Your bloggers for the 2010 mission trip are:
Sandy Brambila is a Marketing Specialist at Community Hospital of San Bernardino. Though this will be her first time on a medical mission, she has experience as a literacy volunteer in underserved communities of Los Angeles County. "I have always wanted to do something meaningful with my skills. I am aware that people are often captivated and moved by certain photographs. My goal is to create a visual library of images that will bring awareness to this medical mission. I hope that through stories we can create a community and culture of caring that extends beyond the group of volunteers serving in Guatemala. Of course I am also ready and willing to learn and grow so that I can be useful to the best of my ability. I am grateful for the opportunity to help in such a meaningful way!"
Tricia Griffin, MFA is the director of corporate communications and issues management at Catholic Healthcare West and also serves on the Advisory Board for the Foundation for International Health. A writer by training, Tricia's role in the Guatemala mission is to document the work being done by the caregivers through photography and blogging. "Stories are perhaps the most effective and powerful resource humans have for communicating meaning to one another," she says. "We don't remember numbers. We remember stories. I'm honored to be counted among these remarkable people and to be the legacy bearer for this important work. It is vital that we tell the story of the people we meet, of the actions we take, of the way we are impacted ñ as much for ourselves as for those who will come after us."
David Hora, CLS, MFA is the hematology/urinalysis supervisor for Community Hospital of San Bernardino’s clinical laboratory. He is also a poet. "I love that my job breaks down the human body (much in the way poetry breaks down language) into its constituent microscopic and molecular parts," he says. "In examining these elements, I can then report on the status of the whole—microcosm versus macrocosm. I chose to be part of this team because the need exists and I have the skill and will to help others who, in different circumstances, could be me." David has been part of many teams, from U.S. Air Force deployments during Desert Storm, to CHW’s Transformational Care Initiative, to his current tight-knit laboratory family. "Our team leaders have done everything they can to prep us for the mission, yet I feel exhilaratingly unprepared for the journey ahead. I know the logistics of the mission; the rest is an un-carved block of possibilities with everyone, from the team members to the basilica’s monks to the patients we will treat, as sculptors."
