Saturday, December 29, 2012
Donate to NWB Doing Everyday Things!
I recently discovered an amazing website called goodsearch which allows you to raise money for a charity of your choosing every time you use their search engine! Each search yields $.01 but it adds up quickly! In the past week alone I've raised nearly $1.50 for NWB doing something I do each day anyway. They also feature goodshop and gooddining which allow you to raise money for the charity of your choice each time you shop at participating retailers and dine at participating restaurants. Please consider signing up today and choosing Naturopaths Without Borders as your chosen charity!
Help Me Empower Women
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of volunteering at our clinic in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. I saw some of the patients I have had the privilege of working with on a regular basis for the past couple of years including Maria (name changed). Maria is a 75 year old women who comes to our monthly clinics faithfully for the osteoarthritis in her knees, which is sometimes so painful and debilitating that she is unable to climb the stairs from the waiting room to our treatment rooms, so I will usually move myself and my supplies down to the nursery to treat her.
I greeted her with a hello and a kiss on the cheek and asked her how she was doing this month. She told me the pain had resolved for the first week after her last acupuncture treatment but had returned as the month went on. She was happy to report that the swelling in her knees was no longer present, which she attributed to the nutrients and herbs we had given her.
During acupuncture treatment for her sinus congestion from a respiratory infection, I noticed that her right breast was larger than her left. She claimed a nurse told her to stop getting mammograms and pap smears because of her age, and she did not know about Self Breast Examination. I asked if she would like me to do a breast exam and she said that she would. Normally I would have also performed a pap smear, but we do not yet have the resources for such exams at this clinic. As I went through the exam, I taught her how to examine her breasts herself and told her to choose a day each month to do the exam. I did palpate two suspicious masses and advised her to get a mammogram at the local hospital. At the end of the visit she looked me in the eye, thanked me for being so thorough and told me I was a gift from god and she would see me next month. I don’t know what the outcome will be for Maria but I certainly hope the masses I found are not cancerous.
Maria’s experience highlights the importance of the work that we do in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico and Morne Rouge, Haiti where a diagnosis of cancer that would be highly treatable in the United States, can be a death sentence. We strive to find the gaps in health care and health education and to fill them. We teach women of all ages to do breast exams and to get their yearly screening exams. We teach young mothers what to feed their children so they can grow up to be big and strong and provide life-saving fortified peanut butter to those children who are already caught in the throes of malnutrition.
Please help us help others by making a one-time or recurring donation to expand our services. http://www.naturopathswithoutborders.org/N/donate.html. Your donation may save a life!
Sarah Preston Hesler, ND
I greeted her with a hello and a kiss on the cheek and asked her how she was doing this month. She told me the pain had resolved for the first week after her last acupuncture treatment but had returned as the month went on. She was happy to report that the swelling in her knees was no longer present, which she attributed to the nutrients and herbs we had given her.
During acupuncture treatment for her sinus congestion from a respiratory infection, I noticed that her right breast was larger than her left. She claimed a nurse told her to stop getting mammograms and pap smears because of her age, and she did not know about Self Breast Examination. I asked if she would like me to do a breast exam and she said that she would. Normally I would have also performed a pap smear, but we do not yet have the resources for such exams at this clinic. As I went through the exam, I taught her how to examine her breasts herself and told her to choose a day each month to do the exam. I did palpate two suspicious masses and advised her to get a mammogram at the local hospital. At the end of the visit she looked me in the eye, thanked me for being so thorough and told me I was a gift from god and she would see me next month. I don’t know what the outcome will be for Maria but I certainly hope the masses I found are not cancerous.
Maria’s experience highlights the importance of the work that we do in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico and Morne Rouge, Haiti where a diagnosis of cancer that would be highly treatable in the United States, can be a death sentence. We strive to find the gaps in health care and health education and to fill them. We teach women of all ages to do breast exams and to get their yearly screening exams. We teach young mothers what to feed their children so they can grow up to be big and strong and provide life-saving fortified peanut butter to those children who are already caught in the throes of malnutrition.
