Fudem

Yes, that is a real word, although I have no idea what it means. It may be an acronym, I don't know.   But Fudem is one of HELP's non-profit partner organizations in El Salvador.  If you speak Spanish, you can check out their website here.  But if you don't, I will give you the basic rundown . . .

They are mostly focused on vision, but are breaking in the area of dental health as well (that's another story.)  They have vision clinics in two major cities in El Salvador (and are building a third) where they have optometrists and opthamologists.  They provide glasses and do surgeries.  Their facilities are VERY nice for El Salvador.  Anyone can come to the clinic and they pay for their services according to their means.  Those who are able to pay full price help to subsidize the cost of the ones who can't. One of the main things that makes them unique though, is that they do outreach clinics everyday.  They do visual acuity testing and eye screening in schools and communities all over the country.  They are well-known for what they do and the numbers they have served, I would guess, are well into the hundreds of thousands.

What the HELP volunteers are doing with them this year is two-fold.  We volunteer with them at their outreach clinics, allowing them to speed the process and see more people in one day.  And we are also working with them on putting together educational materials - how to care for your glasses, how to avoid eye infections and how to treat it if it occurs, how to identify vision problems in children, etc. 

I got to visit their San Salvador clinic while I was there and I got to participate in an outreach clinic.  We even got sweet orange t-shirts to wear (too bad they only had XLs).  The clinic we helped with was a follow up at a school where they had gone and tested all 600+ kids a couple days before.  Now, the children who were referred for glasses or something further were to come with their parents.  The parents, other family, or really any community members could come on this day to be screened and tested as well.  I helped with the registration and with the visual acuity.  Another one of our volunteers was taught to use the autorefracter, which I think checks for cataracts?

A couple of interesting things I saw while doing this.  One, there were not nearly as many vision problems there that day as I had see when did the same thing last year in Uganda.  And most people could at least read the letters on the chart, whereas many people in Uganda last summer could not.  And two, I couldn't believe how many kids that were coming back for glasses could hardly read the top large letters.  And some of them looked like they were about 11 or 12.  How had they survived in school this long?!  How were they possibly learning?!  I was so happy that they would leave that day being able to see!

A Snapshot, with more to come

Since it is really hard to do anything with pictures here and since I hardly have anytime to sit at the internet cafe, my blog posts and updates have been lacking.  Sorry.  The last post I did was actually from a friend´s house who is here working for the US Embassy, so that was relatively easy, but I don´t think I´ll have that luxury again, and soon I will be home and then I will have all the time in the world to write and put pictures on. :)

So here´s a quick briefing on what I´ve been up to, besides riding buses and taking cold showers. And of course, when I get back you will get the full description with pictures, but until then you will just have to wait and wonder.

--We taught Square Foot Gardening in a rural community.  This included gathering rocks from the river, digging, and getting really sweaty and dirty.  The women who came to the demonstration were to go home and set up their own garden and if they did, we promised to bring chicken wire and seeds next time we come.

--We teach English classes on four different levels.  This will help them get better jobs and give them a leg up here in the city.  Our advanced class is being trained to continue teaching the classes after we are gone for the summer.

--We work at an "orphanage" that is kind of like a foster home.  It is for kids and teens who have been taken out of bad home situations, who were abandoned or some were pulled off the streets.  It is supposed to be temporary (2 mos) but many of them have been there for over 6 mos and some are there indefinitely.  The director there is amazing.

--We partner with an organization that does visual testing, provides glasses, and surgery if necessary.  It is very similar to what I did in Uganda last year, but they do these outreach travel clinics everyday, and they are very good at it.  We are also working with this organization to create some educational materials.

--We work with a special needs orphanage doing recreational therapy, communication boards and other activities.  I have been there a couple times, but it´s been years.  It was an interesting experience.  I´ll have to write more later.

--We are working with the biggest children´s hospital in Central America to re-do their signage, which has been incomplete and ineffective for years.  It will include a system of symbols and colors since so many people can´t read.  We also volunteer their, playing with the children and doing small tasks.  Some children are there for months and have no family nearby.

--We work with Habitat for Humanity helping at the work sites and we are also putting together a basic first aid training program for the site managers.  This will include putting together first aid kits for each site and showing them where to but the materials so they can keep the kits updated.

--We volunteer with an outreach dental program that does cleanings, fillings and sealants in schools and communities around San Salvador.

--We will be teaching basic business classes with a game called the BEST game with an organization that gives micro loans and wants to move more into the social development realm.

So this is obviously brief, and I promise it will be much more interesting with pictures, but just wanted to let you know what I been doing here!

