Midwives and Rural Outposts: A Trip to Santa Rosa, Day 4 Jan. 7

We began our adventure to Santa Rosa by leaving early in the morning. We traveled on the microbus for 2.5 hours through good, bad, and worse roads. Luckily for the Nicaraguans, many of the roads we traveled on were in midst of paving; however with many world grant funds being frozen due to economic or political reasons, the future of these projects is uncertain--only 10% of Nicaragua´s roads are paved. We were accompanied on this sojourn by the group of art teachers from the PGL-León Art School who were collecting images of the Santa Rosa projects for a future mural.

Upon arriving in Santa Rosa, we toured a health clinic. Much like the hospital, supplies and resources are scarce. This clinic services the city of Santa Rosa services over 33 rural communities and 4 municipalities--hundreds of thousands of people--with only 10 doctors and a few nurses. Still the work that they do provides needed care in this isolated group of communities.

After our tour of the clinic, we walked around Santa Rosa and saw the sister-school to Urbana High School, Md. This PGL project has fostered cultural exchange and understanding between the 2 high schools, and an Urbana delegation has visited and stayed in Santa Rosa in the past.

A block from the school stood the Casa Materna, which is a building constucted by the relationship between PGL and Project León Minnesota. Several midwives told stories from decades of experience serving the Santa Rosa area. The director and most experienced midwife shared with us the past vision of the facility and present and future plans for the center. One of the messages belayed to our group was continued frustrations with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health. A few years ago the government made a transition from rural midwife delivery to an institutional model prohibiting midwives from delivering babies. The midwives share continued frustrations becauser the clinics are over capacitated and the women prefer midwife deliveries. Now the Casa Materna functions as a temporary home for expecting mother from distant areas--as far as 9 km away. Here, pregnant women and their families wait comfortably until the birth of the baby at the nearby health clinic. The women return to their communities a few days after delivery--sometimes transported via hammock, carried by 2 men, back to their home.

Thanks for reading. We´ll be out of touch for a day or so since we´ll be at a rural coffee co-op Porvenir. Chau.

Making soup

Making soup
Originally uploaded by cps_pgl

A variety of ingredients for soup - bananas and root vegatables.

Casa de Materna

Casa de Materna
Originally uploaded by cps_pgl

Trip leader Dave Neagley '09 stands in front of Casa de Materna (maternity house), where pregnant women from rural areas can stay before giving birth so that the are close to a clinic. PGL funds were used to build the house and support the program.

Local transportation

Local transportation
Originally uploaded by cps_pgl

A local Nicaraguan using a common and sustainable form of transportation.

Go Steelers!

Go Steelers!
Originally uploaded by cps_pgl

First-year student C.W. discovered that there are Pittsburgh Steelers fans in Nicaragua, too.

Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa
Originally uploaded by cps_pgl

Students photograph the scenes while walking in Santa Rosa.

PGL projects and health, crazy day 3 Jan. 5

Today we started with a 4 1/2 hour tour of historic and modern León. We visited the indigenous section of León and various cathedrals. Later we went to a prison (carcel) that was used during the revolutionary times by the National Guard (guardia nacional) and later converted into a folklore museum. We had some freshly-squeezed juices for a treat, and then toured one of the largest maximum security prisons used during the revolution. It is a bittersweet experience on two levels. Here stands a prison which incarcerated thousands of people over political-ideological disputes; on one side, you have one of the prettiest views of León and on the other side, stands the regions only landfill. The multi colored garbage blankets several acres of land, and litter is scattered everywhere, including the road that leads to the prison. Buzzards and bugs are everywhere and several local extremely poor people scavenged the dump for food and supplies.

After lunch we met with PGL coordinator Felice and began to learn about the PGL projects developing in León. We then talked with a Nicaraguan doctor, Dr. Lau, who took us to the only public hospital in León. We visited each floor: ER, OB/GYN, Radiology, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Maternity, et al. We were alarmed by the lack of basic medical supplies: gloves, alcohol, sheets, beds, mattresses, and what we would consider as necessary equipment for a functioning hospital: functioning x-ray equipment, beds (las camas) for delivery, wheelchairs, etc. We learned from the doctors that often they don´t have medicines to give out or even regulators to help people receive oxygen. Or enough incubators to warm babies post delivery.

We processed this experience afterwards with some current Nicaraguan medical students (estudiantes) around our ages--one recently graduated from medical school at age 22! They shared some of the experiences from a students perspective as they have trained to become doctors. Since many students in this delegation are interested in applying to medical school, our group realized the large amount of dedication one must have to complete medical training in the US and in Nicaragua.

We wrapped up our day up by returning to our host families for dinner. Tomorrow we are excited to head to another PGL supported community (la comunidad), Santa Rosa, very early in the morning! Hasta pronto!