Group Reflection
To develop a successful group project that is based on the mission of Mindo Futures, it is necessary to understand the pressing needs of the community. Today, they include the presence of transmittable diseases, the importance of vaccination policies, and the necessity to provide children with home and support. In this project, we want to address such global health topic as the investigation of different neglected parasitic infections, including soil-transmitted helminth infections, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, and toxocariasis (Berger, 2017; Gestal, Holban, Escalante, & Cevallos, 2015). This topic is frequently discussed by many organizations, the representatives of which introduce various approaches to solve health problems and stabilize the quality of life. Such organizations as APUA (Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics), NFID (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases), and IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America) are in the list of good non-profit examples to be followed. Mindo Futures has already taken a number of steps to discuss the impact of infectious diseases in Ecuador. For example, the creation of health and bridge programs helps to share medical and research experiences in the country. Free vitamins and medicines protect the children. Still, these actions are not enough. The APUA’s experience can be used to promote antimicrobial access, and the knowledge of IDSA shows how to combine care, education, and research. Finally, NFID focuses on the education of healthcare givers on how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Infections may be caused by bacteria or viruses in the body. Fungi and parasites may be transmitted with soil and water. Though Ecuador is a developing country with many steps being taken to protect the population, poor hygiene, a lack of knowledge, and uncontrolled communication remain the problems and root causes of the chosen global issue.
This experience is an opportunity to learn what the population has already known about the topic and what activities they are ready to take. New investigations and the analysis of outside experiences show the benefits and shortages of different campaigns. In addition to the already introduced health programs by Mindo Futures, our group finds it necessary to focus on education that can be available not to children only but also to the adults and all people who want to enlarge their level of knowledge.
Our personal perceptions about the chosen agency are positive because we believe that the desire to help people from another country is already a contribution that no all people can make. We believe that the Ecuadorians may benefit from this project because we want to widen the boundaries of medical education and provide people with all necessary explanations and support. To support our work, we plan to invite nurses who are able to offer a lot of interesting approaches to the discussion of infectious diseases. They can share their personal and professional experiences and explain the necessity of vaccination from the point of view of medical workers, on the one hand, and ordinary patients and citizens, on the other hand.
General Facts about Ecuador and Mindo Futures
Ecuador is a symbolic piece of heaven in South America with its population about 16.3 million of people with 27% of the total population of the country being children. Acute respiratory infections, congenital anomalies, and neonatal sepsis lead to death (World Health Organization, 2015). Neglected tropical diseases caused by isolated populations and poorly designed houses are also dangerous for children. Many worldwide organizations like Mindo Futures study this global health topic health condition in Ecuador. The responsibilities of Mindo Futures will be discussed to understand the impact of neglected parasitic infections and solve this problem through the promotion of special education programs and personal contributions to global health changes meeting such student learning objectives as the improvement of research abilities, the encouragement of communication at different levels, and the formulation of personal and professional goals in regards to the already established norms and standards.
The story of Mindo Futures began in 1972 when Sister Lucia founded an orphanage to support the Ecuadorian children who had no place to go and offer them an education (Mindo Futures, 2014). A single vision of a nun to protect the most vulnerable group of people was accepted and understood by many people. With time, the goals of this non-profit organization were changed, including the creation of health and exchange programs and the promotion of research in different fields. The medical mission of the organization is to provide the population with high-quality care, medicine, and free vitamins. As a result, modern children are able to learn more about the threats they have to deal with and their opportunities they can use to promote safe and healthy future.
Team Dynamics
As a part of this organization, our group can contribute to its development in several ways. First, we believe that the medical mission of Mindo Futures can be improved with a new education program that can be offered by healthcare experts to the population for free. Second, free booklets and informative cards should be distributed among the population regardless of their age and gender. Finally, free donations can be organized to provide the children with such medication as Tylenol. Therefore, a new team of voluntaries must be created to support the main ideas of this organization. People who are involved in the discussion of the health problems in Ecuador turn out to be our main contribution to this project.
