Geography isolates the village of Monkey River, Belize, by river, sea and forest.  Unfortunately, this makes access to medical services very difficult for villagers.

Fortunately, the solution to many of the health problems of the village are identifiable and solvable.  Medical care has already been brought to a whole new level simply by the availability of desperately needed over the counter drugs, common first aid supplies, plus blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring equipment.  We need to raise $2,000 in order to cover this year's supply expenses.

Background

I have been involved for the past 6 years with opening and maintaining a small medical clinic in the isolated fishing village of Monkey River, Belize.  This community no longer gets medical attention from the country’s health service, such that what we do there is pretty much what they get.  Our focus is on a variety of medical issues, but with particular emphasis on diabetes and hypertension, which are rampant there, especially in women.  We assess their problems and work to help the patients deal with them. The need for diet and exercise is stressed.  When the problems exceed what we can do, we have developed a good relationship with a doctor in the city of Independence, who is a boat and truck ride away.  Also important is wilderness first aid.  Any wound can get infected and progress to gangrene in the tropics with scary speed.  Our program has received increasing acceptance with the Maine based MDs and Advanced EMTs (that would be me) that have made the trip.  It has been especially rewarding to see the progress that so many of the people have made!  But as you can guess, the cost of the medical supplies has grown as more and more people use the services.  Should you wish to follow what we are doing in Monkey River, check out our Facebook page which is updated regularly, and “like” it.

Monkey River Project - Update 

Last January’s Monkey River Project medical efforts were among the most productive ever, in no small part due to the fund raising help from the funds raised last December. Our relatively small team arrived at the end of January and got to work, measuring the progress that many of our patients had made. We were very pleasantly surprised. Probably their greatest problem is obesity and Type II Diabetes, mostly in women. Since Belize was the former British Honduras where agriculture was generally discouraged, the diet is poor, consisting of mostly rice and beans with occasional chicken plus too many sugary products. 

In addition, the idyllic location of the village with the Caribbean Sea on one side, the Monkey River on another and dense rain forest bordering the rest, one cannot get out without a boat. This limited geography makes exercise difficult for the village bound women. We have been stressing diet and exercise with this message falling on fertile ground. They know they have a problem and many were very willing to provide the effort to make a change. We have supplied the means to measure progress. We brought a medical scale to follow their weight and glucometers with strips to measure their blood glucose. And many have made real progress. More fruits and vegetables have appeared on the dinner tables. Inventive ways to exercise have been developed. Since almost all of the houses are up on stilts, one woman found that repeatedly going up and down the stairs was very effective. When someone demonstrated success, we gave them their own glucometer and strips so that they could continue to monitor their blood sugar when we were gone. They recognized themselves when they were making progress. They came into our makeshift clinic all smiles and were quite proud of the results of their efforts. They had obviously been working at it for quite a while. 

While we were there, we experienced a diabetic emergency where the generous supply of glucometer strips let us monitor the patient's situation and the effect of our treatment. She came out of it just fine, but it was a close call.  We measured blood pressures and did a lot of “wilderness first aid”. We got to see things we never see in Maine, like Green eel bites. We also supplied condoms. When we left, all of the supplies stayed behind along with instructions on how they should be used. All of this was provided at no cost to the people of the village. In early May, one of our group, Ted Hoskins, was returning to Monkey River on fisheries business. We had learned that they needed more glucometer strips along with an additional glucometer and Ted took them down. Fortunately, our Health Tech Hatch fund raising effort had exceeded our goal by 30%, and this money made the re-supply possible.  All of this has made our medical effort in Monkey River achieve levels never before reached.

Here's where you come in

So here’s the deal.  Help us out with a donation and I don't bug you anymore.  Didn’t know it would be so easy to make me go away, did you?  Any size will do, even $5 – the cost of a fancy Starbucks coffee or a McDonalds burger.  And this will provide a much more lasting good such as glucometer strips (very tough to get there), common OTC drugs, first aid supplies, condoms, etc. – all given out at no charge.  And it’s easy.  We even give a small token of items from craftspeople in the village, in appreciation.  Although the communities around Deer Isle, Isle au Haut and Blue Hill, Maine have been tremendously supportive of this cause over the years, funding is becoming progressively more difficult.  In order to continue our work next year, we need things that only money can buy.  We need over the counter drugs, vitamins, bandaging supplies, creams for rashes, condoms, 5-6 glucometers, and several hundred glucometer strips so the villagers can monitor their progress when we are not there.  All this could be accomplished for approximately $2,000 per year but all donations will help the Monkey River people whether directly in medical aid, or, if fortunate enough, also to the school and clinic.

If we raise more than the $2,000 we need for this year's supplies, we will

• Be able to provide all diabetic patients with adequate glucometers and strips to measure their blood sugar levels for a year.
• Greatly expand the vitamins and medications available to both children and adults in need.
• Repair and replace computers that are showing wear and tear from age and usage.  The village just obtained electricity and phone five years ago.  We were able to provide the school with 12 lap top computers and Wi-Fi so that the students could obtain the skills and have access to the information needed to compete in the modern world.   

If you contribute $1,000 or more, we would love to invite you to join us and/or speak with you about what you would like to be involved with.  There are a number of other projects that could use your funds in Monkey River.  We also offer you a hand crafted bowl made in Monkey River as thanks.