This Interim, I spent my time in the beautiful but impoverished country of Belize. A friend's family recently purchased a home on Ambergris Caye, an island off the northern coast of Belize. The island, Belize's tourism Mecca, is famous for some of the world's best fishing, snorkeling and scuba diving. Its pristine waters are remarkably clean, clear and always about 80 degrees.

Ambergris Caye

On Ambergris Caye, there is a peaceful town of about 4,000. Some of the town is beautiful, filled with wonderful resorts, restaurants and the occasional disco.

The island is as close to a tropical paradise as I've ever seen. However, beneath the surface of this tropical paradise is a very poor Third World country. People work non-stop, yet make grossly inadequate sums of money. In early October, a hurricane pummeled the shores of Ambergris Caye, demolishing homes, businesses and livelihoods. Friends of ours are working non-stop to mend the wounds brought about by the hurricane.

Improving health in the community

During our 23-day stay on Ambergris Caye, I volunteered at the San Pedro Health Center, assisting the nurses and doctor who run the clinic. According to the staff, San Pedro Health Center is one of three clinics to serve over 10,000 inhabitants

The heath center is the only federally funded clinic on Ambergris Caye. Because it is federally funded (the other clinics are private and unaffordable for the vast majority of the citizens), patients are seen for free by the medical staff. It is always overcrowded with the poorest citizens of San Pedro. In an average day at the clinic, the medical staff (myself included) saw about 35 patients, turning many away.

The clinic itself is a run-down facility that consists of 4 low-cielinged rooms. Only two beds serve thousands each year. Donated lawn chairs and benches line the dirt floor waiting room very often packed with patients needing health care.

Education for Prevention

The 2 nurses at the clinic Kelly and Natalie, are two of the most special people I have ever met. Aside from their medical services, the two nurses are attempting to start community education programs on child development and pregnancy. Such programs would be a great benefit, since the vast majority of patients seen here are pregnant women and children. By educating women about their own pregnancy and about child's development, the two nurses feel that their time is better spent with patients who have more urgent problems.

The clinic is also concerned with the drastic increase in cervical cancer cases within the San Pedro community. Cervical cancer has always been a serious problem in the Caribbean but is now the principal cause of death among women in Belize Noting changes in the women's cervix and surrounding tissue, however, can easily prevent cervical cancer. Pap smears can be performed by the nurses at San Pedro Health Center in order to help prevent this deadly cancer. Pap smears performed at the clinic are read in a lab in Belize City. Still, this is too expensive for many of San Pedro's women. In many cases the US$15 fee deters many of young women from going through with the preventative procedure. Financial struggle is a very sad reality in Belize, something I quickly discovered by conversing with and advising patients.

Health care administered by this clinic needs to be improved, there is no question about that. The two programs that nurses Kelly and Natalie are attempting to begin are a step in that direction, but it will take more than just an initial step to institute lasting improvement.