MEDLIFE

This summer MEDLIFE conducted it's third-ever Mobile Clinic in Panama. It was the first time that the Mobile Clinic had visited the rural interior of the country, and also the first time that we had completed a community development project there. MEDLIFE's two summer interns in Panama, Lisa Berdie and Miriam Marshall, assumed a great deal of responsibility in coordinating the logistics of the Mobile Clinic and development project. They share the details of the project below:

Two weeks ago, 32 student volunteers, accompanied by local medical professionals, conducted a MEDLIFE Mobile Clinic in Penonomé, Panama. It was a great way to start developing meaningful relationships in a new part of the country as we extended our services to four different communities. The first three days of the Clinic were held in the same location and people walked for up to three hours to come see our doctors. It was truly amazing to witness the lifestyle of people who live in such a remote place!

The opportunity to work alongside community members on the development project was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. We worked together to construct a bathroom next to a building that functions as a central meeting place for organizations in the community. Primarily, a group called the Madres Maestras (Mother Teachers) meets in this building. The group has day care centers throughout Panama and is especially active in the province of Coclé (where the Mobile Clinic took place). The organization provides support for families and believes that early education is essential in childhood development; the Madres encourage every parent to be a teacher for their child.

Because this is what elementary school kids in Cebadas are using right now:

MEDLIFE students from Brown and the University of Delaware, alongside local community members, consructed a new bathroom on this site during a Mobile Clinic in March 2011.