Team Costa Rica: Clinic Day 3

123…”Si se puede” -Yes we can!

Today we went to Tirrases, a small neighborhood outside of San Jose. Tirrases is known for its drug and gang violence. In fact, CFCI’s clinic used to be a “bunker”, aka a drug house, before turning into a community center.

The morning ran smoothly, and we were fortunate to have a nice long lunch break. We even got to try some local fruits like papaya and granadilla. The granadilla was not to everyone’s taste, but we all tried it out like champs!

We were happily swamped in the afternoon, seeing almost 100 patients. A common theme our volunteers experienced was access vs accessibility. Many patients had healthcare but due to numerous factors were unable to make appointments for routine care. In fact, one of our patients confided in us that he spends many days walking 15 miles to find work without much success. He came to the clinic feeling dejected, but left us with a sense of empowerment after getting connected with the local pastors. This is just one of many stories of hope.

We ended our day with aching feet. But some of us weren’t too tired to learn salsa moves from Charlie, one of our awesome interpreters!

It was a rewarding day for us all and we can’t wait to do it again in La Carpio tomorrow.

+Shiksha Sharma, Medical Student
+Joey Swisher, Medical Student