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Follow-up Reports: Time moves so rapidly - and so many things have transpired in the last year alone. Since the last newsletter, we have had our five-year strategic plan with the Honduras and USA boards in one room for 3 days. We started the sessions on May 18 at 8AM and continued until May 21. The nine board members of United Sates, which consists of business men and women, doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers worked 10 hours per day with the nine member Honduran board, which consist of the mayor of Santa Rosa, The Secretary of State of Disaster Services, doctors, one attorney and business men and women. These combined boards of directors worked diligently to pound out the next 5 years - ultimately, the future of CAMO. Out of this meeting, we have developed 6 main goals:
Most importantly, when everyone returned to their homes the momentum of the meeting continued - and it still has not stopped. The Honduras Board of Director has become much more involved and they are meeting every two weeks to put into action the plan for the next five years. The USA board continues to work hard in their communities to continue to support CAMO. As founder of this organization, it is a great blessing to be surrounded by honest, hardworking board members. Thank you again! Expansion: Audiometry 
The sense of hearing is so vital, especially in a country where pedestrians
do not have the right of way. Sounds of horns are the warning to get out
of the way of something. Life without that warning system is dangerous
indeed. Our Hearing (Audiometry) Clinic has become a very successful program
in serving an area that no one else is addressing for a population of 1
million people. There are groups that come in and hand out hundreds hearing
aids, but then what? They do not address anything other than the giving
of the hearing aid.
We have been so thankful for the cooperation of the elementary schools in setting up the screening of elementary age children for ear infections, foreign bodies, and hearing loss. CAMO also provides education for teachers and parents on early detection of hearing loss. Now we are also starting a screening program for high-risk neonatal patients. In Honduras they still use gentamycin for infection during pregnancy. It is a known fact that gentamycin can and does cause deafness to the fetus. These infants are at a very high risk, and we are attempting to diagnosis them as soon as possible for early treatment and intervention. We also have a new addition to our Hearing Clinic: an Ear Nose Throat (ENT) Doctor will be joining our efforts. At present we see an average of 40 patients per week (not including our screening programs). The new building will allow room for expansion of the hearing clinic, which will have a patient waiting area, pre-clinic for ear irrigation, cleaning, a basic exam, soundproof testing room, office and a laboratory for fabrication of ear molds and programming of the hearing aids. We will move the present Hearing Clinic to the new space on December 1, 2006. Pathology
Medical supplies:
What is the Logic - Why the expansion? Audiometry. Pathology. Medical supplies for sale. All of these will be part of CAMO's five-year plan to become self-sustaining. CAMO's goal is that all our existing programs and overhead can be paid for by the profit of the three listed services. We will still ask for help with large capital projects such as the electrical system in a hospital, or helping the daycare or the technical school, but these will be one-time projects with start-up and completion dates. Our day-to-day operations of serving 90,000 patients will be supported by the new entity, which will be called Inversiones Solidarias Sociedad Anónima (I.S.S.A). We are thankful to have the support of the Alabama team, Dr. Ken Diller and senior design teams at The University of Texas at Austin, The Noble Foundation and over 1,000 other people who believe in what we are doing. Both Boards of Directors (USA and Honduras) feel it is so important to look into the future and not become dependent on the kind hearts of our donors for our sustainability, but to be active in finding ways we can support ourselves. This is why we are adding this new structure - ISSA - to CAMO's services. Emergency Services  In
1998, we recognized the need for emergency training and that was the start
of CAMO becoming the National Registry for the American Heart Association.
As the Honduras National Registry we have been training volunteers. These
volunteers have created a foundation for paramedics and have purchased
4 ambulances. They now have 120 volunteers trained in basic CPR and stabilization
of the patient. In 2004, meetings were held to talk about the community
and their medical emergency needs and the possibility of a 911 system.
