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Our trip- Oct 2009
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The trip part 1
So here's my attempt at a summary of the recent trip. I'm going to try to break it down by area and then ask those who were on the trip (especially those who were in places I wasn't) to add to the blog.
We began our trip with an early AM (3:30) departure from JFK airport . We packed our medications and supplies in duffle bags and soft trunks and our clothes and toiletries in our carry ons. We had ~ 22-24 bags that were loaded on the plane as we headed off for San Salvador. We all attempted to get some sleep as we knew we would be hitting the ground running on our 7:30 AM arrival.
The flight was uneventful. I will say that its great that TACA still serves food on their flights and personally I thought what they served was pretty good but as people who know me will attest, I'll eat anything and think its good.
Customs went better than it usually does on these trips. We spent less time waiting for inspection of our meds and supplies than we have on any other trip. Having help from representatives of the First Lady's office couldn't have hurt us and it was a pleasure to not spend several hours for clearance. Even better was when we realized that the bus we were going to be using was air-conditioned and comfortable. Anyone who's travelled across El Salvador in a school bus will tell you how important good transportation is. This was a dream bus.
And so it was that we entered San Salvador, tired but exhilerated. We were off to the women's jail......
So here's my attempt at a summary of the recent trip. I'm going to try to break it down by area and then ask those who were on the trip (especially those who were in places I wasn't) to add to the blog.
We began our trip with an early AM (3:30) departure from JFK airport . We packed our medications and supplies in duffle bags and soft trunks and our clothes and toiletries in our carry ons. We had ~ 22-24 bags that were loaded on the plane as we headed off for San Salvador. We all attempted to get some sleep as we knew we would be hitting the ground running on our 7:30 AM arrival.
The flight was uneventful. I will say that its great that TACA still serves food on their flights and personally I thought what they served was pretty good but as people who know me will attest, I'll eat anything and think its good.
Customs went better than it usually does on these trips. We spent less time waiting for inspection of our meds and supplies than we have on any other trip. Having help from representatives of the First Lady's office couldn't have hurt us and it was a pleasure to not spend several hours for clearance. Even better was when we realized that the bus we were going to be using was air-conditioned and comfortable. Anyone who's travelled across El Salvador in a school bus will tell you how important good transportation is. This was a dream bus.
And so it was that we entered San Salvador, tired but exhilerated. We were off to the women's jail......
The trip part 2 - The women's jail
A 45-50 minute trip north from the airport, San Salvador is a relatively large sprawling city. It was interesting to watch the looks on the faces of many of our team who were on their first trip to El Salvador. For many it was their first encounter with what true poverty looks like. I remember being stunned on my first trip many years ago.
We had known we were going to the women's jail on the request of the First Lady. We were asked to assess the health of the children who live with their mothers in the jail if they are under 5 years of age. I think we all had a notion of children behind bars and squalorous conditions so when we arrived at a gated compound in the city I think we were all taken by surprise. The jail was more like a minimum security facility with small seperate buildings, well kept grounds and people moving relatively freely within the gates.
The first thing we had to do was get numbers for the female members of our trip so they could get out when we left. The numbers identified them as visitors, not inmates, although sometimes there's a fine line between the two. After posing for a photo op we entered the jail courtyard to see patients.
The jail courtyard is a large square with buildings surrounding around it. The buidlings have an extended roof that goes into the square forming a walkway around the courtyard. Under one wing of this area, numerous women sat with their infants. Many were nursing their babies. Several were pregnant. All in all it was relatively subdued for as many people as were present.
We met the pediatrician who worked at the jail and cared for the children 5 daysa week. She updated us on the current level of care of the children, her needs for medications and supplies and we discussed how we could help her. We set up to do anemia screening on the children and Jen Chao and Carlos Barahona saw the children along with the local pediatrician. We found a significant portion o ft eh 0-2 year old population to be anemic and iron supplementation was prescribed
A 45-50 minute trip north from the airport, San Salvador is a relatively large sprawling city. It was interesting to watch the looks on the faces of many of our team who were on their first trip to El Salvador. For many it was their first encounter with what true poverty looks like. I remember being stunned on my first trip many years ago.
We had known we were going to the women's jail on the request of the First Lady. We were asked to assess the health of the children who live with their mothers in the jail if they are under 5 years of age. I think we all had a notion of children behind bars and squalorous conditions so when we arrived at a gated compound in the city I think we were all taken by surprise. The jail was more like a minimum security facility with small seperate buildings, well kept grounds and people moving relatively freely within the gates.
The first thing we had to do was get numbers for the female members of our trip so they could get out when we left. The numbers identified them as visitors, not inmates, although sometimes there's a fine line between the two. After posing for a photo op we entered the jail courtyard to see patients.
The jail courtyard is a large square with buildings surrounding around it. The buidlings have an extended roof that goes into the square forming a walkway around the courtyard. Under one wing of this area, numerous women sat with their infants. Many were nursing their babies. Several were pregnant. All in all it was relatively subdued for as many people as were present.
We met the pediatrician who worked at the jail and cared for the children 5 daysa week. She updated us on the current level of care of the children, her needs for medications and supplies and we discussed how we could help her. We set up to do anemia screening on the children and Jen Chao and Carlos Barahona saw the children along with the local pediatrician. We found a significant portion o ft eh 0-2 year old population to be anemic and iron supplementation was prescribed
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