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La Casa Materna and The Hospital
Wednesday
Wednesday we still did not have use of the Van until about 6pm. Luckily the plans included La Casa Materna and
the Hospital which both were within walking distance of the Small's house. La Casa Materna is a maternity home.
Women stay there for roughly the 2 weeks before they are due so they can be close to the hospital when it is time to have
their child. Many women live far from the hospital and have no reliable means of transportation. The women cook
and clean while they stay there and bring what they can to contribute, but are not expected to pay an particular amount.
The center also offers educational classes for teens and adults; it also has regular gynecological services. After buying
the chairs for them we went back to the Small's to eat lunch and then returned to La Casa Materna to put together puzzles
with the women. They said that it is fun to have visitors to make the days less boring. The women taught us to
do a paper craft as well! In the afternoon we visited the hospital. Nicaragua has universal healthcare so all
services are free to the public. The hospital was very nice despite its funding difficulties. The staff at the
hospital was wonderful, although there was no surgeon employed unfortunately. One thing that Nicaraguans seem to be
good at doing is doing the best they can with what they have.
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