Brigades Archives - Page 5 of 25 - Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc.

August 19, 2017August 4, 2023

I Have Yet to Experience Greater Job Satisfaction!

By Haley (Rapp) Chipol – Volunteer (2017)

Haley (Rapp) Chipol (back row, far right)

Hello Friends,

I hope you’re all well! I’ve attempted to write this reflection more than once, but I haven’t made it very far.

I was a volunteer with Shoulder to Shoulder, in the department of Intibucá, Honduras, from January to August 2017. My role was Assistant Brigade Coordinator. I helped organize medical service trips of professionals and students. We set up mobile clinics to assist those in remote areas lacking care. Maybe you’re wondering, why write this now? My answer is, it’s time. As we hear about immigration daily, I’m reminded of people I met and the reality of life there. Now married and with a newborn son, my ability to serve has changed. It might not be much, but I’d like to share more if you’re interested in helping.

There are so many stories I could write about, but the main word in all of them would be RESILIENCY. Just about every task is harder there, almost all work being done by hand. What a blessing it is to have running water in your home, showering when you want or washing clothes. How great it is to have access to medical care, especially for mental health. The lack of sufficient assistance, jobs, and water make for a difficult environment. Poverty is a reality that is often cyclical as people are just working to live. Individuals do what must be done to support their families, but also still give to others. The genuineness I experienced has left me with a deep sense of connection. With everything stripped away, our similarities were evident and helped us relate. I’ll forever remember the conversations and food shared with strangers and friends. The fighting spirit of those I met is inspiring as is their example of sacrifice. It’s hard to forget the woman in her eighties who walked four hours to receive glasses and ibuprofen or the parents who left kids behind to get better jobs. I have trouble reconciling that reality with my own as I look at my current surroundings, my heart won’t let me.

So, I’m asking you to consider helping Shoulder to Shoulder in their mission. They’re working to provide medical care, running a nutrition program, and have a bilingual school. Full time employees are Hondurans and all US doctors and staff are volunteers. Maybe you can donate something or know someone who’d like to volunteer on a medical brigade or long term. I have yet to experience greater job satisfaction! I was certainly challenged personally and spiritually, but grew because of it. Above all, I ask that you keep the people of Honduras in your thoughts and prayers. Please visit Shoulder to Shoulder’s website (www.shouldertoshoulder.org) to learn more about the organization and the necessary work they’re doing.

A fellow volunteer (Matt Tibbitts) created a great video; it will give you an idea of where I was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euFg0-x1RNs

Thanks for your support!

August 10, 2017June 16, 2023

Thanks For the Visit

Laura and I always try to be as present as possible to the medical service trip groups that visit us. They are the backbone of this organization, embodying an ethos of compassionate and just service to those in the most desperate need. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible as other demands can draw us away. It has been a hectic couple of months for Laura and I. We have two social work intern students with us, and volunteers coming and going. The education mission is advancing. Duke University and Project HEAL has five students with us for five weeks holding investigations into some pressing social issues for Camasca and Southern Intibucá. But the real kicker was spending two weeks in Washington, DC and Ohio with seven high school students and two professors for the FIRST Global robotics competition. In the midst of this, Brown / Wingate came to Guachipilincito.

It was a very small brigade, seven, unpretentious if you will. The competent and veteran leadership of Dr. Wayne Hale and Shawn Taylor, a Doctor of Pharmacy from Wingate, led the small group. One pharmacy student, My Linh Tran, and one dentist, Herbert Vu, filled out the small team. David and Jack, two undergraduate students, also joined up with the brigade team. Both of them stayed on in Honduras for an additional week; Jack coming to Camasca and David staying in Guachipilincito. Joseph Swartz, a construction expert, who had come with the group last year, repaired and renewed the plumbing system at the clinic.
I was so happy to meet up with the group. If not for them deciding to visit us at the bilingual school we would have missed them entirely. According to Dr. Hale, with just one provider they still managed to see about thirty patients a day. Brown is so familiar with their community that whether they are a small group or a large one, they serve the people with ease and familiarity. They do what they do so well and have built lasting and meaningful relationships with the community.

We had the good fortune to show off the bilingual school. Judging from their smiles as they presented themselves in the classrooms, they enjoyed their time with us. They also saw Camasca and our house. It was such a pleasure to host them. Laura and I play such a small part in the incredible service Brown / Wingate offers. We are really nothing more than facilitators. But with each team that comes here, and especially Brown / Wingate, it is so nice to have the opportunity to extend our gratitude. We do this on behalf of Shoulder to Shoulder, but as importantly on behalf of the people they serve so faithfully. We were honored to have had the opportunity to host them.

Thank you Brown / Wingate for visiting us. We most certainly appreciate the steady, humble service you offer without a demand for recognition. Come back and visit us anytime. Our door is always open.

July 2, 2017August 4, 2023

It Happened In The Rain

I have written a blog for every one of the brigade groups that have visited us in Honduras since Laura and I came to Shoulder to Shoulder almost three years ago. First, I think it is the least that we can do to celebrate and thank these groups that offer so much in the ongoing presence and mission of Shoulder to Shoulder. Second, I take some personal pride in being able to do this. But, on occasion we have not been as present to the brigade groups as we would like to be. That, unfortunately, was the case with the Virginia Commonwealth University / Fairfax Family Practice Centers / SAGE who were recently with us at their clinic in Pinares, San Marcos de La Sierra. Laura and I took a short vacation to the United States the day after they arrived.

Sandra Tandeciarz, one of the brigade leaders

19420778_10101819053988173_3493181690388755542_n — Michael Filak, one of the brigade leaders

We were fortunate to spend some time with the group on their first night in a hotel in La Esperanza. But we were off very early the next morning to catch our plane while they headed in the opposite direction to serve the people of Pinares. We had opportunity to speak with some of the leaders of the brigade about their ongoing work in Pinares. We are excited and encouraged by the continuing plans SAGE has to service the people of Pinares in development work even when the brigades are not here.

I don’t have much more to report other than what has been related to me by others. Jett is the pharmacist who has now come to Pinares twice with the group. The photos that you are enjoying have come courtesy of him. He was gracious in offering them to me, and as I asked him how the brigade went, he reported, “This brigade was certainly fantastic. The providers and students showed that a real team based healthcare system can work and that it can benefit any community.” This is certainly always true of VCU / FFPC / SAGE. There were a lot of teenagers on this trip, acting as translators and volunteering with the children. They seemed to bring a youthful spark to the activities. Jett’s photos certainly suggest that the smiles and laughter accompanied the brigade and extended to the children and families.

Edman, our Brigade Coordinator, shared with me that the brigade went well. Because I know them so well, I’m sure it was true. Still, Edman also shared that it rained constantly. Well, it is the rainy season and we get even more of it in this part of Honduras than others. The rain might have dampened the grounds, but never the spirits. Perhaps it even made some roads impassable by vehicle, but not by foot. It couldn’t stop VCU / FFPC from getting to where they were needed most, even when it took them three hours of hiking. It couldn’t stop their enthusiasm, and it certainly couldn’t stop the laughter and joy the group always creates.

Thanks for coming. We’ll be sure to be here when you come again.

photographs courtesy of Jett Nymann Paraoan