Please help us help others by making a one-time or recurring donation to expand our services. http://www.naturopathswithoutborders.org/N/donate.html. Your donation may save a life!
Sarah Preston Hesler, ND
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
AANP Road Trip Blog 2
Then we headed up to Oregon to see my aunt and uncle, played volleyball in their pool, saw my cousin's brand new baby James, and surprised my grandparents for lunch at their retirement village. My grandmother was too excited to eat so she gave her food to Sean. We also saw some global health friends including Kim and Korina who we met during our first weeks in Haiti (Kim also helps with NWB's thank-you notes) and fellow global health enthusiast Erin Moore who runs a blossoming org called Share Nepal and got to hear about her experiences as she had just spent a month there working on her project. Share Nepal seeks to support the community of Karmidanda with a grassroots approach, focusing on agricultural development and Naturopathic care. After brunch with SCNM classmate and fellow-ND Karla and her adorable son Grant, it was time to head to NCNM to take care of some NWB business with Stephanie, our NCNM Chapter President. We have 28 ND students from Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver currently working with NatureQuest India to learn from Ayruvedic and Homeopathic physicians.
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| Korina & Kim with some of their kids. |
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| Korina's beautiful garden in Vernonia, OR. In the first day of having a booth at the convention, we connected with many NDs and students, telling them about the work NWB does. Many were interested in volunteering, and we handed out brochures/bracelets, and sold shirts. Our friend and fellow NWB board member Colleen hosted a get-together at her house for people in the area who have worked with us at NWB in Haiti and Guatemala. It was a lot of fun to see old friends and to meet new ones. We also want to thank Brigette for letting us stay with her, very last-minute! Sometimes it is really overwhelming (and exciting!) to realize that our organization has grown so big that we no longer personally know everyone who volunteers with Naturopaths Without Borders. We now have 5 student chapters, will be getting a 6th this week at the University of Arizona (which will combine MPH, Spanish, Nutrition, and Pre-Med students), and have about 20 NDs who volunteer with us annually (including within the US and abroad). To me, the most surprising stat is that we are on track to have about 300 individual volunteers work with us in 2012. Our little student group from 2004 has grown into a living, breathing global health organization!
We're still on the road and I'm out of time, but stay tuned for another blog filling you in on two VERY exciting things events for Naturopathic Medicine and Global Health.
Until next time...
-Dokte Sarah
PS: We are now set up to receive recurring donations! Click here to support our work on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis!
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AANP Road Trip Blog 1: Preparation
Sean wrote a blog August 6th to talk about the first part of our trek to AANP - the preparation. I forgot to post it here but it's better late than never. You can read it and other NWB blog posts here: http://naturopathswithoutborders.posterous.com/
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Dichotomy
I have been silent since May because I didn't know how to write what was going on or what I was feeling. As most of you probably know by now, Sean and I made the decision in May to leave our work in Haiti to come back to the US, regroup, get healthier, and meet each other once again as husband and wife. See when you are giving all the time, when you are someone's one opportunity for a better life and they ask you for clothes/food/laptop/trip to the US/money, it wears on you and sometimes you forget why you signed up to sell everything you own and take a gigantic leap into the abyss with the one you love.
Since we've been back things have been lovely. We have gained back all the weight we lost in Haiti (plus a little extra), we've spent much-needed time with our American loved ones, we've re-connected with each other, we've rented movies, gone to concerts and slept on our cushy bed in our climate-controlled bug-free bedroom and we've eaten Thai food no less than once every two weeks (and chocolate every day...you don't know how every cell in my body missed Thai food and good chocolate when we were in Haiti and I fear I may have over-indulged). We've taken trips to spend special time with loved ones (nephew Carter's 3rd birthday, Grandpa Preston's 90th birthday/Preston family reunion, Grandpa Gene's 80th birthday/family cruise to the Caribbean (so close to Haiti...), trip to Carmel for our anniversary, trip to ND for Thanksgiving and many other special events. Yet not a day goes by that my heart doesn't ache for Haiti and our loved ones there.
