The Charity ‘2 Hands’ comes from the midlands of England and is led by Dianne Kidd and Douglas Mullen (originally from East Kilbride). They run their charity to support Church projects in Ecuador. So far we have been the lucky recipients of funding for our School. And they are interested in helping us for the forthcoming Medical Centre. This week’s big adventure then was me sending a Memory Stick with a few short videos of why we need a Medical Centre with interviews etc of people inside and out the present First Aid post. I sent it by DHL and you can track your parcels on the net. So one day it was Guayaquil to Panama, then it was on to Barbados (for some reason) before it made its way over to Europe and England. It eventually got there and Dianne and Douglas have now transformed it into a short five-minute clip. So hopefully it will be of use to somebody. And hopefully the Medical Centre can become a reality.
I was woken up last night at 1am!!! Ring, ring, ring at the door! Wasn’t too impressed by getting woken up but then found out it was a sick call. Just round the corner from me is Dario, a sixty-four year-old who has been ill off and on. This time his family had thought that he was really suffering – he looked really bad and I said the prayers. As I left I wasn’t sure if he would still be with us by the morning time. And sure enough when I went back in the morning, the undertakers had already arrived. IT was sad as always to see the family in tears, a family that I have visited often. Poverty all around but, despite that, they give a lot of dignity to their dead. Rest in peace, Dario.
Last Sunday we had a medical Brigade come out from one of the city centre parishes. There were about fifteen doctors and nurses ranging from dermatologists to dentist (and other specialties that I cannot spell). We had arranged that there would be a ticket system to prevent fights and, in the end, we had around four hundred patients. Everyone was treated with patience and the treatments and tablets were all free. It was all well appreciated but the great need that was shown that day reminded me of how urgent is the need for a medical centre that has affordable prices to the poorest.
To finish the day today, I had a pleasant but unusual experience. I say unusual because it is something you would not associate with being in a shanty town. Our Parish School celebrated its’ first-ever “Prom”. At the start I was a bit unsure of whether it was right to have such a thing but the kids insisted for about two years and eventually Adela and Freddy relented. So last night the patio of the school was bedecked with make-shift lighting and romantically set tables. There was food on the go – not a posh meal just sausage and chips (but lovely nonetheless!). And there was a School Queen elected by the pupils – Alison, one of our Catechists. And there were posh suits (hired, I suppose) and home-made dresses. The kids danced (I did too) from that 10pm start until around 2am. I had long since gone. On reflection though, I thought to myself well, it’s a school and it can and should act like any other school. There was no extravagance associated with it – it was very much simply put together and very much enjoyed by all. It will, I suspect, become part of the school calendar!
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