What do you see in the photo? Bags of cement, a new door, a girl hugging her mother. The woman is a dear colleague and single mother who lost everything due to two devastating hurricanes. Her story of escaping the floods with her 9-year-old daughter and toddler to a shelter where they were vulnerable toRead more
Monthly Update
A patient for 13 years, Yadira (a pseudonym) has earned her living working with a horse-drawn cart, Pascual, Siempre Unidos’ Honduras Executive Director, writes. “Well, her horse was washed away and drowned during November’s hurricanes,” he continues. The cost of a horse is $195, equal to 6 months of Yadira’s income. “Today, we were ableRead more
Most of us eat twice as much salt as is recommended. High sodium consumption contributes to high blood pressure and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. And so begins the presentation on healthy eating by our new nurse. Trained in nutrition, he asks the masked patients to identify foods that are high inRead more
“So, so happy,” writes Pascual Torres, Siempre Unidos Honduras Executive Director, about Zoila whose joy is evident through the mask. She has just received a cookstove, mattress, and a month’s supply of food. Immediately after November’s hurricanes Eta and Iota devastated Honduras, we put out a call to raise $120,000. Seventy donors responded heroically includingRead more
A patient and her daughter carry a new mattress home down a muddy road. “It’s not that they are thieves. They are just starving,” Pascual said in describing the risk he takes when traveling to neighborhoods where patients live. Devastation wrought by November’s two hurricanes, pandemic curfews, and extreme poverty necessitate home visits to bringRead more
Exactly 22 years ago, Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras. The second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, it caused over 7,000 fatalities in the country. Images of mudslides and floods washing away villages and destroying infrastructure and crops were seen around the world. In response to the crisis, Denise Main and her family traveled to Honduras where theyRead more
The emails fly back and forth. “How many bottles of medication for blood pressure control? Diabetes? Are you out of sutures? What about antibiotics?” Denise and the Siempre Unidos physicians are making orders for the next maritime shipment from Direct Relief, a nonprofit organization donating medications and medical supplies. Since 2008, Direct Relief has sentRead more
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupts care to people living with HIV and threatens to undo global progress in reducing the disease’s burden according to the International AIDS Society and a recent New York Times article. In their responses to the coronavirus, governments have shifted resources away from HIV care, and national lockdowns have reduced access toRead more
5 lbs each of flour, sugar, beans, rice, cooking oil, salt, canned goods and other items Do you answer “yes” to most of the following questions? HIV positive? Live in extreme poverty? Single mother? High viral load? Low CD4 count? HIV related co-infections? Anemia? Underweight? Unemployed or underemployed? Lack family support? If you are aRead more
Zoom Meeting with Siempre Unidos “Do your part” to prevent the spread of Covid 19 reads the large label found on the bag held by Pascual Torres, Honduras Executive Director. It holds flour, cooking oil, rice, and other food staples provided monthly to the 60 HIV-positive patients who live on less than $2/day and mustRead more
