Health Fair and Partnership

A young boy is happy with his vitamins provided to him through a partnership with Extreme Response, Be His Witness and Pan de Vida.

Volunteers Tempe and Dorian, explain the vitamin packs to a lady who attended the Health Fair.

A much-needed pack of Calcium vitamins.

A whole family goes away with vitamins for two months!

Learning about vaccines

Coloring station at the entrace

Taking a break at the blood testing station

Medical students helping with blood pressure screening.



Nutritional counseling was also available


And it was nice to just sit down and enjoy a free snack.

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of seeing one a wonderful example of PARTNERSHIP. I stopped by one of Extreme Response's partners - Pan de Vida. I wanted to check out the first Health Fair that they have ever held for the people they minister to on a regularly basis! I was so impressed by the whole thing that I want to share it with you.

I have mentioned Pan de Vida before on my blog - their name means Bread of Life in Spanish. They are an organization that was established several years ago to help street people. It started with a hot lunch and gospel message on Sundays and has now grown into a full-blown ministry with a meal program on Wednesday as well. They also do training, children's ministries, tutoring on Saturdays (with a pancake breakfast thanks to our friends Richard and Howard) and many, many other ways in which the Pan de Vida staff reach out to some of the poorest people in Quito.

Sometimes it's just a hug for someone or a word of prayer or a listening ear. Or going to the pharmacy to purchase some much needed medicine. Or school supplies for the children. Or just the gift of a hot meal that includes meat (perhaps the only meat they eat all week long).

I never cease to be amazed by the professionalism and love shown by the VOLUNTEER staff who help there. Yes, this entire ministry is kept going by volunteers and donations from people like you.

So . . . Lori & Oscar Aguirre, the directors of Pan de Vida, told me that I could stop by anytime on Saturday between 8 am - 4 pm to check out the Health Fair. They expected approx. 220 people to show up (70 adults and the rest kids) and already had 70 volunteers lined up to help.

One of my goals in stopping by was to get some photos of vitamins being handed out to those who attended. Extreme Response organized a "Vitamin Program" this year for our partners such as Pan de Vida. This was made possible by huge donations by people in the US and the help of yet another non-for-profit in Florida called Be His Witness. (they help communities in third world countries with vitamins and clean drinking water. . . .click HERE to read more about them).

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see way more than just vitamins at the Health Fair. They had about 9 stations set up for people to visit. They did glucose blood testing at the first station - finding out that a lot of the people were border-line diabetic (or already diabetic). Some people were sent to HCJB's community clinic across the street - La Clinica La Y - for further consultation and testing.

Then there was station for the children to sit and color and do activities while waiting for their parents.

There was a snack station where a yummy sandwich and drink was being handed out.

Another station included information on vaccines for the family. Two medical students were taking blood pressure at the next station. Several nurses were available for counseling on nutrition at another station.

As people left the Pan de Vida property, they received two-months worth of vitamins, which included children's vitamins for the children and calcium for the women.

As I left, my heart was uplifted as I saw a huge partnership happening to reach the poorest of the poor in Quito. What I saw - missionaries, Ecuadorians and volunteers from several organizations coming together to serve together for a day. Four organizations involved together - HCJB Healthcare (La Clinica La Y), Pan de Vida, Extreme Response, and Be His Witness. I am probably not aware of other organizations helping to make this day possible. And most importantly, I saw people being blessed . . . families going away with smiles on their faces, knowing that someone cares about them.

To see more photos from the events, visit my on-line album - click HERE.