El Cordero de Dios support of the work at the Divina Providencia Hospital in El Salvador.
www.hospitaldivinaprovidencia.org/index.php/en/about
Following the initial Didcot Baptist Church (DBC) team visit to El Salvador in 2002 which involved two children’s holiday Bible clubs in San Pedro Perulapan and El Triunfo, it was suggested that a second team visit should be planned for 2007 with three in country projects; a second children’s holiday club and building project in San Pedro and a health care project. In preparation for the team visit Pastor Tito identified two possible health care projects for our consideration. The first was a project in the San Pedro community and the second supporting the work of the Divina Providencia Hospital (DPH) in San Salvador and only a short distance from the church. At the same time there was a concern in the church that they should be doing more in the local community, so the decision was to go with the project DPH.
In December 2007 the team from DBC joined by friends from El Cordero de Dios for the first team visits to the DPH. At that time Dr Carlos Rivas was the Medical Director and we had been in contact with him via email during the months leading up to the visit. However the visit didn’t go as well as hoped and the team faced challenges and felt friction when working with the hospital staff.
DBC team visit 2007
We meet with the leadership team of El Cordero de Dios at the end of our time with them in 2007 and expressed disappointment that our time in the hospital had not appeared to have been as fruitful as we had hoped and planned. However, Pastor Tito was very positive and grateful for our input and committed himself to maintaining contact with the hospital. It was therefore exciting to receive news several months later that a team from El Cordero had started to visit the hospital twice a month, spending time with the patients and their families and doing craft with them. Pastor Tito has since indicated how grateful he has been for the experience with the team in the hospital, which has given him the confidence and tools he needed to support both patients and their families at the end of life.
DBC team visit 2011
In 2011 a second team from DBC returned to the hospital and noticed an immense difference both in the reception they received from the staff and the way the hospital was being run. By this time there had been a change in the Medical Director and a much better relationship between her and the staff. Much of this was a result of the appointment of Sister María Julia García as General Director and the relationship which had developed between the hospital and Pastor Tito and the team from El Cordero de Dios that had developed over the previous four years.
Preparation for the hospital vegetable garden
Since 2011 Mike, Sue and Hannah Quantick have made two visits to El Salvador and on each occasion visited that hospital with the team from El Cordero de Dios who continue to support the hospital, making regular visits to support the staff, patients and their families. All the young people seem very much at home in the surroundings of the hospital, lifting patients in and out of bed, feeding them, massaging feet and legs and doing craft with them. There are several new members of the hospital team and some of the church children are already starting to share in the ministry. In addition, in 2017 the team from El Cordero de Dios have also commenced a new initiative to develop part of the land as a vegetable garden. This now provides fresh vegetables for the kitchen, food for the patients and savings in purchasing them from local markets. It’s also enabling some of the men from the church to be part of the hospital team. Pastor Cecilia has moved seamlessly into the role as part of the hospital ministry and as Pastor Tito before her is regularly called on to pray with patients and their families.
Sister Maria Julia Garcia (General Director)
The hospital is now recognised by the authorities and they are receiving some funding for patients on social benefits. They are now able to use five wards and an external ramp has been provided to give better access to the wards on the first floor. Sister Garcia has indicated that there are two projects they would like to undertake for which they are currently seeking funding. The current area used as a pharmacy is inadequate and needs to be made into a larger and air-conditioned area for the secure storage of medicines etc. Secondly the hospital is now a centre providing radiotherapy treatment for day patients and they need a better means of providing transport for them, maybe a four-wheel drive ambulance.
Location of the assassination of Oscar Romero
The friends from El Cordero de Dios continue to support the hospital as much as they are able. The hospital is located on the site of the home of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the small church where he was assassinated on 24 March 1980. On 14 October 2018 the Roman Catholic Church will be celebrating the canonisation of Romero, when the event will be broadcast live on large screens at the hospital. The Romero Trust in the UK are also very supportive of the ongoing work of the hospital as they seek to continue to support those in need of palliative care throughout El Salvador.
Michael Quantick
El Cordero de Dios Partnership Co-ordinator
September 2018