MARIA
LUISA ORTIZ
WOMEN'S COOPERATIVE
MULUKUKU,
R.A.A.N., NICARAGUA
cooperative and clinic
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SOME OF THE MANY PROJECTS OF THE COOPERATIVE
- Carpentry Shop
- Clinic, 13,000+ visits a year
- Community Health Program
- Construction Block Program
- Delegations
- Farm
- Latrine Project
- Literacy Classes, 600 people in 13 communities
- Midwife Program
- Preschools, 244 children in 4 communities
- Prevention of Family Violence
- Reforestation
- Soy Nutrition Program
CLINICS IN THE MOUNTAINS
Over a year ago the Maria Luisa Ortiz Women’s Cooperative Clinic began training “Brigadistas”, approximately 30 men and women from very remote communities surrounding Mulukuku. These towns range in size from 300 to 2000 people and are not reachable by road, only on horseback or on foot. Some are 10 hours away from Mulukuku and none have any health care. These community health workers are taught to identify people who need to get to a doctor urgently, simple first aid, and treatment for a few easily identified but prevalent diseases like malaria and intestinal parasites. They give out prenatal vitamins and encourage women to get prenatal care at the clinic. Importantly, they also learn about human rights and intervention in cases of domestic violence and child abuse.
Now, the cooperative plans to create a team consisting of a doctor to see sick children, men and women; a nurse to do prenatal care, contraception, and cervical cancer screening; and a human rights worker, along with a supply of medicines. The team would go out to these outlying communities and others on a rotating basis so that each would be visited twice a quarter. This is the only opportunity any of the people of these remote areas has to see a medical provider. Many children in these towns die of diarrheal disease before age 5. Many women die in childbirth or from hemorrhage during miscarriage. Malaria and other parasites are ubiquitous.
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