Daily Archives: March 7, 2013

Mission to Guatemala: Day 5

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Mission to Guatemala
from Carolyn and Markus

A team of students, faculty and partners from Belmont University’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy are ministering in Guatemala during Belmont’s spring break, the seventh year a team has traveled there.

Today we went to Magdalena Milpas Altas, Sacatepequez, to Karamion which is a center for children with disabilities. First we met with the directors, who are husband and wife, and learned all about the center. They started it on their own and gave up everything, including their home, in order to help children. They don’t have any support, but trust in God to provide.  It was great to see such an awesome demonstration of faith and obedience to God’s will. We split into groups to start therapy and worked with children with different types of disabilities: autism, torticollis, Down’s Syndrome, meningitis, and spina bifida. I worked with a little girl with spina bifida with the help of Jessica, PT and some more of the OT/PT team. We worked on prone lying, trunk extension and postural balance reactions on a therapy ball, and ball catching for stability and balance. Continue reading →

Mission to Haiti: Day 6

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Mission to Haiti
from Marie Peters, Robin Cobb & Robin Queen

A team of students and faculty from Belmont University School of Nursing is ministering in Haiti during Belmont’s Spring Break.  This is the second year a team has traveled there.

Bonjour!

What a magical end to our Haitian journey….

We began the day with a traditional pumpkin soup, usually reserved for new years day. During slavery, the soup was reserved for wealthy land owners however after the revolution it became a symbol of the Hatian people’s independence. Our final clinic was in Nantiso, just a short ride from our bungalows along a river garden.  After leaving the trucks behind, we carried the clinic equipment by foot along a path through lush banana trees and fields planted with corn and green beans. After setting up shop in a local’s front yard, we began our assessments. After a week in this country, we all are feeling more comfortable with the process including communicating in our broken Creole. Over 60 patients were seen by lunch time including a seizure patient and a young woman with TB suffering from a throat cyst that prevented her from eating. We also saw the usual procession of stunning Hatian children and cherubic infants that steal our hearts on a daily basis.

Continue reading →