By Cherie Ackman
Fontana, WI

Today, we began our last day together in El Salvador. As we climbed into the van I found myself feeling a bit sad, as we have made such wonderful friendships in such a short period of time. We traveled to a local clinic not too far from our bed and breakfast, in San Miguelito. Details

By Patricia Spross

Today, Christy from CIS took us to the wall with the names of civilians who were killed or are missing from the war. Thousands of names appeared. Families arrived to remember their loved ones.

Then we met the Maryknoll sisters and travelled to Chalatenango. Sister Mary Annel is a humble woman with a regal presence. Details

By Ruthann Marquis
Portland, OR

Today was our second clinical day with PINCC, in a location they have yet to have the opportunity to work. We traveled to Soyapango, a distance outside of San Salvador, to work in another clinic that strongly served women´s and community health and was an urgent care facility at night, thus giving 24 hour care. Details

By Ruthann Marquis
Portland, OR

An early start to our first day with the PINCC team included a hearty breakfast at 6:30 and filling two vans that headed out of San Salvador to the town of Nejapa.  There we joined 33 doctors and nurses for a day of training.  The nurses and some of the doctors (this week known as students) learned about the disease process of cervical cancer and the visual inspection procedure with acetic acid (AKA common kitchen vinegar) known as VIA.  This is the low cost, very transportable, visual screening that PINCC takes on the road to low-resource countries. Details

By Patricia Spross

Today is Wednesday and I woke with a migraine.   So I stayed home to sleep in my dark room until it passed.  Waking in the early afternoon, I take this time to reflect on my first day at the clinic.  Nearly 60 women were treated in an energetic setting of Salvadorean doctors whom PINCC has trained to teach the screening procedure (maestras).  Also present were about 15 to 20 doctors and nurses being trained by the maestras to perform the vinegar procedure.   Details

By Patricia Spross

Today we worked at the clinic in San Jacinto, about 45 minutes outside of San Salvador. The doctors saw about 45 women.  Once again, I was given the opportunity to do interviews.   Nearly half of the women I interviewed had experienced some form of sexual abuse.  They never included those experiences when they gave the number of their sex partners.  There were psychologists on hand to counsel these women.  Details

By Ruthann Marquis
Portland, OR

Our first day in action with PINCC sped by! Severe traffic delayed our start which added to the frenzy. We worked at a Pro Vida clinic in Nejapa, where women had already been screened for the services offered today. There was an entire courtyard of women waiting when we arrived! Work stations were established, rooms were stocked, paperwork was stacked and patients were seen. Details