Health promoters form the backbone of our public health mission in the frontera. Each day, they travel by truck, moto, and foot into the rural Intibucá communities. Shoulder to Shoulder em- ploys a staff of 24 promoters, who reach each of our five municipalities every week.
Promoters perform nearly every service under the public health sun: providing health and nutri- tion education, human and animal vaccinations, water sampling, data gathering, and identification of high risk or needy members of the community. Their success rates are worthy of study. As a sim- ple example, promoters began vaccinating dogs for rabies five years ago. Each year, they identify and vaccinate every dog in the municipality. If you are familiar with the dogs of Intibucá, you know this is no small feat. Since the promoters began rabies
vaccinations, there has not been a single reported dog-related rabies case in our service area.
As members of our EAP teams, they develop relationships with individuals in the community and bring our doctors and nurses to inaccessible families.
In January and February 2013, promoters vis- ited 422 homes, took height and weight meas- urements of every child under two in targeted municipalities, engaged in community nutrition and health talks, and monitored the health of countless pregnant women, new babies, and high- risk individuals. Promoters are invaluable to our mission. Their work saves lives and improves the health of the members of our community.
Dayton High School: Guachi (July 13-23)
Dayton high school had a great time on their very first brigade in Guachi. Even though they weren’t a traditional medical brigade, they had just as big of an impact working. They spent their mornings playing with the kids in both the grade school and the kindergarten and giving presentations about self-esteem and dental care. They brought down materials for arts and crafts and different teaching tools for the teachers. In the afternoon they worked hard painting both schools and playing soccer out front with kids from the community. By the end of the week they still had enough energy for a dinner with some of the local families and a talent show. Their energy shined through even on the rainiest of days as they all got together and had a makeshift mudslide in the lawn of the clinic. It was so great to see a young group of people so invested in the community and willing to try just about anything. We are looking forward to having them back again!
Work Reflection: More than a job
Shoulder to Shoulder is more than just a job, it’s an adventure!” Mo Ranz Jennings, Director of Development, STS