The following entries were written by 2018 Impact Trip team member, Mendal Bouknight. Serving as a MedShare Trustee and Secretary of the Board, Mendal Bouknight is a dedicated advocate for MedShare’s global mission having been introduced while President of the Piedmont Healthcare Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia. Piedmont is a founding partner of MedShare. During his career, Mendal served in senior leadership roles with Emory University; Clemson University, his alma mater; and The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. He currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
Impact Ecuador
Reflecting on what impacted me the most from this five-day experience, it is the passionate gratitude expressed to our party on every front and the fortitude and conviction of those touched. With every visit, heart-felt words came deep from within those MedShare has supported.
Words of gratitude are what should inspire us all to further engage in assuring MedShare’s vision and mission are realized.
Strength in Partnership
Wherever MedShare has the opportunity to serve and impact, essential is a local partnership that is respected, strategic, and prepared to implement. In Ecuador, MedShare is grateful for the long-standing partner, Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil (the Junta).
We saw the gratitude and commitment of our local partners with the Junta. Our welcome session with our host set the tone and stage for the next five days. Ernesto Noboa, Junta’s Director, provided an inspired overview of the Junta’s proud history along with the challenges of the current political and economic challenges.
Our host for the trip, Isabel Valdez de Escala, International Relations Manager, proudly showed us her office and the globe presented to her by MedShare in 2017 for her service. Isabel made sure every need of ours was met and every opportunity to experience was available.
Gratitude at Every Visit. . .Teddy Bears, Touches and Serenades
With all of life’s challenges and complications faced by the people of Ecuador, those touched by MedShare brought home how powerful our gifts are to them through their expressions of gratitude.
As we toured the patient wards at Hospital Luis Vernaza and Hospital Leon Becerra and the children’s hospital, Hospital de Ninos, front line staff, patients, and administrators praised the Junta and MedShare for what a difference we bring to them.
Our three-hour (one way) travel through the banana, cocoa, and sugar cane plantations and up through the clouds along paved and gravel roads of the Andes to the town of Alausi provided deep and meaningful memories as we visited the Hogar Calderon Ayluardo girls’ school (orphanage) for girls ages 6 to 17.
Home to nearly 100 girls, this facility, operated by Ecuadoran nuns, is a haven. Ecuador lacks a structure for foster-care resources. Many of the girls are placed there when families can no longer care for them in the home, others may be there as a result of abuse in the home.
The dormitory facility we toured with rows of beds neatly made and a teddy bear on each pillow was an emotional moment as I realized each night instead of a loving parent to give comfort and assurance, this teddy bear was their surrogate for warmth and love.
The praise from the nuns for Junta and MedShare coupled with the smiles and the warm greetings of each young lady was evidence of their gratitude. And our party was entertained by one young girl from the Amazon region who performed for us a native dance and invited each male in our party to join her on the floor. The spirit of this moment spoke volumes!
See Mendal’s next post here.
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