It has been a very busy first few days here in Guayaquil. We arrived on election day in Ecuador which was a Sunday. We were met at the airport by our contact and chair of the GSE comittee here, Gustavo Perez Reyes, his daughter Paula and Rotarian Hugo Klopstein who graciously assisted Gustavo and our group by translating. We were extremely grateful to be put up in a hotel for our first night for a much needed rest. At the hotel we reviewed our amazing itinerary (Gustavo and the Rotarians here have done an great job!) and we settled in.
First impressions of Guayaquil include the heat - approximately 32 degress celcius and very humid - and the size of the city. The Rotarians inform us that over 3 million people live here. There are stores and restaurants that are familiar to our North American eyes such as KFC, Pizza Hut and of course McDonald's but we are enjoying the local cuisine and have no need for fast food.
Our first full day was spent in the company of the Rotary Club Guayaquil Occidente. The club president Ramiro Roman and club members Hector Plaza and Raul Canizares joined us through the day.
We began at the Children's Hopital in Guayaquil. The hospital is the best in the country and children are sent here from all over Ecuador. We met so many people, doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists, nurses and one very special patient in the burn unit named Jimmy. The emergency room here sees approximately 140,000 patients a year. Most common ailments include dehydration, respiratory illness such as asthma and accidents. Doctor Raquel Moran gave us a tour of the emergency department and informed us it is the best emergency room in the country. They are able to treat many of their patient over the course of four to six hours and they follow up within 24 to 48 hours. Their admission rate is very low and the patients are well cared for.
I was lucky to be able to return to the hospital the following day and observe a surgery performed by plastic surgeon Mario Delgado Panchana on the burn unit. We toured the entire unit and were shown some of the hospital's needs. Janene and I were amazed at the Occupational Therapist's workspace. She uses hand saws, files and heat to mold PVC piping into splints which are one time use only. They are doing great work here.
Lunch on our first day was at a typical Eucadorian restaurant "Lo Nuestro." A cold cerveza and wonderful shrimp, crab and chicken as well as bottled water to round out the meal.
In the afternoon, we were able to visit some sites of a micro credit program started and funded with Rotary grants and by one of our hosts this day, Hector. The first site, twelve woman were working together to make crafts from "foamex" or sheets of foam material. Our second site we were able to watch (and taste) Besitos, small marshmallow like candies made in the home by five woman, and one man. Micro credit provided funds to start up these businesses and allows these woman to bring in an income while keeping their work at home making the whole family strong.
Our day finished with settling in with our hosts and our first presentation at the Guayaquil Occidente Rotary Club. Janene, Bev and I are grateful to the Medinas for our amazing suite on their property outside Guayaquil. We feel very safe and comfortable. Ben is not far from us at the home of Rotarian Roberto Tugendath which is our morning meeting place.
We are learning so much and practicing our Spanish and seeing wonderful things, we will continue to share as often as we are able.
First impressions of Guayaquil include the heat - approximately 32 degress celcius and very humid - and the size of the city. The Rotarians inform us that over 3 million people live here. There are stores and restaurants that are familiar to our North American eyes such as KFC, Pizza Hut and of course McDonald's but we are enjoying the local cuisine and have no need for fast food.
Our first full day was spent in the company of the Rotary Club Guayaquil Occidente. The club president Ramiro Roman and club members Hector Plaza and Raul Canizares joined us through the day.
We began at the Children's Hopital in Guayaquil. The hospital is the best in the country and children are sent here from all over Ecuador. We met so many people, doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists, nurses and one very special patient in the burn unit named Jimmy. The emergency room here sees approximately 140,000 patients a year. Most common ailments include dehydration, respiratory illness such as asthma and accidents. Doctor Raquel Moran gave us a tour of the emergency department and informed us it is the best emergency room in the country. They are able to treat many of their patient over the course of four to six hours and they follow up within 24 to 48 hours. Their admission rate is very low and the patients are well cared for.
I was lucky to be able to return to the hospital the following day and observe a surgery performed by plastic surgeon Mario Delgado Panchana on the burn unit. We toured the entire unit and were shown some of the hospital's needs. Janene and I were amazed at the Occupational Therapist's workspace. She uses hand saws, files and heat to mold PVC piping into splints which are one time use only. They are doing great work here.
Lunch on our first day was at a typical Eucadorian restaurant "Lo Nuestro." A cold cerveza and wonderful shrimp, crab and chicken as well as bottled water to round out the meal.
In the afternoon, we were able to visit some sites of a micro credit program started and funded with Rotary grants and by one of our hosts this day, Hector. The first site, twelve woman were working together to make crafts from "foamex" or sheets of foam material. Our second site we were able to watch (and taste) Besitos, small marshmallow like candies made in the home by five woman, and one man. Micro credit provided funds to start up these businesses and allows these woman to bring in an income while keeping their work at home making the whole family strong.
Our day finished with settling in with our hosts and our first presentation at the Guayaquil Occidente Rotary Club. Janene, Bev and I are grateful to the Medinas for our amazing suite on their property outside Guayaquil. We feel very safe and comfortable. Ben is not far from us at the home of Rotarian Roberto Tugendath which is our morning meeting place.
We are learning so much and practicing our Spanish and seeing wonderful things, we will continue to share as often as we are able.
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