ERX Community – Making a Difference in Bolivia
Dr.Gordan Luther, ERx Site Director, recently spent several weeks in Bolivia where he continued a project with Medical Educators for Latin America (MELA). MELA provides trauma courses to Bolivian family doctors and firefighter paramedics. These professionals often handle trauma situations in the field that would typically be managed by paramedics in other countries, so the training is vital. Mano a Mano Bolivia organizes these courses, which have been incredibly well-received, with 50-60 students attending each year. Luther’s work with MELA began after he and his family spent a year volunteering in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2009. While there, he connected with an NGO called Mano a Mano Bolivia. This NGO builds and maintains clinics and schools in rural areas of Bolivia. They have established over 170 clinics and 60 schools in the last 25 years, all of which remain operational and fully staffed. Inspired by their work, Luther and his family sought to support them upon returning home from that 2009/2010 volunteering year. Luther started taking groups down to Bolivia in about 2015. MELA is now a group of dedicated individuals, roughly half are medical doctors, and the other half firefighter paramedics. To support MELA efforts, the group holds an annual golf tournament fundraiser, and many members contribute personally. The initial goal was to fund one clinic, and now MELA is on their fifth project.