Mayflower Medical Outreach
2007 Programs and Projects

1.Boarding School for Rural Children Attending School in Jinotega

Special needs children attend Max Sequin School in Jinotega. The school serves children of all special needs and is sponsored by Los Pipitos, an organization of parents and families of these children. Many children that live in the mountain areas around the city of Jinotega can not attend school due to distance and financial constraints. Mayflower Medical Outreach has completed construction of a facility that will house, feed and provide for these children while they attend school. The first children to enroll will be deaf and/or hearing impaired. This project is the first of its kind in Jinotega and is the result of cooperative efforts of Casa Materna (Nicaraguan NGO), Los Pipitos, ASNIC (Nicaraguan Association of Deaf) and the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education. Casa Materna has recently moved their maternity and pre-natal facilities to a larger building and their former compound has been completely renovated by MMO. Dormitory rooms and brand new bathrooms will provide for up to 24 students. The cooperative agreement calls for all parties to bring their expertise to the successful operation of the facility. Casa Materna will perform the facility’s administrative duties, including housemother, cooking, cleaning and accounting. Los Pipitos will work with students and families to ensure proper emotional support and care. ASNIC will serve to teach and support sign language and communication skills. The Ministry of Education has already placed a new teacher in Jinotega for these students. Mayflower Medical Outreach will assume financial responsibility for the operation of the project. Initial estimates indicate that the monthly budget for food, staff, maintenance, education and supplies will be $1800 USD per month. To date, MMO has invested $12,000 to complete construction and to furnish and equip the facility.

2.Vocational Training School

Special needs students achieving graduation from sixth grade have no continuing schooling opportunities available in Jinotega. Children return to their families or are left to fend for themselves having little or no means of self-support. Phase II of this project will be the construction of educational and training facilities that will enable deaf students to learn a vocation, trade or other career. The current facility has sufficient space to incorporate these new programs. Phase II will remodel and equip space for the following:

a.Bakery and restaurant
b.Computer training
c.Welding
d.Graphic arts and screen printing
e.Business
f.Carpentry
g.Auto repair

These vocational and educational programs will be initiated by volunteers and promoted through ongoing MMO mission trips. Local educators will be recruited in their specialties and encouraged to volunteer time to the programs. Teachers will be paid when necessary. Required equipment, tools and supplies will be donated and shipped to Nicaragua from MMO resources in the United States. Additional funding for these programs will be solicited both by MMO and local people.

3.Attaining Self-Sufficiency

A primary goal of Mayflower Medical Outreach is to develop a program that will attain self-sufficiency within five years. We believe that the vocational and educational facilities and programs that are developed with the MMO facility will be incorporated into the financial success of the school. The bakery and café will be open to the public and all proceeds will stay within the school. Computer classrooms will serve as Internet access for the community. Local fund-raising and community services will provide support. Vocational programs will give students the opportunity to work within the community and provide services as a source of revenue. The success of this program is dependent upon the cooperative efforts of many people locally in Jinotega. We believe that our seed money for construction, equipment and start-up is an investment in a long-term, life-changing facility for the future of Jinotega.

4.Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic

Our first project in Jinotega was the construction and equipping of the first specialized ENT Clinic within the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA) system outside of Managua. The clinic has been operating for six years and serves over four hundred patients a month. We received great news this summer regarding the permanent employment of a doctor in the clinic. After the recent national elections, the new government has made public health a priority for the country. We met with the MINSA administration in Jinotega and they presented a plan to finally authorize a permanent position for an ENT in Victoria Motta Hospital. We have been negotiating this position for four years and have been frustrated time and time again by their bureaucracy. Dr. Moreno has returned to Jinotega and is now working in the clinic on a full-time basis and MMO is paying his monthly salary of $600. MINSA has presented a contract for Dr. Moreno that begins August 1. Although we have seen these promises come and go, we believe that this new government commitment is genuine and that the clinic will maintain a permanent doctor under MINSA support.

5.2007 Mission Trip: July 28 through August 5

This year’s trip will be exciting. Final preparations at the school dormitory and the first arrival of students will be our main goal. Dr. Saunders has already arranged for 18 doctors and nurses to participate in this mission trip. We are looking for 6 to 8 other participants that want to work in the school. The cost of the trip will be $1500 which includes airfare, hotels and meals. We will be making all of the final preparations for the dormitory: organizing the kitchen, installing the washing machine, cleaning, painting and general repairs. This will be a great opportunity to see all of our work come together and meet the kids that will forever be changed by this project. If you are interested in going, please call Mark Falk at 773-9930 or e-mail at mfalk@chkenergy.com.

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