Today was day 2 in Matamoros.
Sundays are days of rest, family, and the sacred in Latin America and that was palpable today. There was a sense of calm. The clinic was not very busy, and we used the downtime to organize, organize, organize. Sustained clinics like this one are constantly evolving, growing, incorporating new members and saying goodbye to those leaving, which can lead to disarray in paperwork, equipment, supplies, protocols, and medication. It was very productive!
Today I listened to stories…
. . . of a mother losing her baby at 32 weeks while fleeing for safety through Mexico, of a father in anguish separated from his 3 children in Texas, of a teenage boy being forced into a gang to survive, of women scared to use the portable toilets at night due to fear of rape, of a mother’s pride in her daughter’s accomplishments though separated by hundreds of miles, of a retired couple who spent a year learning Spanish so they could be more useful volunteers, of faith-based communities like Catholic Charities stepping up and serving in these crisis all along the border, of hope and love and fear and despair and camaraderie and community and waiting.
Photo: Rio Grande from the International Bridge
Post by: Leslie Gibbs, Nurse Practitioner
