Our first brigada!

Teams A and B joined forces today as we went out with Dr. Víctor to Guaimaca for our first brigada. As I mentioned previously, the brigadas are the main focus of Unite For Sight's efforts. These outings provide impoverished patients with the opportunity to have an eye exam, obtain glasses, or receive a referral for surgery at the clinic in Tegucigalpa if needed, all free of charge. Dr. Víctor conducts all of the brigadas and dedicates endless hours to these patients. I cannot imagine how he must operate on the occasions in which he doesn't have five volunteers helping him!


Because the brigadas function a little differently than the clinic and because there were fewer patients, we were able to take more pictures today, so I thought I would give you all a "visual tour" of our brigada.

We set up camp at a facility that usually hosts activities for a children's organization and for the Special Olympics' events of the area. When patients would arrive, they would visit Marta at the front desk, the contact person in Guaimaca who arranged for Dr. Víctor to come. She gave each person a number for their place in line.

First, the patients had their visual acuity tested using the "E" chart.

Then, they were sent to have their measurements taken at the auto-refractor station. This auto-refractor is a bit different than the one we use in the clinic. This one is hand-held and takes measurements in a more automated fashion, making it a much more practical instrument for our mobile brigadas.

After the two preliminary tests, the patients waited in line to visit with Dr. Víctor for their in-depth eye examination. He accessed the needs of each patient and prescribed reading glasses, referred them to an optics clinic if they needed glasses for distance, referred a select few patients for surgery, and/or prescribed eye drops.

If the patient needed reading glasses, they would finish their visit by coming to us at the glasses distribution table. There they could pick out and try on glasses according to Dr. Víctor's prescription to take home with them.

There was a lot of waiting time for some of the patients, so some of the kids who came with them needed entertaining! We gladly accepted the challenge!

This little boy was really interested in Nayasha's camera!

Víctor knows all about where to find the best food and treats when we're on the road. All along the way to and from the outreach locations, there are little stores like this one, called pulperías, that sell food, drinks, and other little trinkets. Víctor tooks us to this particular pulpería because of their special homemade candy that can't be found anywhere else!

The pulpería also had a pet monkey...
A special shout out to my fellow LCMers who went on the Spring Break trip to Costa Rica: ¡Hola, mono!

On the way back to Tegucigalpa, we got a few cool shots of the city as we passed through the mountains that surround it.

Fun day! I had a great time at our first brigada and I'm really looking forward to our next one! It was also neat to spend time with and to get to know Víctor. He is obviously very experienced in dealing with volunteers. He speaks articulately and clearly, so we understood him right off the bat, and although he is pretty reserved most of the time, he has a good sense of humor. Albeit, he must always have a hot cup of café in the morning before he can function properly, especially when he has to put up with us!