The heart of El Sauce lies at the center of the El Sauce municipality, within the province of Leon in the Northwest Region of Nicaragua. The municipality of El Sauce is comprised of 11 health sectors, and has a population of about 30,000 people.
El Sauce is a quiet town with cobbled streets and bicycle taxis; friendly people and stray dogs; a beautiful church and a delicious ice cream shop; a busy clinic and brand new hospital under construction. It is still quite a shock to be living in a place that is so different from Sahsa – from the hotel we are staying in to the internet cafés we are frequenting. Though El Sauce center has many of the amenities of a Nicaraguan city, the health infrastructure still lags, and most of the people in the surrounding towns live in impoverished rural areas with limited access to health care. We were able to deliver some basic medical supplies to the Health Center in El Sauce town, and the doctors and nurses there were thrilled to receive the much-needed supplies that medical professionals in the US certainly take for granted. The ‘Sauceño’ health workers were most excited about the goggles and gowns, saying that they knew they were supposed to be using such things, but that they had not been available.
The UNC team worked hard on the survey for many days – piloting, adjusting, translating, and learning from each other and the Nicaraguans who have been graciously aiding us in our endeavor. Though at times the process of finalizing the survey was taxing, the result of our hard work and endless scrutiny is a product we are proud of. We look forward to getting out into the field and using the skills we have practiced to engage the community of El Sauce in a project that we hope will eventually bring more health resources to the area. And, of course, we are excited for the opportunity to improve our ability to speak Spanish.
The UNC team worked hard on the survey for many days – piloting, adjusting, translating, and learning from each other and the Nicaraguans who have been graciously aiding us in our endeavor. Though at times the process of finalizing the survey was taxing, the result of our hard work and endless scrutiny is a product we are proud of. We look forward to getting out into the field and using the skills we have practiced to engage the community of El Sauce in a project that we hope will eventually bring more health resources to the area. And, of course, we are excited for the opportunity to improve our ability to speak Spanish.
No comments:
Post a Comment