Summer 2013 Honduras Trip

A-B Tech Dental- Medical Trip To Honduras
On May 19, 2013 our A-B Tech group left for
Tegucigalpa, Honduras for a dental/medical mission
trip. We had 5 Dental Hygiene students: Melissa Tate,
Christen Harmon, Shelly Hopson, Erica Tuttle and Jo
Persons. We had one nursing student: Stormy Fryar.
Instructors Marilee Bush from the Allied Health Dental
Hygiene department and Michael Harney from the
Spanish department
accompanied them.
It was a trip of a lifetime! After an overnight delay in Atlanta due to
bad weather, we were welcomed at the airport in Tegucigalpa by a
lovely saying: “La major bienvenida es una sonrisa”: “the best
welcome is a smile”. Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras. It is a
very impoverished city with a population of 1.2 million people. The majority of the people there
earn $2-$3 per week. We were shocked
to see the living conditions. We were
horrified by the crime level, including an
astounding increase in violence against
women and the armed guards in front of
every shop and place of business. We
were amazed at the crazy ways they
drive with very few stop signs or traffic signals!
Our hearts were warmed by the gracious, appreciative, and
joyful folks with whom we were in contact
We stayed at the Baxter Institute which is a
seminary that focuses on providing spiritual
education and physical care. They also
provide nutritional counseling, health
classes, and sewing instruction and housing
for the seminary students.
There is a dental and medical clinic on
the premises.
We worked in the clinics
for 5 days. During that
time, our dental group saw
155 patients!!
In the medical clinic, Stormy
took vital signs and checked in
125 medical patients and
Shelly, who helped us in
dental and in the pharmacy,
filled 299 prescriptions!
In Honduras, they do not have dental hygienists, so there is
a tremendous need for help in that arena. We were
shocked to learn that the last time a team of hygienists
came to Baxter, was 4 years ago when the last group from
A-B Tech went there!
There is 1 dentist who works in the clinic and she allowed us
to take over all 4 of her dental chairs for the entire week.
There were 4 dental interns at the clinic also. They were on
their final rotations before receiving their license as
Honduran dentists. Marilee spent much of her time training
the interns on instrument sharpening, how to use scaling
instruments for periodontal procedures and ergonomics.
Michael was our translator and was invaluable to all of
us! He spent quite a bit of time sharing a booklet we
made about A-B Tech and Asheville, N.C., with the
patients who were waiting. The people were fascinated
with the pictures of the fall colors and the snow and the
beauty of NC! Most importantly, Michael translated for
us the details of homecare instructions and information
we needed to communicate to each patient. With his
fluent Spanish and kind demeanor he was able to calm
the fears of many of the children who came to have
their teeth cleaned. He even helped assist a few times
in the clinic!
Our entire team worked very hard, sweated a lot and
enjoyed every second of our time! Thanks to fundraising
efforts of students and contributions of families and
friends, we were able to donate $250 to the clinic with
which Dr. Nohelia Ynestroza gratefully purchased a new
dental handpiece and some supplies.
Over the weekend, we went, by bus, about 3 hours from
Tegucigalpa to Lake Yojoa. On this part of our trip we were
able to see the Honduran country side which, surprisingly,
looked a lot like North Carolina! We saw the little farms
and the shacks that families live
in,
small villages and their open air
markets.
We also saw three of the “Wonders of Honduras”. Lake Yojoa
is the only volcanic lake in Honduras.
We went to see
Pulhapanzak Falls
where some of us zip
lined across it! We
also visited Cuevas
de Toulabe Cave.
We returned to Tegucigalpa and Baxter Institute for
one night before flying home. And we ended our trip
with a final farewell dinner downtown, complete with
mariachi music.
Our entire group is so grateful to have been able to go to Tegucigalpa and experience their
culture. We are very thankful to the folks at Baxter institute who so kindly watched over us
during our stay and to the friends, family and faculty at A-B Tech who helped us make this trip
happen! This opportunity to live and work and give to the Honduran people impacted us far
more than can be described. It was life changing!
Erica, Christen, Shelly, Michael, Stormy, Melissa, Jo
and Marilee