Dear Friend of the Clinic,
The coronavirus pandemic continues to challenge our world every day. The consequences are widespread and often severe, especially for the poor.
The prevention measures we’re employing at The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic are designed for our impoverished, rural communities.
A global threat like COVID-19 touches every person on the planet, and it presents an opportunity to come together as a global community. This is why our community programs are extremely vital and need your support today.
The Padrino Program for Health and Education
In April, May and June, medical attention, medications and follow-ups were provided to the children of the Padrino Program. We also continue to provide support to kids in the program who have finished high school and are now in college.
We currently have 63 sponsored children, but there are hundreds in need of a sponsor in order to continue their education and stay healthy. If you would like to sponsor a child, click here.
Both parents and children of the program are taking the necessary measures to prevent COVID-19. The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic, through our Outreach Program, is continually providing support and educational talks in order to better combat this pandemic.
Transportation support continues to be provided to children with more critical health issues who have monthly appointments at different hospitals in Managua. Furthermore, medical supplies (gloves, masks, etc.) are given to the children for protection when traveling to their appointments.
Nutrition Program for Better Health and Wellness
We continue to receive food packages from our longtime supporter Isabel Curry. In the last three months, almost 300 packages were donated.
In April and May, we also received donations from our partners the American Nicaraguan Foundation (ANF) and Fundación Padre Fabretto. Rice, beans and MannaPacks were donated to support our programs and projects.
We are currently supporting 60 families in our Nutrition Program. We also support 30 families who live in remote areas. And we donate food to elderly people who live alone and have no way to support themselves.
Volunteers Are Love in Motion
Due to the current pandemic, the number of international volunteers has decreased significantly. We hope to continue promoting the program and welcome new volunteers from around the world.
We have suspended group activities until further notice as a preventive measure against COVID-19.
Our Clinic always encourages the participation of local volunteers. Local volunteers support Clinic activities to benefit their community. Recently, we have been receiving their support during our outreach trips. These volunteers include doctors and nurses from other health centers in the area.
Local volunteers are also helping with our Clean Water Initiative by washing, filling and distributing water.
We are closely and carefully monitoring the current health crisis, and group activities will resume in the Clinic and the communities once the situation improves.
Clean Water Initiative
Happily, with our Clean Water Initiative, we continue to collaborate with our communities, health centers and public schools.
Currently, schools are not receiving students due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the department of Rivas. Parents are afraid, and many have decided to keep their children at home for their safety. But we are still distributing water for the teachers.
The health centers continue to receive our full support each week because they are operating normally.
We recently received an important donation from Fundación Padre Fabretto – 60 water purification packages for home use, which will secure clean water for six months. Thanks to this donation, we were able to help the families of our Nutrition Program and 30 additional families from nearby communities. We have also offered talks on how to utilize the packages and consume the clean water.
Healthy Eating Initiative
We started this initiative a few years ago as a long-term solution to improve agriculture. It also provides a source of food security and income for the families. The 102 organic gardens implemented in past years are in production. With the support of ANF and Terre des Hommes Italia, two of our strategic partners, we will be creating 100 additional organic gardens this year.
Our main objective is to educate all our participants so that, with our workshops and progress monitoring for two years, they learn the skills to harvest for the rest of their lives. And even more significantly, they will gain the confidence to train others who are interested.
Helping and Encouraging Our Communities With the Outreach Program
At our Clinic, it’s crucial for everyone to work together to combat this pandemic. Community health education programs can slow and control the spread of diseases. The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic has been working on preventing the spread of COVID-19 since the end of February 2020.
Our medical brigades continue to provide education on preventive health, proper hand-washing and social distancing practices. They also provide instruction on how to wear protective masks correctly and how to manage patients with a fever. We also continue to provide medical attention with doctors and nurses financed by our Clinic. And we are distributing much-needed medicines donated by the Latter-day Saint Charities and food rations donated by ANF, Isabel Curry and Fundación Padre Fabretto.
We could use your support in funding more outreach.
The infinite efforts of our Clinic team will continue despite the current crisis. It is now more than ever that we need the support of our donors to strengthen our programs and reach more isolated communities.
Your donation will have a huge impact on the lives of thousands of Nicaraguans suffering today.
Yes! I want to support the Clinic’s programs now.
The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic is supported by individual donations. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in Maryland, so all donations are tax-deductible. We accept funds through PayPal, check and credit card. We accept stock donations as well. To donate, click here.
Sincerely,
Julia C. Guth
Chair of the Board
The Roberto Clemente Health Clinic