Austin Samaritans 3rd annual Golf Scramble: Join Us and support Austin Samaritan’s ministries!
Registration: To register and for more information visit www.helpaustinsam.com
*Pre-game lunch *Tee-gift *Live Auction *After Scramble Celebration & Prizes
Participate as
Austin Samaritans is pleased to be the recipient of a new introductory video called Bringing Hope that spotlights our work in Nicaragua. The video provides an overview of the people we serve, the problems they face, and the ministries we support to address the many needs faced by the children and people of Nicaragua.
Click on the image below to view the video.
Many thanks to Herrin Productions for the many hours put into making this video possible.
This event has been postponed until further notice.
Mission trips to Nicaragua often include visits to hospitals and schools in Nicaragua. We conduct outreach to mothers and their newborns at the hospitals; and provide school supplies to students.
Even if you are not traveling to Nicaragua, you can help by donating new items for layettes which the mission team will distribute in these hospitals. Items needed for each visit are shown below.
Cotton washcloth
basic components are italicized
In selecting items for donation, please remember that Nicaragua is a hot country so please select short-sleeved onsies and and summer weight clothing only.
Stickers
All items must fit in a 9x12 inch brown paper envelope.
To arrange to deliver your donated items or if you have any questions about our work in Nicaragua, please contact Peggy Gentry at pgentry@austinsamaritans.org.
Fara Café is a big friend of Austin Samaritans, and the folks at Fara Café tell us that their coffee is now for sale at several Austin area stores. We encourage folks to support Austin Samaritans by supporting Fara Café.
Look for delicious, Matagalpa, Nicaragua - grown Fara Café coffee for sale at:
You are invited to volunteer Saturday, February 20th, from 9am to 1pm at Austin Samaritans’ warehouse as we inventory donations.
If you can sort, organize, pack, clean, or count, you can help folks in Nicaragua by volunteering for our Warehouse Work Day.
With our recent unexpected shipment to Haiti, our warehouse is in particular need of re-inventorying to account for all the supplies we have, and to prepare a manifest for our next shipment to Nicaragua. The shipments are destined for the clinics we support providing breast and cervical cancer care.
For more information contact Ron Gentry at pgentry@austinsamaritans.com.
In light of the recent catastrophe in Haiti, Austin Samaritans has been prayerfully considering what, if any, our response might be. On the one hand, we have no established ties to programs in Haiti. On the other hand, our mission is to improve the human condition in God's larger world.
Those on the ground in Haiti are expressing an urgent need for medical supplies and equipment. Austin Samaritans has a warehouse of medical supplies and equipment ready for shipment. They have the need, we have the resources; it seems so simple. Of course, it is not that simple. Shipping items without a destination is folly and we had to find programs who expressed a need and people in Haiti willing to receive them. In other words, we needed to collaborate with churches, non-profits, and organizations of benevolence to ensure that our participation is indeed helping the intense suffering.
Austin Samaritans was alerted to a medical team comprised of individuals from Hill Country Bible Church, Austin Stone Community Church and other medical personnel headed for Haiti. Volunteers from Austin Samaritans, Austin Stone Community Church, Austin Cosmopolitan Rotary and St. David's Hospital among others assembled supplies to be loaded onto two private planes.
Because of the warehouse work performed by Austin Samaritan volunteers, Austin Samaritans had a reliable inventory of warehouse items available for this endeavor. The Haiti team's doctors reviewed our inventory, and indicated what items they would like to take with them.
Austin Samaritans was able to send more than four pallets of supplies from our warehouse. We sent many first-aid type items like gauze, sutures, splints. We also provided wheel chairs, crutches, and a walker. We sent many pieces of small equipment - an autoclave to sterilize instruments, cautery units to close wounds, defibrillator, EKG, lamps and instrument trays for an operating room and even an ultrasound machine, and much more.
Austin Samaritans Board Chair Elizabeth Erwin stands next to a portion of the medical supplies and equipment from Austin Samaritans given in support of the local medical team en route to Haiti.
The supplies and the medical team will connect with Mission of Hope in Haiti -- which will assist by setting up a clinic for the injured. Two members of the Haiti medical team, Lindsey Griffin RN and Jenny Husband Nurse Practitioner, have also participated in Austin Samaritans' work in Nicaragua.
We thank our benevolent Creator for preparing our hearts, opening doors, and offering us the opportunity to help alleviate the pain and suffering in Haiti. Praise goes to Him for it is through him that we can do anything at all. Your prayers for the people of Haiti and the safety of the team are appreciated.
You are invited to volunteer Saturday, January 16th, from 9am to 1pm at Austin Samaritans’ warehouse as we inventory donations and prepare container shipments to our ministries in Nicaragua.
If you can sort, organize, pack, clean, or count, you can help folks in Nicaragua by volunteering for our Warehouse Work Day.
The shipments are destined for the clinics we support providing breast and cervical cancer care. We will also be packing supplies for our upcoming trip to Nicaragua.
For more information contact Ron Gentry at pgentry@austinsamaritans.com.
