Saturday, February 28, 2009

Something from nothing

We´ve been charged with the insane task of planning and effecting a community health fair for about 300 kids in a suburb near the clinic.

Tomorrow morning.

While we´ve all participated in health fairs before, this time we have one day, zero resources, and a giant gaping culture gap and towering language barrier.

I´ve been scouring the internet and there are hundreds of sites about planning a health fair with helpful tidbits like:
-Call your local chiropracter, have them set up a booth about back care
-Have the american heart association donate stickers, prizes, and posters
-Establish a planning committee of 6-10 members, 6 to 10 months in advance of the fair
-Get the fire department involved in teaching fire safety
-Set up a video screen showing advertisements and tips from local health care organizations

The minimum proposed budget I´ve seen is over $1,000.

Clearly not so relevent to 5 medical student gringas in Requena, Peru.

So I´m going to fill the gap. Tomorrow I´ll post our triumphant guide to "Planning a health fair for kids with no money, resources, and no time."

Unless the whole thing is a stunning failure, in which case it will be "How not to plan a health fair for kids with no money, resources, or time."

Either way we´ll all learn something.

I´m off to buy a basin and soap for our handwashing station. Wish us luck!

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