When: July 6 - 14, 2013
Where: Nicarauga
Who: Primary Medicine & Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Nurses, 1 - 2 Pastors (to take an active part in the Spiritual aspect of the team and work with the National Partners/Spiritual Counseling) -
Family Trip
Status: Accepting Applications
Special Travel Announcement: Unless you are instructed by GHO or your team leader, do not book your own travel. Please email ghotravel@cmda.org prior to the ticket purchase if you want to use frequent flyer miles and/or want your number added to the ticket.
Project Fee: $1,420 plus airfare and $15 per hour for up to 7 hours CME/CDE (if applicable)
Click here for more information on CME/CDE
Team Leader: Don Thompson, MD, MPH&TM
To read Dr. Thompson's Biography Click here.
Trip Details: Nicaragua is the Central American country with the greatest challenges in terms of spiritual, economic and health concerns. From 1936 to 1979, Nicaragua lived under the dictator known as Somoza. In 1979 there arose the Sandinista Revolution, which overthrew Somoza's dictatorship. Unfortunately, this evolved into yet another dictatorship, and brought about the civil war that so deteriorated and destroyed the land and people of Nicaragua for the next ten years. Democracy did not arrive in Nicaragua until 1990, when the first free elections were held. Nicaragua has enjoyed peace and democracy for the past 16 years, but still suffers the effects of years of war in that they are desperately poor and in need of medical assistance.
Founded in 1989
Location: 220 Km from Managua.
Population: 28,942
Climate: The climate is hot and dry, with temperatures ranging between 21° - 30° C., in some cases reaching as high as 41° C.
Altitude: 469.67 meters above sea level.
Economy: The people subsist mainly on what they can earn through agriculture, and the cultivation of crops such as rice and corn.
The Rationing of Electricity:
There is electricity in the area, but throughout our brigade we will be without electric power for 5 hours a day due to the rationing that is taking place throughout Nicaragua.
Food: Local dishes include “gallo pinto,” which is a mixture of rice and beans, as well as pork and plantains. We will spare you from the more colorful concoctions such as “moronga,” which is a kind of blood pudding, as well as things like iguana soup.
GHO's work in Sebaco, Matagalpa
For this brigade, we will be working alongside 18 local pastors from different denominations, as well as 15 other local church leaders. The clinic will take place in a school, and the pastors will assist in the logistics. The clinic itself will have an area for registration, afterwhich the patients will go through a process of evangelism, counseling, and prayer with local church leaders and members. After evangelism, the patients will be going into to the various clinics of dentistry, optometry, and medicine.
The objective for these medical missions in Central America are:
- To give the glory to God, and not to man.
- To carry out the Great Commission
- To empower the local pastors
- To promote unity in the body of Christ
- To allow the American medical professionals the chance to make a difference through medical missions.
With the above objectives in mind, we strive to empower the local pastors to be the leaders that the community can look up to by asking that they be responsible for all of the logistics for the medical clinics. GHO guarantees the local community that they will receive the best possible medical and dental care from our GHO team members, and that the local pastors will give them the best spiritual care. We are honored to be part of such a great team of pastors and doctors working together to carry out the Great Commission, and trusting that the local pastors will give the patients the best spiritual followup after the GHO team has returned home.
Note: The exact location will be updated at a later date.
Vaccination Information: Wondering what immunizations you’ll need for the mission trip? Please refer to the
Centers for Disease Control website.