To meet these goals and take the right steps, each member of our team has to understand personal responsibilities and meet the expectations of the project. There are four people in our group, and each of us is ready to make certain contributions. We try to divide all work and tasks in a team respectfully. Still, it is wrong to neglect the fact that much work and results depend on our leader. This person is a primary team member who is responsible for motivation, communication, and explanation. It is not enough for a leader to make final decisions and guide the rest of the team. The main quality of this person is to listen to everyone and identify the best options. Another person in our team is a marketing coordinator. The main responsibility of this member is to gather the information about the organization, investigate the achievements of other marketing campaigns, and suggest interesting steps to be taken by a team. The third person in our team is a researcher. The role of this member is to investigate all aspects of our work and find support and evidence in different credible academic sources. Finally, there is a strategic planner and organizer in our team. The responsibilities of this person vary, including the necessity to create a plan, inform the team about the goals and possible changes, and report on the latest achievements and future demands. In general, our team is a group of well-coordinated people who understand their roles and consider their responsibilities to achieve the best results in this project.
Individual Reflection
My individual reflection on the work done is another important step that cannot be ignored in this project. A number of significant lessons have been learned about medical missions, human opportunities, and community demands. I also managed to learn something about myself as a result of this service. I realized that I wanted to take care of people whom I did not even know. Despite the existing diversities, egoism, and pride, it is necessary to help each other, and I am ready to cooperate with different organizations to contribute to human lives. I also learned that my community organization achieved more than several medical and social goals. In their intentions to provide free health care and medications, our team members encourage hope and respect to all people in the world.
I do not want to strengthen my reflection by saying that this project has considerably changed my values and beliefs. I find myself a rather kind and compassionate person, and this project showed that such qualities could change the lives of many people. The most important lesson I learned from this work is the necessity to investigate and compare to come to the most effective decisions. Fast replies and quick answers may change the world but hardly improve it. Therefore, the best thing I discovered about my community was that collaboration and communication should never be ignored by organizations. The picture I created about the burden of neglected parasitic infections has not undergone considerable changes.
The only evident change is my personal readiness to solve problems and make certain contributions to the discussion of this problem. The articles and lectures helped to create a good image of the achievements of other organizations and identify the examples that can be useful in the development of my own project. For example, the book by Berger (2017) introduced me a list of different health problems the citizens of Ecuador have to deal with every day. The investigations of the World Health Organization (2015) created a solid basis for the evaluation of the chosen community and its main health problems. The article by Gestal et al. (2015) showed what the Ecuadorians could do to improve their health and avoid infections in their lives. Such learning can be applied in different ways, including a basis for new research or the explanations of why I have made a decision to contribute to the solutions for parasitic infections.
It is impossible to avoid challenges and difficulties in this kind of work. Therefore, I want to continue my cooperation with Mindo Futures and use the examples given by other non-profit organizations. If a had a chance to do a similar project again, the only difference I want to add is not only the attention to the steps and activities that can be applied to the community but also the identification of potential stakeholders whose experience and knowledge cannot be replaced.
In general, I am pleased with the results of my work on this group project. However, in the end, I notice one disappointment that cannot leave me today. I cannot understand why such a long way of improvements and education that was begun by Sister Lucia in 1972 did not remove such serious health problems in Ecuador. Does it mean that all these activities and ideas are not enough to achieve success? Though I was able to create a good solution to promote it in a team and contribute to the work of Mindo Futures, I have to recognize the existing doubts and concerns about the true effects of all these global programs and campaigns developed in such countries like Ecuador.
References
Berger, S. (2017). Infectious diseases of Ecuador: 2017 edition. Los Angeles, CA: Gideon Informatics.
Gestal, M.C., Holban, A.M., Escalante, S., & Cevallos, M. (2015). Epidemiology of tropical neglected diseases in Ecuador in the last 20 years. PLOS One, 10(9). Web.
Mindo Futures. (2014). About. Web.
World Health Organization. (2015). Ecuador: WHO statistical profile. Web.