Calling for an Ambulance

San Ramon, Nicaragua is the central hub for a collection of 89 smaller coffee growing communities in the central mountains. About 40,000 people live in the area, where harvesting coffee beans and subsistence farming are the primary occupations. It is the definition of what we, in the first world, refer to as a developing nation.

As such, the residents of the San Ramon region want for some basic services that we take for granted in the U.S. Specifically, the region has no dedicated emergency response system.

A group of volunteer firefighters, Los Bomberos, has been meeting the basic emergency medical needs of the region since 2008. The group has worked with Teach for Health in the past, and has received Basic Life Support and First Aid training. In an ambulance on loan from a nearby fire department, Los Bomberos has been providing community emergency response to the entire region. This involves travel over unmaintained mountain roads to communities that are sometimes hours away from San Ramon, which is in turn another 15 kilometers from the closest hospital. Along with their training, Los Bomberos has an automatic external defibulator to provide BLS for cardiac emergencies.

Last year, Los Bomberos lost the use of the ambulance, and saw their impact on community health drop dramatically. The training and equipment they have to provide fundamental life saving injunctions is nullified by immobility.

To illustrate, Los Bomberos was responding to between 10 and 30 medical emergencies a month with an ambulance, depending on the season. Since then, they have been lucky to respond to 5 in a month, and are only serving the closest communities.

Before moving on, take a second to imagine that you live in a loosely scattered community of 40,000 people without emergency medical response. In the U.S., such conditions are considered intolerable. In San Ramon, it is business as usual.

Los Bomberos are not content with business as usual. They have raised half the funds to purchase the ideal ambulance for the area: this Land Cruiser.

This vintage sport utility vehicle has the clearance and durability to handle the unforgiving conditions of Nicaraguan roads. Also, you can see that it has some amazing graphics on the side panels. That’s not crucial to saving lives, but it is classy.

Los Bomberos raised $3,000 for the down payment on their new wheels. As of now, the rig sits in the fire station in San Ramon. The dealer holds the keys until the balance is paid.

Plans for funding the remaining $3,000 have not materialized according to plan, and now Los Bomberos must find the cash within the next month. We want to do it in a week. After reviewing available funds, we need $2,000 to make the dream of emergency health response for rural Nicaraguans.

To make that happen, we are reaching out to you. You know the drill: every little bit helps. By a bit, we are talking about $5, $10 or more. Consider that the folks in these communities pick the coffee that you might be drinking tomorrow morning. How much do you spend on coffee? Would you like to know the coffee is not only Fair Trade, but the people who pick it have the bare minimum in emergency health care?

You should also know that this is not a Teach For Health project. As much as we want to take on every problem we come across, it’s just not feasible. We are an organization of humble means, and funding on this level is a significant part of our yearly budget. We see an opportunity here to make a tangible and profound effect on the health of the region. We see an opportunity to help our friends do their best to help people in need. In short, we see a situation we can’t turn away from. Know that we are invested in this, and we are leading the charge with making up the difference. With our words and our wallets. Los Bomberos has demonstrated true commitment and partnership to TFH, and we firmly believe in their potential. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this.

To make a donation, head to the TFH website and click Donate. On the next screen there are several options for donating. The lowest one directs your funding straight to the ambulance project.

Thanks for all the help you give to this project. Your contribution is felt by thousands.