The Light We Share

Thank you to Cathy Flanagan (posing here with Alfonso Flores of Puente de Solidaridad) for helping to document the MSMT Cliza mission as photographer and guest blogger!

Written by Catherine Flanagan

Patricia and Ann presented a candle to the Cliza Hospital leadership as a symbol of the light shared this week and the hope that it will continue to shine into the future.

Last Friday, our Multi-Specialty Mission Trip (MSMT) team closed out a full and joy-filled week in Cliza, Bolivia. Our work at the Hospital Materno Infantil San Juan de Dios spanned across clinics in gynecology, cardiology, and family medicine, with over 200 patients served and many fruitful partnerships forged with the Bolivian doctors and nurses on staff. Beyond the walls of that hospital, our surgical team members, Dr. Ellen Eye and RN Geetha Chandrasekar, completed four successful gynecologic surgeries alongside local partners at the Clínica Maria de los Ángeles in Cochabamba. And under the guidance of Puente de Solidaridad social worker Marizol Mamani, several of us had the opportunity to more intimately enter the community of Cliza through visits to two of our patients’ homes. This was our first MSMT since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and our second mission trip to the Cliza hospital, with which the bonds initiated in 2019 have grown even stronger.

We formally concluded our week at the Cliza hospital with a moving ceremony that included our US mission team members, the staff of Puente de Solidaridad, doctors, nurses, and leadership from the hospital, as well as local government officials. Hospital Director Dr. Jose Ortega thanked the medical professionals who came from the US, as well as the staff of Puente de Solidaridad, led by Executive Director Patricia Vargas. Wilder Fernandez, the Municipal Secretary General, thanked us on behalf of the Mayor of Cliza, noting the large number of patients seen over the week. He noted that Cliza invests 20% of its budget in healthcare, while acknowledging that the sum is still insufficient. He reaffirmed the local government’s commitment to maintaining this investment while also continuing to ask for help, expressing his gratitude for our mission and a desire to continue working with us. Patricia Vargas warmly accepted his thanks and shared our appreciation at being welcomed to the hospital for a second time. She also acknowledged something greater at work, “We thank God for making all of this possible.”

Mission team physicians Ellen Eye, Jana Mohan, and Mark Ottolin at El Cristo in Cochabamba.

Solidarity Bridge Executive Director Ann Rhomberg continued the expressions of thanks, sharing a verse from scripture to express how the combined Solidarity Bridge and Puente de Solidaridad team sees our work and our relationship with the hospital. “The light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Ann reflected on the elements of darkness that have challenged the world and the healthcare profession in particular throughout the COVID pandemic. She praised the healthcare workers and hospital staff who “continue to shine the light of healing care even in darkness. This week, we from Solidarity Bridge have again had the great privilege of witnessing your light as doctors and healers, here in Cliza.”

As a sign of our shared light and commitment to continue to “keep the light of this week shining on both sides of our bridge,” the mission team gifted a candle adorned with our logo to the hospital. Dr. Ortega accepted the candle on behalf of the hospital and declared, “May this light be the symbol for your return.” Dr. Henri Vocal, Director of Human Development for the town of Cliza, offered his prayer that “God be with you on your way home… May your light return.”

The candle was not the only gift we were able to present to the hospital. Dr. Ortega gratefully received a new set of surgical instruments and pulse oximeters delivered by our team thanks to a generous donation from Americares. After the presentation of gifts, the municipal Chief of Health, Dr. Gisele Espinoza, and the Chief of Internal Medicine, Dr. Rodrigo Escobar, expressed their hope that we return to the hospital. “You are always welcome in Cliza,” Dr . Escobar told us. “We will await you with open arms.” Dr. Mark Ottolin, Medical Director of our team and an eleven-time Solidarity Bridge missioner, summed up the feelings of our entire group when he shared, “There is such a warm spirit in this country. Whatever one gives here, you always receive more. My spirit is warmed by the light of Bolivia. It is I who thanks you.”

RN Geetha Chandrasekar (r) accompanied hospital nurses and other staff during routine patient care and in the emergency room.

Our team continued sharing our gratitude and the theme of light as we held our own closing ceremony in the chapel of our convent home in Tarata. We each lit a candle, passing the flame from one to another, while sharing a moment from our trip that we were grateful for. Each of us also made a commitment to keep the light of this trip and all that we have learned and shared shining as we return home. Gratitude for the love we shared, the hope we carry, our common humanity rediscovered, and moments of healing were spoken aloud and echoed deep in our hearts. Many of us further vowed to return to Bolivia, to share all that we learned here, to work to improve global healthcare and access to surgical care, and, for some of us, to improve our language skills so we may be able to bond even closer with our friends across the equator.

We have returned home now; our time in Bolivia never to be forgotten. We are committed to being stewards of the light of healing; that the light of our connection to the people we served and those with whom we served will shine forth in our hearts, in our memories, and in the actions we will take in their honor. As we re-enter our daily lives and work, may the light of healing continue to burn strong, as well as our desire to forever share that light.