In the class we’ve talked about health care in many different ways. We’ve explored the disparities of health care availability throughout Nicaragua and how these relate to the politics and divisions within the country. I though these geographically based disparities between the east and the west of the country were specially interesting because they don’t present themselves in many other nations. Yet, once you learn the ethnic history of Nicaragua, these disparities make a lot of sense. Not only did we read about health in Nicaragua, but we also had many presenters who talked about the medical service work they’ve done in Nicaragua. These included a couple of physicians who talked about their experiences and their struggles while doing service. I thought those presentations were really informative because both of the speakers that came to talk to us had been working in Nicaragua for many years and they both have had lasting impacts on the communities. For example, something that their testimonies had in common was that they quickly realized that in order to have a lasting impact in Nicaragua the equipment Nicaraguans required needed to be sustainable in Nicaragua, otherwise, it would soon break, undoing all the work that had been done in the first place. They also talked about the importance of working with the local people in order to have effective change and  they emphasized that in their experience you could only help people that wanted to be helped. For me this is something I will try to remember for the future when I go into the world to do service. Because I as so many have said, failing to work with the local people is one of the biggest “sins” people commit when going to do service.

Additionally, In the class we’ve also carefully examined many factors that affect the health of the people of Nicaragua. These factors include negligent work conditions for workers in agricultural, and mining industries, lack of drinking water, lack of personal health care education, lack of access to emergency care among others. Many of these were deeply researched and exposed by my peers and some of the can be found in other pages of this site.