Oh, and PS you can click on the links on the side if you want to see more of what HELP International is doing this summer.  There are some amazing things going on!

Warm Water, Cold Showers

How it is in El Salvador (at least for me):

• Freezing cold showers, which you think would feel good given that it is generally at least 90 degrees + humidity outside, but it is still a shock everytime.
• Bottled water is the ONLY acceptable drinking water, and it is always luke warm.  Even if I put it in the freezer the night before, it melts and is warm by 10 or 11am.
• Public "chicken buses" are the main mode of transportation, the type where you have to use your hand sanitizer when you're done and where you might get a seat and if you don't, you just have to hold on for dear life - or you just sway with the crowd of people standing ALL around. 
• I have gotten my excercise program started with lots and lots of walking, hauling rocks and trying to dig up clay.
• If you add together the heat, the stuffy, crowded buses, and walking up and down hills, it makes for lots of sweatiness.  I am usually soaked, but its okay, because everyone else is too.  Wet and stinky is just a part of life here in El Salvador.
• I have my own cot to sleep on and feel quite lucky to have my own fan since I live in a house of 20 people.  5 males, the rest women, makes for some tough negotiating for bathroom time.
• I have actually been working on projects and meeting with our partner organizations.  All of the humanitarian service and community development we do here is with a established, locally based organizations - some government funded, some religiously affiliated and others private.
• I am missing my boys but am so glad for phones that are only 10 cents a minute.  I have been able to talk to Russ and the boys almost everyday.
• Other things that defined this week - late nights, either with meetings or talking with volunteers or the Country Directors; early mornings, we generally leave the house around 6am or 7 at the latest; yummy latin food made by our "mamita", Estela; several quick runs to the bathroom; riding in the back of pick-up trucks (going 80miles per hour); and lots of improvement in my Spanish, I can still speak after all these years!

And for your viewing pleasure, a few pics of El Salvador . . .

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

And yes, I am sitting on the computer when I should be packing or sleeping or something like that.  Actually I am pretty much ready to go and I don't leave until 1pm tomorrow, so hopefully I can hang out and have a nice morning with my boys before we head to the airport.
So, since so many people give me that "smile and nod" look when I tell them I am going to El Salvador, I thought I would give a little bit more info.

El Salvador is the smallest and also the most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. 90% of Salvadorans are mestizo (mixed Native American and European origin).   El Salvador is only 1% indigenous.  There are very few Native Americans due to the  the deliberate massacres in 1932 which the Salvadoran military murdered somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 peasants, and the recent civil war in which tens of thousands of Salvadorans fled to Honduras and Guatemala. 

El Salvador has some rainforests, but those are being depleted by farmers.  Though some are now protected.  It has several rivers and lakes, some of which are enclosed in volcanic craters and some of which are man made.  El Salvador has a tropical climate and beautiful beaches.  Because of the recent civil war (ending in 1992), the tourism industry is just beginning to grow.  El Salvador is definitely an undiscovered gem.  - That's my shortened version, if you want to read more, click here for wikipedia or here for the World Factbook.

As far as what I will be doing, you can check out this blog and get some idea.  And hopefully I will be posting regular updates very soon . . .

Wish me luck!

Am I setting a bad precedent?

Two years old = two birthday celebrations.  This could get difficult in years to come.

But this year it worked out great!

On his actual birthDAY, we played at the park, had a yummy dinner and then had ice cream sundaes with Grandma and Grandpa.

Then we had a fun birthday BBQ with some friends and had a great time!  It had rained and been yucky most of the day, but we lucked out.  In fact, when we left our house, it was still sprinkling, and when we got to Grandma's house 15 min away - it was perfect weather!  His party was a "farm" theme, so what better place to have than where you can play with goats and chickens and horses and cows (although we pretty much just watched the horses and cows).   Russ said he really likes this kind of party, as compared to the other type that I usually plan, because we actually got to hang out and relax.  I liked it too. 

Playing in the yard:

Eating yummy dinner:

Frosting our own cupcakes - we made piggies, chickens, and cows:

And I think everyone's favorite was the zipline.  One for the little kids:

Colton's first time!  Sent by his dad, of course, I looked up about half way through and almost had a heart attack!  But he loved it and will probably do it many more times...

 And the one for the big "kids":

I think everyone had a good time, it was perfect for all ages and easy for mom.  And the birthday boy was happy.  That's what really counts.  Love you Colton!

Camping at Yuba

Our first camping trip of the season over Memorial Day had everything boys love . . .

Hiking and looking for arrowheads:

Fishing:

Playing in the mud:

Boating:

Climbing on rocks and finding caves:

And s'mores of course!

I love these boys!  Can't wait for more camping adventures this summer!