on doing this work:

To Be of Use

The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again. I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who go into the fields to harvest who move in a common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put out. The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing, well done has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident. Greek amphoras for wine or oil, Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums but you know they were made to be used. The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real. Marge Piercy

(A portrait of the Artist in Residence, Cristian Lopez, at Pedro Tesak School for Creative Intelligence.)

..part of the compound where, in the closing hours of a long busy week seeing hundreds of women, our dear friends, the staff of the Clinics under Ministerio De Salud honored us with an overwhelming, over-the-top tribute to PINCC this evening in Barrio Delgado...

This came as a total surprise to all of us.

The National Army Band was there, as well as the young ones of the school in an indigenous drumming corps...complete with 10-ft-tall walking puppets to greet our arrival.

the Director of one of the clinics gave us a presentation and distributed Certificates of Appreciation to all of us on behalf of the El Salvador Ministry of Health....expressing extreme gratitude for the gift PINCC is leaving them: an electrical excision biopsy machine ($15K I am told). We were given a tour of the grounds and gardens and feted by a trio of musicians at the supper hall...

What can I say? I was (almost) speechless... (o.k., when have you ever known me to be speechless?). I only wish Dr. Kay and Pat Sax, the founding mothers of PINCC were here to receive this as they are the ones who truly deserve it.

We will be wrapping up our stay here in San Salvador tomorrow and flying down to Peru in the afternoon

Next stop: Lima

Abrazos,

Mai

DDa
Wall in the garden at our homestay, Casa Tazumal

The Goddess of Volunteers smiled on us today...ONLY 50+ women showed up...a few being hard/sad cases - and the weather being alot more humind :-/

but mostly worked through and got off early....

walked to a local cantina and let loose! a few cervezas, lots of dancing then said our goodbyes to the amazing staff at ProVida who are toiling in the trenches here in Nijapa, a very small pueblito on the outskirts of San Salvador. Side note: ProVida does not mean what you might think...they are VERY pro-women's right to quality healthcare.

Tomorrow we will be setting up at anothe clinic for our last full day here in El Salvador.

Time flies when you're having fun,

Cheers,

Mai

You know you're not in Alameda anymore when the view out your bedroom window is the lightly smoking volcano Cojutepeque visible over the rooftops in the distance.

We arrived at work ready for a busy day and got our bootys kicked! Busloads of women (110! - a PINCC record I am told.) arrived throughout the day.... We literally ran from 7:30 am till 6pm and managed to see/examine and/0r treat everyone who needed to be seen! As exhausted as we were I believe the entire team was high on accomplishment - laughing and high-5'ing each other at the end of the day.

It was a priceless feeling to work side-by-side in the trenches with our Salvadorean colleagues

to get the work done...to give these women what they needed. This is an experience that can't be bought.

Said farewell to mi miJita, (roomie) Lupita who left the team tonight and will be heading home...I MISS HER ALREADY...lucky me, she lives in Walnut Creek, 20 mins from me :-]

Only (ONLY?!) expecting 80+ tomorrow when we move to the San Martin clinic. Wish us luck.

and a good night's sleep.

Cheers, Mai

11-09-10

Our day began at 6am as We had 70 patients to be seen at the clinic beginning at 7am.

Lupita, Carol and I did an awesome teaching session with the women first...an overview of HPV, breast self-exam and what to expect from ther exam today...

Worked straight through side-by side with our companeros/companeras/trainees and managed to see every woman waiting to be seen.

In fact seven who shared their history of being sexually abused were referred to the on-site psychologist and seen the same day with appointments for follow-up therapy. That made my day. Moving to our second site tomorrow.

I was somewhat surprised and saddened by how many women my age we see who tell me they've had 8 or 9 children...only 3 or 4 living - until I thought, of course, these children would have been in ther 20's in the 1980's when a whole generation of men and women freedom- fighters lost their lives in the war.

A large group went after work to the Cathedral where the fallen martyr, Bishop Oscar Romero is entombed. (been there).

I miss our Dr. Kay but Dr Melissa is doing an amazing job of filling her unfillable shoes.

Cheers,

Mai

Arrived at Clinica de Salud, San Jacinto early this am to a LONG line of women waiting...and the pleaure of many competent trainees...worked through the day managing to see/examine/treat 64 women! Our new PINCC Med Director. Dr. Melissa from Texas was a pro.

(only one invasive lesion required a referral for surgery...SO thankful she came in today!)

Our Registration staff, Jan, a psychotherapist was treated to a surprise birthday cake by the Clinica staff at the end of the day. Que carinoso

The work went extremely well all things considered...and we will be certifying staff there after another busy day tomorrow (another 70 women expected).

one eeky cultural side note: Can't help wincing at the site of 3 or 4 kids riding loose in the back of a pick-up truck whizzing down the highway! A common site here. (egadz...organ-donormobile?)

Now to put my feet up and enjoy a Salvadorean cerveza..

Cheers, Mai.

a day of fun...and remembrance...

Visited the Centro de Arte y Paz Y Reconciliacion' in Suchitoto...a testament to the strenth of these people to overcome war and oppression and make a peaceful life for themselves here.

Most of our group took a boatride around the lake which is a bird sanctuary as well.

Now to prepare for a big day in the Clinic tomorrow...

love.

mai