SANTA ROSE DE COPÁN, HONDURAS – CAMO volunteers Robyn McClintock and Rynae Westfall arrived in Santa Rosa excited to see children at the day care in Santa Rosa.

Robyn, a CAMO board member, has been the counterpart in that program for 11 years. When she talks about CAMO, tears fill her eyes. When she talks about the day care, she just beams.
She knows many of the kids by name and recognizes them year to year. She loves to take pictures of the kids, and print them off to take with her when she returns. Most of the children have never seen a picture of themselves. The kids remember her and ask their teacher Reina when she will return.

Rynae, Robyn’s sister, is returning for her second time. She loves kids and remembers her first visit in 2014 and how emotional the trip was. Rynae still has pictures on her phone from her last trip – and one little girl, Ivana, in particular touched her heart. Ivana is still a student there, and when Rynae showed her the picture of herself on her phone, the little girl beamed. A bond was formed between them a few years ago – and that bond is even stronger on this trip. When Rynae talks about Ivana, tears fill her eyes. During her trip she learned that Ivana had been having health issues and needed and EKG which costs 3,000 limperas – which is as much as her mother makes in a month. She could not afford it.

Rynae called Kathy Tschiegg, International Director of CAMO, and together they figured out a way to make it happen. I asked her how she was going to feel leaving her, and she started crying. She said, “I know it will be emotional, I just don’t know if her mom is able to keep up on her medical needs, and it just breaks my heart.” I asked her how she felt about CAMO, and she said, “CAMO is amazing. I love the heart of the volunteers who have such passion for the people, their willingness to give up precious vacation time, money and family time to come back year after year.“

When asked why she comes back year after year, Robyn says, “My first trip began after hearing my husband, Mike, talk about his experience with CAMO, and I had to see for myself what I could contribute to this great organization. The passion and commitment I see in Reina (the teacher) to make an impact in the lives of impoverished children of Santa Rosa de Copan keeps me coming back year after year.”

Every year she arrives with things to share with the children and the teacher. Each year she asks Reina, “If you could have one wish for something for your classroom, what would it be?” Last year, Reina asked for anti-bacterial dispensers because the water that the kids wash their hands in is contaminated. Reina got her wish and more. She brought with her many basic children’s medications, hygiene supplies and washcloths for the daycare nurse Leidy. Robyn also purchased much in the way of school supplies, toys and diapers – but one other thing that brought a tearful response from Reina. I asked her what that one thing was and she said, “Something we all take for granted, clean water! To see Reina’s face light up when the water cooler and first bottle of water was delivered today in her classroom overwhelmed me to tears.”

When I asked her why CAMO, she said, “You get to a point in life when you realize how blessed you are and the only response for me was to give back. Going home knowing the students in her classroom will have access to clean water everyday gives me such pride in being associated with CAMO and all they do to change lives. From a severe cleft palate to making sure 4-year-olds have clean, safe drinking water, CAMO does bring hope and I am honored to be a part of that hope.”
On this trip both Robyn and Rynae spent time helping Reina copy 18 pages of dotted capital A’s for the kids to practice on. Reina’s big wish item for next year is a copier. Reina does all of her copying by hand.

To learn more about CAMO, find us on Facebook by searching Central American Medical Outreach or visit our website at www.camo.org. or call our office at 330.683.5956

SANTA ROSE DE COPN, Honduras — Lynette and Charlie Wood and Shawn Riggenbaugh from McClintock Electric in Wayne County are what will be known as the Acadamia of Professional Excellence.

The Acadamia was made possible by a threefold relationship. The city of Santa Rosa donated the land — the Swiss government donated $250,000 for most of the building and the Charles Woods family from Wayne County provided $100,000 for completion. The phone system was donated by McClintock Electric and is being installed this week.

The mission of the Acadamia is to promote sustainable development to enhance and strengthen the capacities of human capital, with focus on excellence of education, transparency and ethics. This innovative academy will fill the gap of learning and technology through coordination and alliances with other entities to create standardization of procedures and certification requirements of the state entities and the general population. This week is the ceremonial inauguration and the Acadamia will be fully functional.

Riggenbaugh is installing the phone system that has been donated by McClintock Electric. Mike McClintock, owner of McClintock Electric, is CAMO’s board president, and his wife, Robyn, is a board member and volunteer. Robyn is also in Honduras this week working with her counterpart at the day care center.

The purpose of the academy is to teach and implement medical standards. It will also be the location of the CPR, NALS and PALS classes.

It is hard to imagine medical care without standards. We in the United States take for granted that when we go to visit a doctor, they can take our vital signs and even perform CPR, according to standards set forth by proven research that saves lives. The people of Honduras do not have that luxury.

