Thoughts from the Jefa.... There is something amazing and transforming that happens each year on our medical mission trips. Team members begin their journey with the anticipation and excitement that they will hopefully be making a difference in the world, each taking a huge leap of faith to travel to a third world country, perform their assigned duties and return safely. I have had the honor and pleasure of leading this dedicated and extremely talented group of professionals.

I had to add these pictures of our new little friend who, despite our language barrier, managed to bring tears to my eyes. His limitless energy and wide smile charmed me because it is difficult for me to believe that despite being abandoned and essentially living on the street and from the charity of his own poor village, he manages to keep his little boy playfulness. Joy is asking the authorities to look into his case and we hope that when we return next year we will see him

(or 3 Little Piggies Came to Clinic) I have been asked to write tonight’s blog from the provider point of view. I was hoping another provider (there are 6 of us in all) wanted to take to the keyboard, but somehow I am here instead. I thought about what I would write for most of the return ride from the small community of Santa Lucia, the site of today’s clinic. If I were a great writer, I don’t think I would have gone into medicine, and as I have said in the past, my choic

So each night a new voice on the Blog. This is Christine Scheinberg and I get the chance to write about our first clinc day. It was a day really full of new impressions and of course new experiences for most of us. It started early, with breakfast at 6:15, loading the bus and then a long one and one half hour ride up into the moutains to the small village where the clinic was held. The scenery was wonderful open valleys, mountains, a large resevoir lake. The road was bump

It’s been barely 24 hours since we arrived in Managua and our adventure has just begun. What an adventure it’s turning out to be! Managua airport was pretty crazy. Can you imagine trying to get 17 team members, all their personal luggage and several hundred pounds of medicines and medical supplies through customs? Tresha Mandel was truly the star of the day. She us through with barely a glitch. Then there was the question of the little stuffed bunny that the border guards wan

Tikkun Olam Nicaragua 2013 A joint effort of team members from: Beth Sholom Synagogue, Memphis, TN Lebonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN St. Paul Lutheran Church, Pine Grove Mills, PA and Ann Arbor, MI Hello and welcome to the Tikkun Olam Nicaragua 2013 blog. My name is Danny and I am the official "blogkeeper" for this trip. That is both good and bad, at least from my perspective. The good thing is that it gives me an excuse to be on the computer and perhaps clandestinel