We have turned the student group Naturopaths Without Borders into a non-profit organization which has been a full-time gig and we are in talks with MamaBaby Haiti (the organization we worked for in Haiti) to see how the two can best coordinate to best-serve our Haitian brothers and sisters. It's been a time of paperwork, meetings, learning about fundraising, marketing, taxes, the government, more meetings, running a business and it's been a blast. I've also started running, have practiced cooking (here and there), have practiced the piano (my generous, spectacular in-laws rented one for me to use while we're at their house) and have had time to catch up with and bask in the glow of loving my husband. We even have a plan for how to keep our marriage a (huge) priority when someone needs us all the time. This is probably a great lesson for future (hopefully) parenting.
The United States and Haiti are so incredibly different it is such a shock to go from one to the other, especially when you've been in one for a few months. In Haiti it's chaotic and unpredictable. It helps me live in the moment and to realize that it's OK to dwell in ambiguity because planning ahead won't get you very far. It will get you frustrated. In the US it's not so chaotic and it's quite predictable. For example, I can put 5 things on my to-do list and 90% of the time, I'll get them all completed. In Haiti if I put 5 things on my to-do list, 10% of the time, I'll get them all completed. Haitian roads have goats, pigs, chickens, children, motorcycles, tap-taps, pot holes the size of a smart car and noise. The US has clearly divided lanes and you can be certain that people will (usually) stay in them, speed limits are marked, and the pavement is so smooth you could almost ice skate on it.
Now that we have made the decision to go (we'll be there so soon...Feb 8th!) back I struggle to find balance in this life while preparing for that life. Here I have reliable internet that's so fast you can even skype on it, I don't have to run out to the street to pay a man on the corner to recharge my cellphone with minutes so I can hear my mom's voice and if I crave any kind of food I can either go to a restaurant that makes it or cook it in the kitchen on a gas burning stove that lights itself. If my sister needs to talk, she can just call. We don't have to coordinate the time and worry about how much money we're spending in international cell phone fees. There's no need to find a flashlight, buy some charcoal and rip bits of paper up to start a fire in order to make dinner because both the modern (electric) stove and the (backup) propane stove won't work. On to plan C. Yet somehow, when you've worked that hard for your dinner, it tastes better.
I still have so many unanswered questions and unresolved issues trying to live between these two very different worlds. We just bought a house in AZ (designed to be our oasis when we need a break from working abroad) and we're supposed to decorate it. As a new home-owner I'm told I need to care about things like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and paint colors to not only appear stylish, with it and modern; but to also increase the resale value of the home. Yet when I think of decorating and picking out paint colors in the context of Haiti I remember how only the very rich in Haiti have paint on their houses. The rest are the color of what they're made of. Cement. Or of scrap metal, old doors and tree branches. It is unheard of for people to have a fridge but Americans wouldn't dream of going without one. Yet in Haiti we did just fine with a Coleman cooler and ice from the ice factory next door. For 7 months straight. Maybe it's OK if our appliances aren't all the same brand and if we use the same paint colors that the previous owners had. After all the paint is perfectly fine. It's even a little trendy. Repainting in Haiti would feel indulgent and wasteful. Repainting in the US is normal. I still have no idea what we will end up doing. Maybe something in between. Maybe we'll save our money and paint one room at a time just so some sort of sacrifice is involved. On the one hand we've worked hard, we deserve to have a beautiful oasis to go home to when we need a break and if that means repainting, that's OK. Then I think about how the money saved from NOT repainting could save lives. Human lives. Human lives that have suffered more than you and I can imagine.
