Plastic surgery chief conducts needs assessment for earthquake relief effort
During a brief trip back to his home country of Ecuador in July, Dr. Henry Vasconez visited communities along that country’s Pacific coast which are struggling to recover from damage inflicted by powerful earthquakes this past spring.
Dr. Vasconez, division chief of Plastic Surgery at the University of Kentucky, was in Ecuador to receive a special recognition along with his brother, Dr. Luis Vasconez, division chief of Plastic Surgery at the University of Alabama – Birmingham (UAB), and their sister, Beatrice Engels (Vasconez), as co-founders of Medical Missions Ecuador (MME). The humanitarian organization is celebrating 25 years of providing free medical and surgical services to the mountain region’s poor and indigent children.
The special presentation to the Vasconez family featured Ecuador’s Minister of the Interior- Dr. Jose Serrano Salgado; the Prefect of the Tungurahua Province- Ing Fernando Naranjo; the mayor of Ambato- Ing, Luis Amoroso Mora; civic leaders from the region, and the President of Ambato Rotary Club- Ivan Naranjo P. The local Rotary club has been a critical sponsor and supporter of MME since it was first established, said Dr. Vasconez.
For more information about Medical Missions Ecuador, click to this Department of Surgery article: Surgical mission work in Ecuador presents challenges, inspires creativity.
“We are particularly grateful for the support and collaboration of the Rotary Clubs in Ecuador. Without its support the MME would have been extremely difficult to manage, much less achieve many of its goals,” Dr. Vasconez said.
Basking in the glow of MME’s achievements was, however, a short-lived celebration. Soon after the program’s conclusion, Dr. Vasconez journeyed to the coastal city of Manta on behalf of Rotary to update the list of needs for families trying to recover from a 7.8 earthquake. The quake claimed the lives of nearly 500 people and injured approximately 3,000 more.
A mere four months removed from the disaster, Vasconez said that signs of extensive devastation are still very much in evidence. Buildings with gaping fissures in their foundations pose a constant threat. Displaced families are living in communities of tents amid the rubble and debris of homes which the earthquake either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.
Among the critical losses in the area is the local hospital. To compensate for that loss, huge tents donated by the Ecuadoran government, several other countries, and non-governmental organizations, provide a temporary solution. Makeshift schools and many open air markets are in operation with teachers and merchants making the most of severely limited resources, he said.
Vasconez met with physicians, local government leaders, and clergy to determine ongoing needs that will enable communities and families to deal with the long term effects of the disaster. The list is extensive and it will be quite some time before life returns to normal, he commented. However, despite the current living conditions of most of the area’s inhabitants, one can sense a greater feeling of hope rather than despair, he said.
“Witnessing the resilience and adaptability of survivors in the face of such a catastrophe is always a moving experience.” But the population has serious and pressing needs to be met before temporary shelters deteriorate and the ancillary effects of the earthquake drives the death toll higher.
The MME has organized itself as a conduit for donations to help victims of the earthquake. For further information, or to make a donation to the relief effort, visit the MME website.
