From March 23rd to March 29th, our medical mission team served communities in the Dominican Republic. We were very excited to have two members of the Johnson and Johnson team travel with us for the first time this year.  Their participation helped to solidify our intention to join forces in providing year-round medical care to the communities we are serving. Our team of 19 worked in three familiar communities and one new one, seeing over 1,000 patients — children, adults, and elderly — many lacking regular healthcare access. Following up with past patients highlights our progress in transforming these communities into healthy neighborhoods. It was also very encouraging to work alongside the same local healthcare professionals and in-country pharmaceutical company once again this year.

From March 10th to March 16th, our medical mission team traveled once again to the Dominican Republic. The team of twenty included a licensed pharmacist for the first time, marking an exciting milestone that enhanced our ability to deliver quality care to the patients we served. Throughout the week, we revisited two communities we had served in last year and explored two new ones, as part of our ongoing effort to identify the areas where we can make the most significant impact. Overall, the week was highly successful, as our team managed to evaluate nearly a thousand people and deliver essential vitamins, medications, and education on healthy living

From March 26th to April 1st, our medical mission team traveled to Dominican Republic in partnership with Bold Hope. This marked our first visit to the country, and we are pleased to report it was an outstanding success. Our experienced team of providers, nurses, and administrators were delighted to return to the field after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic Throughout the week, we visited the sugarcane Bateyes, where workers plant and harvest sugar for the Central Romana Corporation. Most of the patients we served were Haitian families. It was profoundly eye-opening to witness the living conditions of these communities and how they survive with minimal resources.   During our four medical clinic days we treated over 700 patients, offering basic medical evaluations, procedures, and essential medications. By the end of the week, we were convinced that these Bateyes would become the latest addition to the communities we adopt and serve annually.

From February 16th to February 22nd, we embarked on our first trip to Belize with a team of providers, nurses, and administrative volunteers. In collaboration with Bold Hope, we organized mobile clinics in communities across central and northern Belize. Our team treated nearly 1,000 patients with various needs, including malnutrition, hypertension, and severe diabetes. Our surgeon successfully performed several procedures, including the removal of moles, cysts, and lesions. Throughout the week, we distributed essential medications, vitamins, and healthcare products. We are thrilled with the success of this trip, as we believe it marks the beginning of new opportunities for our organization.

From October 5th to October 12th a small team of four traveled to Nicaragua to follow up with our continuity-of-care patients and nurture the relationships established during the 2018 administrative trip. After political unrest caused the canceling of the 2018 and 2019 medical trips, our board determined it was wise to have a small team in country instead of a large group to minimize the risk.  Craig, our executive director; Michel, our medical director, Eunha, our director of development, and Johanna, a member of our board spent the week in the country, working in local government run clinics around Matagalpa, holding mini clinics for our continuity of care patients, and conducting home visits. It was a special time reuniting with the people we have befriended over the past five years. While our safety was never in question, we returned with the realization that the current political environment was not conducive to sending teams back into the country yet.

From July 8th to July 15th, our medical mission team once again served the communities around the city of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. With a team of 38 people, we had to get creative with clinic locations. In one community, we split the team into two different locations, requiring us to shuttle medications back and forth as needed. In another, we set up outdoors under tents, only to face multiple torrential downpours. The heavy rain caused our bus to get stuck and led to some anxious moments while attempting to get the team out of the community. Our large group of young adults bonded strongly during the week, enjoying games and unwinding together in the evenings. By the end of the week, we had seen over 1000 patients across four communities, many of whom were follow-ups from previous trips.

On July 9th, Healthy Neighbors International dispatched its first official team of 28 individuals to Nicaragua. The team revisited two communities previously served on prior trips and explored two additional communities. Our vision of delivering continuity of care within these communities started to materialize as the medical staff identified several patients for the initiative. Although the logistics for achieving this are still being finalized, significant progress was made during this trip. Adding to excitement, five Nicaraguan nursing students joined the clinics through a newly established partnership with UNAN University in Matagalpa. This offered valuable insight into the training of future medical providers, with the goal of partnering with the university through our medical education initiative. During the trip, the team also visited the Avanza stove factory in Estelí. The visit allowed the board to observe how the Ecocina stoves are manufactured and understand their functionality and impact on reducing indoor air pollution in the communities. It was inspiring to see the potential of our clean air initiative beginning to take shape.