RECENT NEWS
Volunteers from the United States (August 2009)
In August, 2009 Mercy Center Lare welcomed several volunteers. A former Peace Corp volunteer who served a tour in Kenya in 2007-2008, Emily Ruppel is a graduate student at the University of Denver in the field of international development. During her six week stay in Lare, Emily used a GPS to plot the various schools, health clinics and sources of water within Lare. She worked extensively with our staff, building capacity and awareness as well as identifying and assessing current and future needs in Lare.
Board member Patrick W. Kelley MD, Ph.D. and his son John visited Lare in July. While clinic operations and patient diagnosis and care were the primary focus, Dr. Kelley was also able to assess first hand the overall use and management of our site. His observations will help both Boards in determining “next steps” in the community.
The Jasinski family is from Washington, DC area. Geraldine Jasinksi has midwife training, Dennis is a civil engineer. Their daughter, Bronte will graduate from Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in June, 2010. The Jasinski family stayed in the Guest House and worked closely with the staff and the MCL Board. Their collective experience will help our Boards in better assessing the current situation in Lare and developing an operating plan for 2010.
These volunteers combined experiences will help identify how our present resources might be organized and fine-tuned to reach out more effectively to the community at large. Emily focused on developing a comprehensive map of the community. Both Emily and Geraldine worked towards establishing some method for determining infant and maternal care and mortality. Dennis and Bronte conducted home visits, focused on our water delivery system and helped to establish a system for tracking the impact of our clean water on the community.
We are indeed fortunate to have had these skilled volunteers visit and work with our Lare staff and Board. Their combined experience and perspective will be critical to helping both Boards determine the top priorities for focusing future recourses on lifting the burden of poverty and disease from the people of Lare.
"Our experience at Mercy Center Lare was uplifting, giving confirmation that our project is needed, worthwhile and life changing."
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