Description:

Washington Overseas Mission is a non-profit group that was organized following a medical and dental mission trip to Honduras in December of 1992 and January of 1993. The first trip was first trip was undertaken when Sister Laurinda Mayer, formerly a teacher at St. Francis Borgia High School, invited medical professionals to come and provide desperately needed care to the impoverished nation of Honduras. A group consisting of one physician, four dentists, two nurses, several volunteers and a high school Spanish class journeyed the day after Christmas of 1992 to Honduras to serve the indigent in Urraco and surrounding areas. Since 1992 volunteers from our group have served over 100,000 people in various areas of the country. Our group has had, from its inception, a commitment of student volunteers on our teams. Students from over ten high schools and several colleges have joined medical and dental and construction teams. We feel that the presence of students has been a vital factor in the reception and success of our teams. Many of our “graduates” have become health care professionals and many have returned to help as professionals. Our generous volunteers pay their own expenses for the trip in addition to the gift of their time and talent.

Our brigades travel to Honduras in March of each year for 10-12 days. Active healthcare professionals as well as retired adults and high school seniors and others are a part of our trip. We need doctors, nurses, dentists, dental assistants, pharmacists and other health care providers to apply, as well as individuals who can assist with the Construction team. We are always on the lookout for translators to help with the trip, while we encourage our volunteers to learn Spanish we need individuals fluent in the Spanish language.

Our volunteer healthcare specialists and non-specialist set up mobile clinics in remote villages that otherwise would not have access to healthcare. We are able to provide general medical care, wound care, screening gynecological exams, some surgical procedures and dental care, including extraction and restoration, and health education. Our pharmacists provide safe distribution of medications to the people. Through the dedicated work of our volunteers we are able to provide reading and sunglasses as well as corrective lenses built on site.

Our healthcare services continue year round through our support of a full service dental clinic in Pimienta and a medical clinic in San Antonio both built by our construction teams. It is our mission to ensure the people that we care for receive follow up care if needed. These clinics and our relationship with the local healthcare professionals make this possible. We also help supple medicine that lasts for several months after we leave. When ordering meds for our annual trip we order a surplus with the intent of leaving behind medicines for clinics or trained healthcare professional in the area where we have worked.

Organizational Base: Washington, Missouri