Cienfuegos Medical Clinic

 

Hola Amigos! Greetings from Santiago.

We’ve had quite a busy start to the work week over at the Cienfuegos medical clinic. Working alongside Dr. Brendaliz has been such a joy as she shares her knowledge and skill sets with us as we help her serve the people in the village of Cienfuegos. Her clinic is situated in a very poor part of the community. Many people do not even have money for clean water, much less proper medications. The community is also filled with Haitians so the clinic is always full of both Haitians and Dominicans.

Dr. Brendaliz has been a wonderful example to us as she proactively demonstrates her love for Christ to her patients and practices medicine in her own community by providing anyone in need with medications and treatment at an affordable price. She is very enthusiastic about teaching us LIFT students any medical skillsets we are willing to attempt, (after much supervision and practice) even allowing us to do injections, sonograms and administer medication Poverty, people's needs, and lack of access to medical care causes things to be different than what we experience in our culture. 

On Wednesday’s we have a pregnancy clinic where expecting mothers can come and receive a checkup and a sonogram. Interacting with the women and attempting to communicate and gather information from them by using our limited Spanish has proven to be an interesting challenge for us. The women are very patient with us and find our grammar quite entertaining. We are often a source of amusement in the waiting room!

We have enjoyed doing house calls almost daily and visiting new moms, debilitated patients and seniors who are unable to leave their homes. Sitting inside of these peoples houses and hearing their stories and their heartaches has given us a better understanding of how these impoverished people get by and with resiliency sustain their lives. It is hard to not hurt for these people as we say our goodbyes and leave. What a blessing it has been to have a glimpse into these people’s homes and lives and be able to meet a physical need while praying for their spiritual needs as we share the love and hope of Christ through our joy and love for them.

-Kaytlin Darrah