Since we've been back things have been lovely. We have gained back all the weight we lost in Haiti (plus a little extra), we've spent much-needed time with our American loved ones, we've re-connected with each other, we've rented movies, gone to concerts and slept on our cushy bed in our climate-controlled bug-free bedroom and we've eaten Thai food no less than once every two weeks (and chocolate every day...you don't know how every cell in my body missed Thai food and good chocolate when we were in Haiti and I fear I may have over-indulged). We've taken trips to spend special time with loved ones (nephew Carter's 3rd birthday, Grandpa Preston's 90th birthday/Preston family reunion, Grandpa Gene's 80th birthday/family cruise to the Caribbean (so close to Haiti...), trip to Carmel for our anniversary, trip to ND for Thanksgiving and many other special events. Yet not a day goes by that my heart doesn't ache for Haiti and our loved ones there.
We have turned the student group Naturopaths Without Borders into a non-profit organization which has been a full-time gig and we are in talks with MamaBaby Haiti (the organization we worked for in Haiti) to see how the two can best coordinate to best-serve our Haitian brothers and sisters. It's been a time of paperwork, meetings, learning about fundraising, marketing, taxes, the government, more meetings, running a business and it's been a blast. I've also started running, have practiced cooking (here and there), have practiced the piano (my generous, spectacular in-laws rented one for me to use while we're at their house) and have had time to catch up with and bask in the glow of loving my husband. We even have a plan for how to keep our marriage a (huge) priority when someone needs us all the time. This is probably a great lesson for future (hopefully) parenting.
The United States and Haiti are so incredibly different it is such a shock to go from one to the other, especially when you've been in one for a few months. In Haiti it's chaotic and unpredictable. It helps me live in the moment and to realize that it's OK to dwell in ambiguity because planning ahead won't get you very far. It will get you frustrated. In the US it's not so chaotic and it's quite predictable. For example, I can put 5 things on my to-do list and 90% of the time, I'll get them all completed. In Haiti if I put 5 things on my to-do list, 10% of the time, I'll get them all completed. Haitian roads have goats, pigs, chickens, children, motorcycles, tap-taps, pot holes the size of a smart car and noise. The US has clearly divided lanes and you can be certain that people will (usually) stay in them, speed limits are marked, and the pavement is so smooth you could almost ice skate on it.
Now that we have made the decision to go (we'll be there so soon...Feb 8th!) back I struggle to find balance in this life while preparing for that life. Here I have reliable internet that's so fast you can even skype on it, I don't have to run out to the street to pay a man on the corner to recharge my cellphone with minutes so I can hear my mom's voice and if I crave any kind of food I can either go to a restaurant that makes it or cook it in the kitchen on a gas burning stove that lights itself. If my sister needs to talk, she can just call. We don't have to coordinate the time and worry about how much money we're spending in international cell phone fees. There's no need to find a flashlight, buy some charcoal and rip bits of paper up to start a fire in order to make dinner because both the modern (electric) stove and the (backup) propane stove won't work. On to plan C. Yet somehow, when you've worked that hard for your dinner, it tastes better.
I still have so many unanswered questions and unresolved issues trying to live between these two very different worlds. We just bought a house in AZ (designed to be our oasis when we need a break from working abroad) and we're supposed to decorate it. As a new home-owner I'm told I need to care about things like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and paint colors to not only appear stylish, with it and modern; but to also increase the resale value of the home. Yet when I think of decorating and picking out paint colors in the context of Haiti I remember how only the very rich in Haiti have paint on their houses. The rest are the color of what they're made of. Cement. Or of scrap metal, old doors and tree branches. It is unheard of for people to have a fridge but Americans wouldn't dream of going without one. Yet in Haiti we did just fine with a Coleman cooler and ice from the ice factory next door. For 7 months straight. Maybe it's OK if our appliances aren't all the same brand and if we use the same paint colors that the previous owners had. After all the paint is perfectly fine. It's even a little trendy. Repainting in Haiti would feel indulgent and wasteful. Repainting in the US is normal. I still have no idea what we will end up doing. Maybe something in between. Maybe we'll save our money and paint one room at a time just so some sort of sacrifice is involved. On the one hand we've worked hard, we deserve to have a beautiful oasis to go home to when we need a break and if that means repainting, that's OK. Then I think about how the money saved from NOT repainting could save lives. Human lives. Human lives that have suffered more than you and I can imagine.
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