salud en el país para apoyar las necesidades de los centros asistenciales que dan atención en salud.
El hospital de Occidente; Materno Infantil en Corquín, Copán; Hospital San Felipe; Choluteca y varios centros de salud son los beneficiados con ayuda que gestiona la fundación. Solo el contenedor que llegó la semana pasada representa la cantidad de 6.7 millones lempiras.
“Desde hace 25 años la Fundación Camo en Santa Rosa de Copán promueve la donación de diferentes equipos y suministros para fortalecer la atención en salud en hospitales y centros de salud. Al año recibimos siete contenedores que se destinan a diferentes centros asistenciales en todo el país”, explicó José Bautista, subdirector de la Fundación.
Equipos oftalmológicos, de rayos X, odontológicos, bastones, andadores y otros forman parte de las donaciones que en los próximos días comenzará a distribuir Camo a los centros asistenciales.
Son además 12 municipalidades que se priorizan con la ayuda.
Otros apoyos
La Fundación, además, está impulsando un manual de enfermería con la Escuela de Enfermería de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (Unah), para que se puedan implementar los mismos estándares con las universidades privadas. Además buscan mejorar el entrenamiento de aquellas personas que se preparan como paramédicos en el área de enfermedades respiratorias.
“Camo busca mejorar el recurso que da la atención directa en salud. No solo estamos en el apoyo en insumos médicos, vamos más allá para preparar mejor el recurso humano que día a día es el responsable de atender a los beneficiarios del sistema” explicó Juan Carlos Elvir, directivo de la fundación.
Camo tiene como atención prioritaria a 12 municipalidades de Copán, Ocotepeque y Lempira, pero apoya al sistema hospitalario y centros de salud en el país.
María Matías is an example of courage and strength, after the loss of one of her newborns’ twins; she faced many difficult experiences as a single mother with limited financial resources. Her loss was soon only one of her sorrows when she was given the news, her second twin “Milagros” (meaning Miracles) had been diagnosed with hydrocephalus (a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain, enlarging the head and sometimes causing brain damage). It was during this time when she was sent to the Hospital de Occidente to find treatment for her daughter. Dr. Roberto Alvarez our counterpart of the neurosurgery program immediately scheduled her surgery. Although Milagros underwent some complications post-surgery, the hospital staff was always caring and our staff at CAMO supported her with medications and other diagnostic exams. Finally, after one month in the hospital, Milagros health improved, the surgery was successful and she was finally released to go home. Maria hopes her daughter will have a full recovery. Dr. Alvarez continues to monitor her development and health. Your support helped CAMO to pay for the $460 stunt. It is thanks to your continuous support that we can prevent devastating health issues to children like Milagros, our programs offer medical services that otherwise wouldn´t be accessible to them; consider supporting us or volunteering at our offices. Your support is very valuable.