In the meetings were representatives of police, fire, emergency room directors,
volunteer ambulance drivers with basic CPR training, the city government
and CAMO. The problem became very clear: while everyone wanted the model
system, they were "putting the cart before the horse." They did not have
a functional emergency department in the private or public sector. So first
and foremost, the emergency room would have to be built. Then the medical
staff would need to be trained on the protocol and system along with the
pre-hospital personal. Then, and only then, could we even begin to look
at a 911 system.
So where are we now? The emergency room is built, and now CAMO is helping with the equipment for it and a communication system between the ER and the volunteer ambulance services. CAMO will also be  taking
a team of Certified Emergency Room Physicians and Registered Nurses to help with
the transition of clinic mentality to emergency room mentality with a standard
of care and emergency protocols. We will be working with the universities
and high schools to have four days of 50 patients per day (students) in
8-hour shifts to practice the system and work on getting comfortable with
it. This is very exciting, as it will introduce the community to this newly
equipped emergency department and a system that is patient-orientated.
We are thankful for donations from the Seaman Family Foundation and the
Burton Morgan Foundation. We are busy working toward the starting date
of the new facility: March 5, 2007.
There are many other stages in the development of this system. The next step is to enable the ambulance service personnel and the medical staff to be in communication. Then all other community services will need to be brought onboard. We need to develop a standard of care and treatments with role descriptions within this process. Everything needs to be approved by the Medical Association within Honduras. To do this we need to have a school for basic, intermediate and paramedics, and this curriculum also needs to be accepted by the Medical Association. So, this is just the tip of the iceberg - but we are definitely on our way. It is certainly our dream to see it all working in the next five years. We need your help, as this is not a small project. We need experienced personnel who know how to set up curriculum, and then we will need the instructors. CAMO has the facility and area for training and classes. All of this must be in Spanish. We also will need funding for communication systems, better ambulances, and people who know how to run an ambulance service and bill for service. In the distant future, we will have dispatch with a direct number such as 911. So much work, and so many experts needed. If you know of one of these experts wanting to commit at least one year of their lives to this, please let us know!
Daycare Thanks to the Jack Deloss Taylor Trust Fund, the Wooster Rotary, the youth that went to Honduras to paint the daycare in February of 2006, Shirley Arnold and the Sunday School Class Faithful Followers, we are able to accomplish the following in the last 12 month period: * Hire a full time maintenance person. We have noted that it is more economical to maintain then to repair long-existing problems. So we now have a full-time maintenance person to assist. His name is Chico. Chico makes about $200 per month. *Water Supply: A new cistern was built with a pump that goes up to another holding tank. Water it then supplied to the entire facility by gravity. This was done to allow more storage of water and to prevent overuse of the pump. We also found on initiation of this project that not one water valve worked. All existing water lines had cracks or were blocked not  allowing
flow of water. It became obvious that to do the project correctly all the
water lines had to be replaced along with all the water installations such
as sinks and toilets.
We noted that due to broken lines there was a lot of water leaking into the sleeping area of the children. We repaired the wall damage, removed the mildew and mold and repainted the area. The following are photos of before and after. *Bathroom Renovation: 
The daycare had only one functional sink and toilet for 122 children. We
were able to install 3 new bath-rooms, each with 3 toilets and 3 sinks.
We also created a hand washing area in the dining hall. The cost of the
bathrooms and the water systems was only $7,000, but what a difference
this project has made in the living conditions of these children!
*Foundation Repair and wall repairs The entire facility had water infiltration at the foundation of the building.  So
we had to dig around the perimeter, seal the foundation and create a drainage
away from the foundation. All the interior walls had mold and mildew on
them and the plaster was chipping off the walls. Painting and repair of
the walls cost $5,100.
