(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Twice a year volunteers from Ketchikan travel to El Salvador with colleagues from PeaceHealth and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace (CSJP) to provide health care in rural communities.

This joint health care mission started in January 2001 in response to an urgent need, according to the PeaceHealth mission of “promoting personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way.” During their time in El Salvador, PeaceHealth and the CSJC caregivers join local doctors to provide cataract surgery and general medical treatment in rural communities.

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely packed country in Latin America. Salvadorans, particularly those in rural areas, have suffered severe hardships as the result of civil war. Just less than a quarter of rural residents have access to safe drinking water and only a third can rely on adequate sanitation services.

Kathy Garcia, Director of International Missions, will be in Ketchikan Wednesday, November 6, for her annual visit to talk with local PeaceHealth employees about volunteer opportunities for the upcoming mission trip in February.

She and Sister Susan Dewitt are also bringing Salvadoran crafts and other items to raise funds for the mission. They will be in the Medical Center lobby selling an assortment of art and craft items including purses, enameled crosses, bracelets, and earrings. Coffee from El Salvador will also be available as well as their 2014 calendar. They are also encouraging donations for a “tub” of medications and supplies and to purchase water filters for Salvadoran families.

Source of News: 

PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center
www.peacehealth.org/ketchikan

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