Strike and Clinic Update

Almost as quickly as it began, the huelga is now over. Unfortunately, those who seemed to profit most from the Churequeos' strike were those they were striking against: the truck drivers and trash collectors. Because they're unionized (and the Churequeos are not), they were able to use their collective voice to negotiate a salary increase, which supposedly decreases the temptation to take trash out of the trucks before they reach the dump. However, one father I spoke with on Saturday said that everything is back as it was before, although it is easier to find plastic bottles (which sell for 4 cords a pound... about 25 cents US).

On another, more uplifting note, Casa Base, the clinic in Chureca, has found friends not only in Austin Samaritans, a medical mission group based out of (you guessed it), Austin TX, but also la Fundacion el Samaritano, whose director is the first Nicaraguan surgeon to be board-certified in the US. Through these two organizations, members of the Chureca community have access to more specialized primary care (pediatrics, dentistry, gynecology) in addition to a surgical center. This Saturday I will take two young boys to Samaritano for surgical consultations, both for complications they've suffered for the vast majority of their lives. Additionally, Samaritano has committed to bring more specialized care into Chureca itself, with a dentist twice a week and discussions with pediatricians and gynecologists underway.

While some things post-strike may look sadly the same, there's also a lot of hope that's coming in to change lives.