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New Clinic Provides New Hope for Remote Community by Kyle Huhtanen
Dalila Benitez is a mother, wife, health committee member, and survivor. She has lived in the village of Porvenir Wasparani for over 10 years, having immigrated from villages farther down the mountain. She and her husband came, as many have come, over the last 40 years to acquire new land in the frontier region. She left better accommodations to live in primitive conditions. She is convicted that with hard work, this community and her two small children will develop and her family will grow up healthy.
Each day, she has struggles in an imperfect world. Sometimes she is downtrodden with the daily events of her community that include domestic violence, family disagreements, land battles, deficient schools, and disunity in community leadership.
One beacon of light in her life, however, is her work in the last three years with the Health Committee (which is a partnership her community has with Predisan and the Honduran Ministry of Health.) This committee's work offers hope for resolving problems with malnutrition, providing vaccinations, and addressing prevalent but preventable diseases, as they support the nurse, health promoter, and chaplain in this remote community.
The construction of the new WASPARANI clinic for this community is a way to put Dalila's visions of the future into action. The inauguration of this new construction brought many visitors, including the municipal authorities and even the mayor and representatives of Third Lens ministry from Atlanta, Georgia, a principal donor in the construction process. During the program, everyone took notice of how the health committee's role is an important participant and partner in community health care . This clinic is now included in one of the 7 Predisan rural clinics. Each clinic has on staff an auxiliary nurse, and the clinic serves the purpose of meeting general medical needs and is prepared for medical emergencies, as well as providing for other basic needs like routine yearly check-ups for all ages. Patients can get medical treatment for symbolic fees. The construction of the Wasparani Clinic would not have been possible without the partnership of Third Lens in Atlanta, Georgia.
Because of the building of this clinic, the downtrodden spirits are lifted and hope is given to people like Dalila. The head once again goes high of mother and wife Dalila. She is a proud participant, a leader in something that promises a profoundly better future.
Dalila has been involved with the Health Committee over the last three years. Having grown up in nearby Capapan Dalila has known of Predisan services in the different areas of the mountains all her life.
Health is the foundation of a town and a city. Predisan puts ideas into action through the help of donations, while keeping the opinions and needs of the community in mind. Now people like Dalila can experience empowerment in her community through the contributions of important partners like Third Lens and Predisan.
Click here to see video of the journey volunteers and staff celebrating by cutting the ribbon.
Please click here to see photos from these events and the progress of the clinic in Wasparani.
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