Caring for her Community
Gina (pictured right) talks with a Santa Marta community member in front of her home.
When we started our HIV and Hepatitis B education and testing in the “bordos” (slums) of San Pedro Sula, community members told us we had to meet Gina. We found her at a slum called Santa Marta. She had just changed out of her medical school uniform and was ready to give us a tour of her home community.
Santa Marta is one of many bordos located along the riverbanks in Honduran cities. These areas are unrecognized by the Honduran government so there are no public services like streets, electricity, running water, schools or health clinics. The residents are internal migrants, many from families that have lived there for generations. Most lack government registration as Hondurans. They thus remain trapped, ineligible to receive schooling or health services even outside the bordo areas.
Gina started a small income-generating business in Santa Marta to help her save money for school and enable local youth to earn a living. Each of them makes about $4/day collecting, washing and selling heavy-duty plastic sacks.
These days, Gina doesn’t have to work quite so hard washing sacks as generous Siempre Unidos donors are providing her with a scholarship to complete her last 3 years of medical school. She will continue to work with the youth and with us, serving to guide, inspire and ultimately improve the health of her community.