Austin Samaritans' Executive Director, John Doty MD, provides an overview of how we came to focus on a particular condition in a particular country, and outlines our strategy to provide significant return on donated funds by
When we consider health care in developing countries we most often think of infectious diseases as the primary cause of disease and death. Though infectious diseases remain a significant problem in many developing countries, cancer and heart disease actually kill many more people. As noted by Otis W. Brawley, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society, “Cancer causes more death than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.”
Approximately five million people die worldwide each year from tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS, but cancer causes nearly eight million deaths worldwide each year. “Of these deaths more than 72% are now occurring in low- and middle-income countries,” according to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization.
The burden of infectious diseases is decreasing in developing countries as clean water, vaccinations, and limited basic health care become more readily available. On the other hand, the burden of cancer is dramatically increasing. The World Cancer Report of 2008 stated that “The global burden of cancer has more than doubled during the past 30 years. By 2030, it could be expected that there could be 17 million cancer deaths annually.” Clearly cancer is a major problem worldwide.
Women in Nicaragua are more likely to die of cancer than women in the United States. In fact, cervical cancer is the primary cause of death for Nicaraguan women between the age of 30 and 60 due to a lack of routine gynecologic care and screening. The incidence of cervical cancer is four times higher in Nicaragua compared to the incidence in the States and the death rate is ten times greater. Over half of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer in Nicaragua are under 50 years of age.
Many women with cancer in Nicaragua die without access to even the most basic health care. In the United States over 80 % of women with either breast or cervical cancer can expect to survive their illness. Half of all known cases of breast and cervical cancer result in death in Nicaragua. How many die from cancer without diagnosis or care is unknown.
Austin Samaritans has joined with Nicaraguan non-profits, Fundación El Samaritano and Fundación Ortiz Gurdian, to combat these deadly diseases. We are joined by other non-profits from the United States and Spain in a cooperative association to address cancer in Nicaragua, particularly cervical and breast cancer. Through the association, women are receiving care including screening, diagnosis, surgery and chemotherapy at Fundación El Samaritano clinic and surgery center.
In October, 2009, a conference for 14 Nicaraguan doctors and nurses was sponsored by Austin Samaritans at Fundación El Samaritano. The conference consisted of two days of lectures and two days of practical training including screening of women, treatment of pre-malignant disease, and follow up of patients previously treated for pre-malignant disease or cervical cancer. Women were screened from two projects Austin Samaritans supports including Casa Esperanza, a program to enable women to escape the sex trade, and Casa Base de Salud, the medical-dental clinic we support in La Chureca, Managua’s municipal dump. These women have a heavy burden of gynecologic disease and are at greatest risk of cervical cancer due to their personal histories.
Plans include development of cancer treatment centers in Managua and Matagalpa. Alliances with short term medical brigades will reach into remote communities to provide screening of women who have no other access to medical care. Well trained Nicaraguan doctors and nurses will be able to screen for and treat many patients with pre-malignant disease in their own communities. For others, the necessary expertise and additional care will available at El Samaritano or in the centers that are planned to open in 2010.
The alliance is able to screen and treat pre-malignant disease of the cervical for only $10.00 per woman. Through our alliance we can treat women with six weeks of chemotherapy with radiotherapy for $500.00 per woman dramatically increasing her chance of survival. Fundación Ortiz Gurdian graciously funds all expenses for diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and follow-up for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Women admitted to the program also receive spiritual support, psycho-social counseling and practical assistance.
In the United States, cervical cancer is a rare disease in women who undergo regular screening. Death due to cervical cancer is even rarer. Though breast cancer is much more common in the United States, it is typically treated with success. Through the alliance of non-profits from Nicaragua, Spain and the United States connecting in common purpose, disease and death due to breast and cervical cancer can be dramatically reduced in Nicaragua.
You can participate in this effort by your generous donation to Austin Samaritans designated for “Cancer Care.”
The Travis County Medical Society spotlighted Austin Samaritans' Founder and Executive Director, Dr. John Doty in their summer newsletter.
In the article, which is distributed to thousands of Central Texas physicians, Dr. Doty recounts the historical backdrop that led to the formation of Austin Samaritans in 2007. Dr. Doty explains the reasons why he stepped away from his oncology practice to lend his full-time efforts to Austin Samaritans.
The TCMS Article Austin Oncologist Moves His Fight Against Cancer to the Developing World begins on page 10.
Peggy Gentry reports on specific items needed by our mission partners in Nicaragua. Your donation of these items or cash in support of obtaining these items would be greatly appreciated. Furthermore, you will give with the knowledge that these items are specifically needed and will be used to meet the immediate needs of Nicaraguan children.
These items must fit in a 10x13 brown envelope. We will be making approximately 650 envelopes.
Elizabeth Erwin, Austin Samaritans Board Chair, reports on activity plans for two upcoming trips to Nicaragua. The two trips in October are each one week long, and occur back-to-back.
