Report of VOSH-Connecticut Mission
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
January 7-14, 2012
VOSH-Connecticut held its eleventh annual eye care clinic in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua on January 7-14, 2012. This was the fourteenth year of service at this site to the San Juan del Sur area, the eleventh under the auspices of VOSH-Connecticut, along with three previous missions under the auspices of VOSH-NECO. The team consisted of six Connecticut Optometrists led by Dr. Matthew Blondin and included: Dr. Jerry Hardison (9th VOSH-CT mission), Dr. Brian Lynch (11th VOSH-CT mission) (CAO Legislative Liaison), Dr. Abby Quinn (10th VOSH-CT mission), Dr. Robert Mingrone(4th VOSH-CT mission), Dr. Thomas Margius (3rdVOSH-CT mission) and we had an additional 31 mission members including Dr. Danielle LeFever from California, 16 Berkeley Optometry students, a Dispensary Chief and Assistants, Translators, Pre-testers and other mission volunteers.
 As in years past, approximately 50 local residents assisted with the clinic duties, led for the twelfth time by local doctor Dra. Rosa Elena Bello. Many of these local volunteers have been with us for all 14 years. Dra. Rosa Elena Bello continues to do a terrific job in getting and coordinating the patients for the clinic, and we continue to be very grateful for all of the help and assistance she has provided to us over the many years of service in and around San Juan del Sur. Dra. Rosa Elena also took several of the high school and college student volunteers to the local clinic and women's shelter for a view of health care and social services in Nicaragua, which the students appreciated it very much.
 In addition to the three thousand pairs of glasses that were purchased by VOSH-Connecticut from the Virginia Lions Club, 3,000 pairs of sunglasses & 300 pairs of readers were purchased by VOSH-CT. Continuing problems & issues with customs forced us to transport a number of supply bags ourselves with the assistance of several mission members. Going forward, each mission member will be asked to transport one supply bag.
 The clinic was held for the fourteenth year at the Centro Escolar Enmanuel Mongalo y Rubio. It was set up Sunday, January 8, 2012 with 6 examination rooms, a pre-testing room for height and weight, dispensary & lunchroom. The clinic officially opened on Monday, January 9, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. Breakfast was provided each day by VOSH-Connecticut beginning at 7:00 a.m. Patients were seen from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., with a break for lunch provided by VOSH-Connecticut from 1:00-2:00 p.m. Clinic then resumed from 2:00-5:00 p.m. As in the past, VOSH-Connecticut provided for all expenses for both mission members and local volunteers relating to the clinic including breakfast, snack, lunch, at a cost to VOSH-CT of $1,200 for the 4 day mission. Certificates of appreciation and participation were given to all participating mission members, both local and VOSH-CT, at the end of the clinic.
Over the four-day clinic period, we saw 2,772 patients broken down as follows:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Total
1/09/12 1/10/12 1/11/12 1/12/12
555 700 759 758 2,772
Over the past 10 years, we have seen at total of 26,923 patients broken down as follows:
(2003-3,158) (2004-2,530) (2005-2,607) (2006-2,283) (2007-2,359) (2008-2,428) (2009-2,674)
(2010-2,853) (2011-3,259) (2012-2772).
We now see many of the same patients year after year, as our yearly clinic remains the only source of eye health care for a large part of southern Nicaraguan population, and we are all very appreciative of the opportunity to provide continuing care to those in need.
Conditions throughout the southern Nicaraguan area and in the San Juan del Sur area in particular are glum at best. There are no jobs and little if any hope for economic improvement.
Despite the constitutional calls for democratic elections and term limits, Daniel Ortega once again was sworn in as President while we were there and it's very interesting to see how the entire satellite television spectrum-every channel-were shut down during the inauguration only carrying that one event for an entire day.
The weather was sunny and calm and not overly hot throughout the mission. Common pathologies continue to be encountered including cataracts, pterygia, glaucoma, corneal foreign bodies, toxoplasmosis, tape worms, dry eye syndrome, conjunctivitis, retinal disease, hypertension and some cancers. Our paid security staff returned once again, and provided excellent & safe services for all not only at the gate but at each exam room as well. Follow-up treatment facilities continue to be lacking, and while lists of names were kept of needed patient cataract surgeries, patients often remain untreated with little or no further treatment options available.
 Escalating mission costs continue to present a challenge. Total mission expenditures are now over $10,000 per mission, funded solely through volunteer donations solicited primarily by myself through the CAO, as well as through our yearly mission fees and the generosity of our close friends and associates. We continue to be appreciative of the generosity of the members of the CAO, as well as our mission members who give so generously not only of their time but financially as well.
Nicaragua continues to struggle in these on-going difficult economic times with no good end in sight. As the world-wide economy has continued to deteriorate and stagnate, the poor get poorer and the divide between the rich and poor grows ever wider, especially in a place of huge economic and cultural disparity like Nicaragua. We all try and do the best that we can with the limited resources available to us, and once again, as our mission came to a close, mission members came away with a great deal of self satisfaction knowing that a great many in need were helped by their generous and unselfish efforts. VOSH-CT continues to be grateful to all of those, both here and in Nicaragua, who work together as one to provide eye care to so many who otherwise would have none.
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