*Laundry: The "pilas" to wash linen were repaired with new water lines and drains. You can note in the photos the new installation of the water faucets. We are in the process of painting the entire day care. This room is included in the repainting process. * Meals and Vitamins: CAMO provides the children's vitamins and meals on Fridays. We spent an average of $90.00 per week. The cost to CAMO for the last 12 months for vitamins and meals is approximately $4,320. We would like to continue all of our support for the daycare. If you or any group you know would like to support this project please let us know. Trade School A personal plea from the founder of the trade school was made to CAMO three years ago. We found the school to have no carpentry equipment, no students and high spending by the director. Something wasn't right. We offered to help, but with the understanding that we could reform the board of directors - which we did. By November 2004,  CAMO
had loaned the school equipment and all the supplies needed to teach students,
and a new board of directors was put into place. The old director kept
making excuses to the board of causes for low or zero class offerings.
Finally in November 2005, CAMO USA had had enough. We asked for productivity
or we would withdraw our support. The old director was relieved of his
duties and a dynamic middle-age woman was hired as the new director. On
my visit in August there were 92 students enrolled, active classes in sewing,
wood craving, lathe work, and other educational activities. The school
was full of students and no one was making any more excuses. The school
is also contracting large jobs to local business. They had an order of
400 wood bowls with carving on the outside, which they completed. We are
very pleased with the school at this time. If you have any old sewing machines
or lathes, saws, drills, or sanders, please consider donating them to this
cause. Or if you have a group that would like to raise money for one of
the items please coordinate this activity with our office.
Prison Project The prison is without a medical or dental clinic, which means over 600 inmates have no access to health care. We are working with the prison to help prepare two rooms. One will be a dental clinic and the other will take care of medical needs. They do have one local Honduran doctor who volunteers one day a week, and we have several Honduran dentists who are willing to donate one day a week of their time. This renovation will cost us a total of $6,000. This would be a great project for one or several churches to adopt. The inmates are being ministered to on a daily basis. The women have a group that prays with them daily. The men have several ministers preaching to them daily, but they still need their toothaches to go away and infections to be healed. Please, please consider this need when you look at your budgets. The trade school has also adopted the prison and is working with the inmates to teach them trades. Women are sewing and the men are doing all kinds of wood furniture, making hammocks, bracelets and the like. Dreams that are too big without a lot of help The Public Health Center "Centro de Salud," was constructed between 1957-1963, and the inauguration was in May 1963. It is the largest health center in the Western Hemisphere of Honduras. This center is responsible for 37,000 people. The volume seen per day is approximately 180 or about 14,000 patient visits per year. Its maintenance budget per month is equivalent to $20 for a facility that is 3,400 square feet. Needless to say, with a budget of $240/year and being a 43year-old building, the structural needs are great. 
We are looking at the renovation of this health center as our next large
project. On my visit, the doctors were telling me that they could not hear
a fetal heart beat or do a good lung and heart examination due to all the
noise in the clinic. The windows allow all the noise and dust to enter
directly to the exam areas. The walls are cracked and water damaged, and
the electrical system is, according to Mike McClintock, a fire waiting
to happen and totally inadequate for the services being rendered. The project
we would like to do is the complete re-wiring of the facility with a communication
system, replacement of windows with double-pane windows, repair of the
walls and doors, repair and sealing of the roof to prevent water infiltration,
and painting the facility. If funding allows, a training room for public
education on the importance of clean water, vaccinations, malaria prevention,
AIDS education, and methods of birth control would also be added.
