Chynna Blaker will miss a week of school in March, but she will be getting an invaluable lesson that can’t be had in the classroom.
For the third year in a row, the 18-year-old Goodrich High School senior will accompany her parents to Guatemala, where the family provides medical assistance to villagers in the developing country in Central America.
‘This has taught me to accept what I have and not complain,? says Chynna. ‘I used to complain about not having this or that and going there, I see how people make without. They don’t realize what they don’t have and are totally OK. I enjoy helping people in that way. It makes me feel good and I want to do it more. I have learned to be so grateful.?
The Blakers travel to Guatemala with a group of about 40-60 people, most from Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills. The teaching hospital began the program about six years ago, and sends staff in every level of training in medicine, including students, interns, residents. Brad Blaker, an emergency room physician at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital, goes as an attending physician.
Chynna notes that when they fly to Guatemala, they take with them 50-pound bags filled with medical supplies, various medicines, ice solutions, antifungal creams, and lots of prenatal vitamins and other vitamin supplements desperately needed for malnourished children and adults.
The Botsford group is based in Antigua, Guatemala and travels in ‘chicken buses,? brightly decorated former school buses, to small communities in the poverty-stricken nation to provide medical services. They set up clinics in churches, schools, convents, or any community center that provides enough space to treat patients. Last year, they saw about 300 people per day seeking treatment.
‘The services we provide varies,? said Brad, 39. ‘We take doctors in training for eyes, ob/gyns for pelvic exams, we take ultrasound machines, also orthopedic residents that evaluate orthopedic injuries and joint pain, and dermatologists that treat skin disorders. We see a lot of malnutrition and dental problems? infection and decay.?
Brad says he wanted Chynna to experience this, because not many kids her age get involved with humanitarian efforts.
Chynna has been going to Guatemala for one week a year since she was 16, the age her parents required for the trip. Her two younger brothers, Gage, 14, and Colt, 11, must wait a few more years before they can go.
Chynna takes schoolwork with her and while most of the Botsford group stays for two weeks, the Blakers stay for one so her time away from her studies is minimal.
In Guatemala, Chynna and her mother, Darlene, assist the medical teams by escorting patients to where they need to go and retrieving supplies for the staff.
‘I honestly love doing this,? said Chynna, who has won a full scholarship to Oakland Community College to play volleyball and wants to eventually attend medical school. ‘At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go into the medical field, but now I can’t get enough. I want to travel and help those who really want and need medical care.?
Her experiences in Guatemala have been an eye-opener, particularly seeing the extreme poverty. Houses there are made out of sheet metal, wood, or whatever materials the native people can find, she says, and while there are a decent amount of cars, the less westernized people ride bikes or walk barefoot, often carrying baskets on their heads, or babies on their backs.
‘In the villages I’ve seen people who have never worn shoes and we offer to buy them shoes and they turn us down, because they are so used to not having them,? Chynna said. ‘Some have medical conditions because of not wearing them’their feet are turned in because they don’t have proper support from shoes. A lot are very thankful for what we do.?
An education is guaranteed to all who want it up to the fifth grade, Brad notes; however, the supplies are not.
‘They are not given the tools to make them successful,? he said. ‘Pens, pencils, paper, books are only given to those who can afford them.?
What the Blakers see there is sad and the stories are often heartbreaking.
Darlene, 35, recalls an elderly woman who hugged her and told her through a translator about an earthquake in the 70s in which she lost her son and husband when their house collapsed on them.
‘Then, the month before we got there, another of her sons died,? Darlene said. ‘She’s raising her grandbabies and she is 76. It’s amazing to get to that age in Guatemala. They very much believe in family. Stuff like that brings tears to your eyes… The people there are so grateful for anything you can do for them. It makes me appreciate what we have more. Everybody always wants this or that, but do we actually need it? Something like this makes you see what’s important. What’s important is family.?
Chynna shares her own story that she can’t forget. Last year, during her lunch break, she was playing basketball with Guatemalan children when she noticed some little girls following her that were wearing bracelets they’d gotten from one of the medical staffmembers. Chynna told one of the girls it was ‘bonita,? the Spanish word for pretty. Later, right before Chynna was to leave Guatemala, she met the girl’s brother, and mother, who had tears in her eyes. The girl told Chynna she was pretty and hugged her. As Chynna walked down the stairs, the children stopped three stairs in front of her and the translator told Chynna they wanted to be there in case she fell.
‘I broke into tears and before I left, she gave me the bracelet so I wouldn’t forget her and I wear it all the time,? Chynna said. ‘I’ll hold that in my heart forever and will never let it go.?