In the last issue, we reported on the new maternity ward that the Society was constructing for the hospital in Comayagua, Honduras. We had projected the completion date to be early July. However, the work crew worked extra diligently, exceeding all expectations. As a result, the beautiful new maternity ward is now complete. The hospital directors held the ribbon cutting for it on May 21—more than a month ahead of schedule. The hospital staff is overwhelmed with gratitude for these renovations and for the extra space which it has provided for mothers with at-risk pregnancies. The hospital invited Alfredo Lainez and Luis Vega, two of the Society’s Honduran directors, to come down for the ribbon-cutting.
While one crew was working on the maternity ward, the Society had a second crew working on another urgent project for the hospital. The hospital stores all its medical, office, and cleaning supplies in a separate wing, just outside the main structure of the hospital. This wing contains three separate large storage rooms. One of them houses office and cleaning supplies and medical records. A second room stores medical supplies—bandages, gowns, face masks, gauze, etc. In the third room, all the hospital’s medicines are stored.
The roof on this hospital wing was 32 years old, and it was leaking badly. As a result, medicines and medical supplies were being ruined, and medical records were being damaged. Since the old roof was made of asbestos tile, special care had to be used in removing and disposing of those tiles. The Society brought in a work crew and replaced the old roof with a new one made of metal. We also put insulation in the ceiling and replaced 5,877 square feet of ceiling tiles. The new roof and ceiling were completed in time for the ribbon cutting. Now that the rainy season has arrived in Honduras, the roof has been a special blessing. The first heavy downpours revealed no leaks in the new roof!
Gavin Skiles came down from Indiana to redo the electrical work and lighting in this wing of the hospital. He and another Society volunteer, Josh Vega, spent a full week redoing all the electric work and the lighting in the storage wing of the hospital and on the adjacent hospital maintenance workshop. The workshop only had one light bulb, which created difficult working conditions for the workers. The workers are thrilled to now have plenty of light—as well as outlets and breakers that actually work!
A third Society volunteer, Juan Carlos, an electrician, repaired or replaced all the electrical outlets and breakers in this hospital wing and in the renovated maternity ward. He also repaired the problems the hospital was having with its air-conditioning units. The hospital staff wants to thank all the donors in the United States who made these renovations possible. The hospital will now be able to provide better medical care for the poor and protect its records and limited supplies. More importantly, numerous lives will undoubtedly be saved in the years to come because of the renovated maternity ward.
Julie Nyhoff de Valladares
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Honduras Donations