Jamaica
Every year our church sponsors a team of doctors on a trip to Jamaica. It's not a vacation but more like "Doctors Without Borders." They visit Port Maria, which from the pictures, is about as far from a resort as you can get. There are a lot of insects, the electricity sometimes doesn't work, there's no potable water, and did I mention the insects? The team of docs consists of pediatricians, ophthalmologists, ob-gyns, internists, and even dentists. Some of the docs are from our church, others are just volunteers. In the 6 days they're there, they treat dozens of people who would otherwise not have access to medical care.
Yesterday, I surprised myself by volunteering for the next mission. Not as part of the medical team (Asking "Where's your mother?" is basically the extent of my medical talent) but to be one of the big, dumb guys who tote and haul and otherwise follow directions. I'm not sure why. You get to work really hard, there's no time for sight-seeing, and I've got to pay to go. It's by no means a sure thing since the team doesn't need many non-medicos and I imagine they get more volunteers than have slots available.
The trick will be to overcome the household perception that I'm going to Jamaica by myself in February regardless of the other circumstances.
K-
I hope you get to go. A friend of mine has been going to Haiti for the last few years with Engineers Without Borders. They built a sewer system one year. I can't even imagine. He says there are no words to express the good feeling he gets from doing the work.
Thanks, Marie. Everyone I know that's been to Jamaica comes back saying the same thing. It's sometimes hard for me to connect what I do for a living as actually being helpful to people. I suppose that's part of my motivation for wanting to go.
K-