Labor estimate is 25% of materials which would be $18,650
The leading cause of death of women in the western part of Honduras is not breast cancer, cervical cancer or heart disease,----- it is domestic violence. Honduras has approved laws to protect women, including public organizations for these issues such as the Women's Defenders Office, the National Institute for Women (INAM), Family Counseling (Health Department, Mental Health Department) to work toward the resolution of the problem that is domestic violence. But violence against women is a field that has just begun to be explored in the last few decades. Even though these actions have made some impact, it is necessary to have a physical space where women and their children can protect their lives and the lives of their family. By not having this available, these women continue to put up with the problem in silence and, even if it may surprise you, most of the violence continues unpunished, and tolerated by society as well as by its victims. Their home then becomes a place of danger, instead of the welcoming place that it should be. Where would they go? Where, if there are no places they can ask for help and where they and their children could be protected? We see this violence and we can do something about it. The journey will be a long one, but with local, national and international help we can do so much. A multidiscipline group is now working together to bring attention to the problem in the community. We are also working toward training key judical, police and social service agencies in the community of Santa Rosa. We need to develop programs that will help men and women to understand their anger and to modify that response. At the same time we want to protect and provide a physical space to remove women and children from the immediate dangers. This is the most aggressive program that CAMO has ever entered into. I believe that it will take at least five years to see any results. The training programs and shelter will cost $300,000 and we do not want to continue on an annual basis to ask for monies. So we are looking to build an endowment of $300,000 which in Honduras could earn 11% interest. This would keep the facility and program running indefinitely without further funding. We asked the Honduras Congress for funding and they approved $52,000 in June 2006. We continue to seek funds on all levels. Locally we will have our first organizational meeting on September 21, 2006. If you are interested in funding or knowing more about this project please call the CAMO office and ask to speak with Kathy.
CAMO USA Personnel Changes Helen Smith started to work for us back in 2001 as a part-time position.  It
has become a full-time job, even though Helen has been "retired" since
she started working with us. Well, it is time for her to enjoy sewing,
reading and just sleeping in, so she announced to us 2 months ago that
we would need to find another peron for her position. Many, many thanks
to Helen for making sure things ran smoothly during the months that the
Director was in Honduras. We are very pleased to have hired another very experienced person. Karen Riggenbach
will be starting on Sept 1. Helen will still be here 2 days a week, volunteering
and keeping everyone in line.
Also, Vernon Lehman has worked with CAMO since its very inception. He recently
expressed concern about the amount he was doing and not being able to do
it all anymore. We all want to thank Vernon for his dilligent support for so many years. We have been very lucky to have found Frank Long,
who is now doing all of our pick-up and maintenance of CAMO vehicles and
the CAMO facility in Orrville.
In Honduras we added to the Fundacion CAMO staff. It has become overwhelming to run all 16 programs and keep track of all the details, training, supplies, equipment, staff needs, and long-range planning. The new staff member is Guissela Fajado. Her position is Program Coordinator. She will visit the USA 3 times per year to meet with the counterparts and trainers and do long term planning. At the same time she will be responsible for all the supply and equipment needs of those 16 programs. Welcome to the team, Karen, Frank, and Guissella! At this time I would like to thank our weekly volunteers: Dick Kohler, Don Miller, Nannette Sprunger, Wava Kornhaus, John and Wanda Croft, Ralpy Winey, Mort Curie, Ginger Gerber and Mary Fulton. Ellen Douglas and Germaine Gerber help with all our thank-yous and keep our files in order. Allen Dicks, John Gallagher, Bob Warner and Tim Larson keep the medical equipment repaired and flowing to us. Ted Crawford has become the expert truck loader and by far the most active board member. What a great USA team. CAMO does not have money for a fancy marketing campaign. Instead, we put all our money into direct service. I believe God is very good at "marketing" to people's hearts without us spending millions, so we will continue to work with diligence to meet the devestating needs that we are presented with every minute of every day. We look forward to working with those who concern themselves about others as much as we do.  1st
Annual Golf Outing
Our first golf outing was held August 19, 2006 at the Riceland Golf Course in Orrville, Ohio. It was a rousing success, with 80 golfers and 36 sponsors participating. Thanks to organizers Shelly Brenner, Marcia Murphy, Ruth Brown and Nancy Wilps, we were able to raise $5,855.00. I was told afterwards that it rained all around us that morning, but not a drop fell on Riceland Golf Course during our event. Another blessing from the big guy in the sky.
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Wayne County Fair (Wooster,
Ohio)