Most medical professionals want the right training so they can take care of their patients. With the addition of the Acadamia, now they will have the chance. What will make the Acadamia unique — as with all CAMO programs — is the counterpart program, which relies on the expertise of CAMO’s volunteer professionals to work with counterparts here in Honduras. The Acadamia will also be able to help support itself with some of the coursework. However, we are still in developmental stages and in great need of funding, especially in these first four critical years as we develop the curriculum and staff.

In October, the counterparts Brent Devore and Nancy Nikiforow spent a week with key executive staff developing a leadership curriculum to add to the medical curriculum. They worked with Honduras Board Chair Ethel de Jesus Tabora to set a timeline for completion — and this week the first course in professional excellence was held. Instructors Lynette Wood, Connie Eicker and Mary Anne Perrone worked with their counterparts, and more than 59 people completed the course.

Kathryn Tschiegg, CAMO’s international director, understands the culture in Honduras. She knows that raising the level of professionalism in Santa Rosa will ultimately have a direct impact on the quality of care and, ultimately, lives will be saved.

All of this would not happen without the vision of Tschiegg, the funds from our donors who want to have a direct impact and the passion of CAMO volunteers, many from Wayne County. The model of CAMO combined with the heart of its many donors and volunteers continues to make a difference in Honduras.

Follow our Facebook page for team stories from the week. Find us at Central American Medical Outreach. Donations can be made at our, website camo.org, or by calling the office at 330-683-5956.

Helene Moncman is the executive director of CAMO USA, based in Orrville.

SANTA ROSA de COPAN, Honduras – My wife Robyn and I got off the bus early Saturday (Feb. 20) evening at the Hotel Elvir with the rest of the February team for Central American Medical Outreach. Hotel staff, many of whom we already knew well from our previous trips, greeted us warmly.

I started volunteering with CAMO in 2001 and, in my capacity as an electrical contractor, have collaborated in numerous construction and capital improvement projects. Robyn started volunteering in 2006 and works at the CAMO-supported day care center.

Over the years we have developed many close relationships with other CAMO volunteers and local Hondurans as well. Some volunteers on this trip are “old timers” involved in dietary, dental, plastic surgery, day care, electrical, administration, biomed and leadership. For some volunteers, this trip is their second or third, and for others (or the “newbies,” as we like to call them) this is their first.

One of the “old timers,” Dr. Mark Gustafson, has traveled annually with CAMO for more than 20 years. He serves an integral role with the dental team that travels daily to surrounding villages to set up mobile dental clinics. The team collaborates with Honduran dentists and has helped bring about dramatic changes in the overall dental health of the residents of Santa Rosa and the surrounding villages.

Personally, for Robyn and me, every trip to Honduras brings something new. Founder and Director Kathy Tschiegg continually adds and improves to the many different programs and capital improvement projects that focus on sustainability and collaboration with our Honduran counterparts. Beyond our own experiences, I wanted to get a feel for how others, in particular the “old timers” and the “newbies,” viewed their trip.

I started by talking with John, an electrical engineer from Ohio. He and his daughter Kristin, a nurse anesthesiologist, are first-time volunteers. Both have experienced developing countries, most notably mission trips to Haiti.

John said he was impressed by the strong relationships between the volunteers and their Honduran counterparts. These friendships among volunteers who return annually allows volunteers to actually see the progress they’re making by working together.

I related well to that, having observed major improvements in the overall quality of construction on the many capital improvement projects with which I have been involved. The Hospital de Occidente, one of the largest public hospitals in Western Honduras, is located within a block of CAMO’s headquarters.

Fourteen years ago when I first walked through the facility, I was shocked at the disrepair and overall level of dangerous wiring I saw. Fast forward to today, and as I walk through the hospital I see the fruits of our partnership with the Honduran maintenance staff — modern wiring, quality workmanship and a stable electrical infrastructure that literally saves lives every day.

To get a perspective from an “old timer,” I talked with Mark Gustafson. Mark has witnessed the growth of the dental program from very simple beginnings with limited services in Santa Rosa to a program that serves multiple towns and villages throughout Western Honduras.

Asked if the trips ever get old, his response was no, they never do. Each trip has a unique aspect that often relates to his interactions with both the patients and the volunteers.

One aspect that remains consistent to him is the character of the people who give of their time and talents. Almost without fail, these volunteers make the trip with no expectations of recognition or reward. CAMO’s volunteers truly adhere to the belief that it is better to give than it is to receive.

After talking with John, Mark and other volunteers on this trip, I concluded that when Kathy Tschiegg chose to devote her life to helping the people of Honduras, she set in motion an organization that would profoundly affect the lives of the people she wanted to help. She also would profoundly affect the lives of the people who continue to come to help.

As with anything there is a beginning and there is an end. For some “newbies” this trip may be a one and done. For the “old timers” it may be a continuation of many more trips.

Regardless of what the future holds for the volunteers, the impact of CAMO and its many programs will positively help the poor and disadvantaged people of Honduras for generations to come.

– Originally published in The Daily Record