If you are an optometrist, opthamologist, eye examiner or technician, or other
eye care professional, we are in critical need of your help! 
 
We will need at least 2 more optometrists to go to support an important medical
mission trip.  We are also looking for professionals to go on eye glasses and
eye surgery teams. Our goal is to simultaneously send about 10 medical teams to
needy sites in Honduras.  If this seems right for you or you have questions,
call me right away or reply directly to my e-mail address below.
 
This past Feb. mission was a huge success.  I have attached a great map that
shows the teams and where they went. My wife and I were on the PLP eye team.
 
Detailed Info:  Right now IHS (International Health Services) is in critical
need of medical folks, Spanish translators, and other support people to go on a
2 week medical mission trip to Honduras.  It is a large undertaking with about
10 teams planned to go at the same time for the 13 Feb to 1 March, 2009 trip. 
It will have  about 6 or 7 medical/dental clinic teams plus several eye teams
and surgical teams planned.  This means about 100 people will go counting all
the support and worker people who go also (many spouses and friends go in this
way).  We have done this for 27 years so we have all the logistics planned out. 
This includes a container shipment to send supplies, meds, radio gear, and any
personal items (if you want) ahead of time.  We are a totally volunteer group
but IHS does help cover a lot of the expenses in going.
 
How many teams of each type we will have totally depends on how many people sign
up and what their profession is.  We do most the sign ups early so that a small
group can go to Honduras the end of October and line up the team locations based
on the skills of the medical folks that have signed up.  We want to get
applications by 1 October to do this so call me ASAP if interested.  We have had
a fairly good turn out so far for physicians and most support (engineers,
helpers, & radio) folks.  However, I only know of only 2 pharmacist signed up. 
We have had a good showing in the other support areas.  Our purpose is to go to
the poor remote locations of Honduras where there are no medical or dental
services for the local people.  It would be a sad thing if a team did not go to
a very needy village simply because we lacked an eye care professional to
complete a team.
 
FYI, our typical eye glasses team will have an optometrist, translator, several
support workers to fit glasses plus several helpers.  An eye surgery team will
vary depending on the needs of the facility we are going to.  A typical
medical/dental clinic team in a village will have a pharmacist plus one or two
docs, an RN and one other nurse or EMT, one or two Spanish translators, an
engineer, one or two radio operators, and several helpers.  All teams are well
rounded team and this also helps when a spouse or friend wants to be on the same
team (note our application has a place to note your desire to be on a team with
some one else).  A parent can take a MATURE son or daughter also if they are
able to be a productive member of the team.
 
I have a CD plus a lot of other information I can pass on to you if you or
someone you know has an interest in going!  Also, there are several other IHS
Directors who can answer more technical questions about the medical side of
things, etc.  So let me know if you have questions in that regard, as well. 
Note that the CD is also good for those signed up as it has a lot of photos &
info about most of the sites we go to.  This includes radio set up info from the
past.  There also is a web site with GENERAL info and applications at: 
www.IHSOFMN.org  A new, more informative IHS web site is under construction but
is not on line yet.
 
Call me any time or write back.  A call is best so I can fill you in on basic
expenses and the variety of work conditions we encounter.
 
I and the needy of Honduras thank you for your interest in this very rewarding
work!
 
Best regards,
 
John Kirckof
JMKKEK@...
Phone: 320-634-4386
IHS Board of Directors
 
PS Our most dire need is for Spanish translators.  If you can help us find one
or two, I will buy you a Grape Uba when we get to LaCeiba !





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