 |
|
|
 Health & Beauty | November 2007 
Medical Teams International Sends Local Volunteers, $680,000 in Medicines to Help Mexico's Flood Victims
 Barbara Agnew - Reuters
go to original
Portland, Ore. - Volunteers and medicines from Medical Teams International are leaving next week to help thousands left homeless by floods in Mexico. Medical volunteers from the Pacific Northwest depart Nov. 17 to care for families camped in temporary shelters the Mexican state of Tabasco.
Additional volunteers will also be deployed to the area during the coming weeks to help families in remote communities who have not received medical help since the dam in Tabasco broke eight days ago. A week of torrential rains in late October triggered the worst flooding in 50 years to the area, causing Mexico's president to call it one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history.
"The destruction here is as bad as what I saw from Hurricane Katrina," said Joe DiCarlo, the director of emergency response at Medical Teams International. DeCarlo has served in major disasters worldwide, including the Southeast Asia tsunami and Katrina.
A shipment of medicines valued at $680,000 will arrive in Villahermosa, the flood's epicenter, next week. The container of antibiotics, bandages and pain relievers will re-supply destroyed clinics and hospitals, and be distributed to shelters where an estimated 78,000 people are housed.
Medical Teams International is working with local churches, the Mexican government, and the Ministry of Health to help with the second wave of the flood disaster: meeting the medical needs of evacuees until they can return home safely.
Although more than 400 doctors from other Mexican states are helping in the region, these health care providers are expected to return home to their own practices next week.
"The Mexican Ministry of Health is requesting our medical volunteers help close the gap when these doctors leave," explains DiCarlo, "As more people arrive in the shelters, the incidents of water-borne illnesses and communicable diseases like malaria, severe diarrhea and upper respiratory illnesses rise dramatically."
Medical Teams International has been working in Mexico since 1985 when it first sent volunteer teams and medical supplies in response to the Mexico City earthquake. Since then, nearly 1,000 volunteers have partnered with local Mexican communities to provide medical care, health care training, sanitation and water projects.
To donate to the Mexico Flood Disaster fund, please call 1-800-959-4325, give online at our secure Web site www.medicalteams.org or mail gifts to PO Box 10, Portland, OR 97207. Donations can also be made at any U.S. Bank branch.
Source: Medical Teams International |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us