Cuba is providing full scholarships for 700 Honduran students to become doctors and serve the most medically underserved populations in Honduras.
Imagine building clinics in the most remote jungles of Honduras for these special doctors to serve their people. Medical care is hard to come by in Honduras. It is expensive, especially for people with little access to money. It is scarce, especially in rural areas with bad roads, and no telephone or electricity. People die regularly for lack of medical care. They die regularly of treatable diseases such as malaria, parasites, injuries, childbirth, dengue fever, hepatitis, etc. To date, the Honduran government has been unable to address these needs.When Bill Camp, a union leader from Sacramento, California, traveled to Cuba in 2004, he met Luther Harry, a Honduran medical student who described Honduran health problems and the struggle he and his fellow medical students would have upon their return home. Bill was so inspired by these Honduran medical students that he created the California/ Honduran Institute for Medical and Education Support (CHIMES), in partnership with his brothers and sisters in the California AFL-CIO. They have committed to building clinics in Honduras for these Cuban trained Honduran doctors.
When Bill Camp, a union leader from Sacramento, California, traveled to Cuba in 2004, he met Luther Harry, a Honduran medical student who described Honduran health problems and the struggle he and his fellow medical students would have upon their return home. Bill was so inspired by these Honduran medical students that he created the California/ Honduran Institute for Medical and Education Support (CHIMES), in partnership with his brothers and sisters in the California AFL-CIO. They have committed to building clinics in Honduras for these Cuban trained Honduran doctors.
Mr. Camp has raised funds to build the first of these clinics in Ciriboya, a remote Garifuna coastal village. In May, 2005, his team traveled to Honduras to begin the process of building the first clinic. Their mission was to motivate the community, secure a clinic site, organize the construction and provide the building materials. There was much groundwork to be done. Their first task was to discuss the building plans with Dr. Luther Harry, one of the first Honduran students to graduate from the Latin American School of Medical Sciences in Havana, Cuba, who will also staff this first clinic. They met with the village elders to discuss the project and then with the entire community to get their support. They needed to take ownership of this project. They would have to build it, with mostly volunteer and some paid work. The community enthusiastically embraced the project.

Project management at a distance is a challenge, especially with scarce telephone service, however the internet has proved invaluable for communication as has Rory O’Connor, a Canadian who works for the Christian Aid for Under-Assisted Societies Everywhere (CAUSE). He lives in Ciriboya and has taken a personal interest in the project. He is our internet liaison with the project.It was a very special day when we held the very first clinic on the proposed clinic site the day after it had been cleared of dense jungle by the community. This clinic was possible because Dr. Luther Harry, who is doing his residency in Puerto Lempira, was on-site. There was also a medical team from Alabama and Washington doing work nearby so they joined forces and came to offer a free clinic to all area residents. Hundreds of people came and were examined. They received eyeglasses and medicine. It was truly inspiring for all involved.This project is special because it involves Cuba, Honduras and the United States. Cuba’s effort to train a substantial number of doctors for Honduras will impact its health system as will Bill Camp and CHIMES. This enormous project needs support to succeed. To help contact CHIMES, 2222 H St., Sacramento CA. 95816 or Call Bill Camp, 916-612-9999.

Dear Salty Mates and Dr. Higgins

I am Tom’s “little” brother in California. For the last few years I have focused most of my energy on the Plan de Flores Woodworking School. However 2 years ago, I had the good fortune to meet a young Garifuna medical student of outstanding leadership who will be graduating from the Latin American School of Medical Sciences on the 2nd of August. His family is from the Iriona municipality (Punta Piedra to Iriona) and he suggested the best place for the next public health clinic in that region would be Manali (Ciriboya). This community list on the road sign is called Manali in Garifuna.

This clinic will have living quarters upstairs and the clinic downstairs. Somewhat like the clinic in Limon, but on a smaller size. Construction seems to be going well. We will have to send down some solar panels for electricity and find equipment and medicine for this clinic. I t will be run as a non-profit public health clinic in this region. This community is a wonderful place to visit. I hope you can come sometime.

It is located about 40 kilometers further east from Limon. I guess this was about as far as I could go and still be able to get the materials and support systems for the construction. If we succeed here, I hope we can put a public health clinic in every community of 1,000 or more people all along the coast. What do you think? Can you imagine what your work could be like if there were fulltime public health doctors and staff waiting for American docs with special expertise to join them as they identified patients with specific challenges? Can you imagine what the United States medical leadership will learn from the wealth of knowledge and experience from the leadership of the Garifuna Medical community? What a blessing.

Hope we can work together.

Bill Camp

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