Austin Samaritans board members and our Executive Director, Dr. John Doty will be on hand both weeks to guide and oversee logistics. There is no obligation to participate both weeks -- in fact, we expect nearly all participants to sign up for just one week since each week has a different focus.
To sign up for one of these trips, fill out a travel application and send it to Austin Samaritans at the address that appears on the form.
The first week, we will engage with school age children with a Vacation Bible School (VBS) presentation and associated activities at one of our mission schools. We will also visit new moms at the birthing center, visit children and cancer patients in the hospital, help with a construction project for those interested, and spend time visiting and encouraging our mission partners who are long term.
Some "sightseeing" is scheduled to help you understand the culture and the country and its rich history.
Each day begins and ends with a devotional and sharing time. We will stay in a mission compound where a medical clinic and hospital are located. We eat and sleep in a bunk house - there are real toilets and real showers but be forewarned -- they have cold water. Some think that is refreshing since it is a very hot and humid climate.
We travel around town in a school bus and/or minivan with drivers well known to us. It is an opportunity to live in missional community.
The second week will have a medical focus. The first two days will be training and the second two days will be screening and treating patients. There will be orienting to the community and evening visits from our mission partners for fellowship and prayer. The same fellowship and living situation at the mission compound will be in place for week two participants.
There will be three team meetings before we go. At those meetings, we get to know each other, plan for the trip, and pack. We will each take one suitcase filled with things that we will leave in Nicaragua and we take our own personal belongings in a carry on.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Austin Samaritans. We'd appreciate hearing from you.
The First Annual Austin Samaritans Golf Scramble in September 2008 was a great day of golf and the proceeds greatly benefitted the young girls and women at three ministries in Nicaragua. Through the generosity of the golfers and sponsors we were able to raise $12,000. Funds were used to sponsor Karina de los Angeles at Villa Esperanza, a safe home for teenage girls in danger. We also purchased a moto-taxi to ferry women and children from Casa Esperanza to Dispensario el Samaritano for much needed medical care. Additional funds provided shelter for women and children at al Centro de Ayuda Esperanza in Mercado Oriental.
This year we are expanding the tournament and have a goal of raising $25,000. Not only will this be our largest fund raising event of the year, but it will also be a great opportunity to introduce more people to the mission and opportunities available with Austin Samaritans. As we continue to work to keep our overhead costs as low as possible, we are committed to raising more money and filling more needs with the help of our mission partners.
Please join us in being a part of the 2009 Austin Samaritans Golf Scramble which will be held at 1:30pm September 21, 2009 at Forest Creek Golf Club in Round Rock, Texas. Please follow the link to sponsorship opportunities and registration for the event. Your sponsorship will be recognized with signage at the tournament, in the program publicity on the day of the event, in our newsletter, The SamariTimes, and on our website.
Elizabeth Erwin,
Austin Samaritans Board Chair
Austin Samaritans has been refurbishing and redistributing computers from donated parts for several months. Here is an exerpt from a letter we recieved recently that demonstrates how something we might discard can help keep distant families united...
Dear John,
Through the kindness of your volunteers and the resources you share, Austin Samaritans' welcomes our clients, survivors of torture, into the Austin community.
Today, a client received a personal computer for the first time. She expressed excitement that, after learning more about how to use computers, she could receive photos of her friends at Center for Survivors of Torture [CST] over the internet.
For her, the photographs are proof that she is loved here, and even has a family of sorts to care about. Her biological family lives across the seas in dangerous conditions, and she is barely able to communicate with them. Like many of our clients, she will learn to utilize email, online news and internet chat to feel more connected to the dearest people in her life.
Austin Samaritans' computer donations prove to our clients that they are not isolated within this community or from their countries of origin. With the computers and technological assistance you provide, our clients see their kids grow up, the memories of their mothers, and the house they lived in. These moments are precious for us to share, and vital for them. Thank you for giving us these moments.
The gift of technology connects to each other, just as the kindness and commitment of volunteer Bob Holden connects the wishes of recent and vulnerable immigrants to Austin with the wonderful resources of Austin Samaritans.
Thank you for everything,
Cristina Coupal
Administrative Coordinator
Center for Survivors of Torture
Austin Samaritans recently received an email from Deanna Ford, director of NICA Hope Project that oversees the Escolar Publico Elemental Acahualinca. Deanna reports good news: more children are enrolling in school if also fed. Here's an excerpt:
Dear Dr. Doty,
I wanted to give you an update to let you know that school enrollment was higher at the Acahualinca school this year than any year in recent history! This is despite the fact that school enrollment all over Nicaragua is lower than usual. We attribute much of this high enrollment to the feeding program, which was introduced last year and has created an extra incentive for kids to enroll in school. Many of these kids would not be able to go to school if there was not a daily meal provided.
It is exciting to see that so many of these children who were working and had dropped out of school are now back in the classroom!
Deanna's efforts are working. More children are attending school and getting an education. Kids who dropped out are coming back.
But with the increase in enrollment comes an increase in costs. Contributions to Austin Samaritans can allow us to support Deanna's efforts and others like hers in God's Larger World.