Rural medical clinic

Imagine a tiny, metal storage shed serving as the only health care facility for about 400 children and 1000 adults. That was the situation, before LACF started its clinic project in a poor rural area in the Santa Ana district in El Salvador.This is the short appeal video we put together showing the old clinic and why it needed to be replaced:

Today, thanks to the generosity of our donors, the area has a fully functioning clinic with an examining room, electricity, running water, flushing toilets, and covered waiting area.

Here’s how it happened. In early 2010, LACF purchased a parcel of land — a little over an acre in size — that had been part of an abandoned coffee plantation. Local residents helped clear the land for the clinic building.

Generous donations from our donors allowed us to start clinic construction in fall 2010. Many of the building materials and much of the local labor was donated or provided at cost. Overseeing the construction was LACF friend and Salvadoran contractor Baltasar Llort, husband of LACF El Salvador contact Luciana Llort.

By January 2011 construction was complete and volunteers converged to paint the building inside and out. These volunteer painters included local residents, LACF board members, as well as visitors from Calvary Church, Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.

The clinic’s grand opening celebration was held on January 30, 2011. The event was organized by a local citizen’s council. Virtually all of the food, beverages, and decorations were donated by local groups and area businesses. Close to 600 people attended.

Today the clinic is open and staffed with a doctor and nurse two days a week. They see several hundred patients each month. The doctor and nurse are funded by LACF donors and have worked at the clinic since 2014, providing continuity of care and reliable medical records. Local residents are not charged for their medical care, but help pay for its operation through fundraisers and purchasing plantains which grow on the clinic property.