HONDURAS IS UNDER A RED ALERT
Poor Air Quality is Impacting Health!
I’ve recently returned home from Honduras and wanted to share something that happened while I was there.
When we arrived, the road was as bumpy and dusty as usual, and the skies were gorgeous blue.
As the week wore on, the skies became greyer and greyer….
The pollution in the air, caused primarily by the burning for agriculture throughout the Mesoamerican region, has spread throughout the country and is having dire effects.
Yesterday the air pollution was so bad it caused the government to issue a Red Alert – closing airports, schools, and many businesses. Officials advised people to minimize outdoor activities in areas under the red alert.
Both our office in La Ceiba and our clinics and villages throughout Colón are under the Red Alert. Vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, people diagnosed with asthma or other lung diseases, and people with heart disease, are at particular risk of adverse health consequences from the smoke.
Our patients will need additional treatment because of this time of increase air pollution. The next team does not arrive until May 29th, but you can help!
It costs on average $12.50 per patient to have a telemedicine clinic. With your support today, we can add clinic dates to help patients until the next team arrives on May 29th.
Added telemed clinics will allow patients suffering from respiratory issues due to this increased air pollution to find relief from their suffering without waiting.
I will be honest. I have never had an issue breathing in Honduras until this trip. I didn’t even notice the change in the sky or my problem breathing it at first. I went to visit the orphanage on Wednesday and found myself coughing. I thought it was the heat and the dusty road. Just dry throat. But it wasn’t.
I do not have asthma or any other breathing issue, and if the pollution bothered me so much, can you imagine what it is like for our vulnerable patients who have chronic breathing issues.
Please click here to donate today so we can make arrangements for the next two weeks. Your support is vital to providing for those desperate for help in Honduras now.
