Vitamin Angel: Allies Across Cultures - Vitamin Angel Alliance helps the Honduran Health Alliance

The Honduran Health Exchange integrates western and holistic medicine as well as local medicinal traditions. Methods that are generally considered "alternative" such as massage, midwifery, and the use of herbal remedies are very useful for HHE because they are accessible, easily shared, inexpensive and make use of local resources.

When you find an herbal remedy or supplement that works for you, how many friends do you tell about it? When you and your friends share problems about health, children, work, or when you and your work associates troubleshoot issues together or exchange ideas about a project, doesn't the feeling of solidarity and mutual understanding offer relief? Through this sharing of resources, knowledge and caring, we not only connect with our friends, we affirm our allies. We are reminded once again that no matter how different our circumstances and perspectives, we are interdependent and need each other. Sabine Volchok was reminded of this in a place where circumstances are very different and perspectives are likely to change.

Volchok is a practicing acupuncture therapist and Chinese herbalist who lives in San Francisco, Calif. Because of a persistent serious illness that was not successfully treated by allopathic medicine, she sought alternative solutions. She was referred to a practitioner of Chinese medicine and carefully followed his instructions; shopping in Chinatown for herbs, boiling and mixing carefully, and she was soon cured. Her own encouraging experience led her to her vocation. She has been practicing since 1994 and also donates her services at a women's free clinic in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.

Volchok read an article (Healthy and Natural Journal, December 1998) about a trip to Honduras taken by Trudy Russo, director of Vitamin Angel Alliance, a non-profit organization located in Santa Barbara. The article described her visit to a unique, locally run healthcare program called the Honduran Health Exchange (HHE). The article explained how, in addition to providing primary medical care, HHE provides holistic solutions for the health issues of its patients and seeks to develop economic self-sufficiency among their communities. Vitamin Angel Alliance has supported HHE's work since 1994 by donating vitamins, herbal remedies and flower essences. Soon after Russo's visit, the country was struck by Hurricane Mitch (November 1998). Volchok decided to find a way to help and embarked upon a challenging and enlightening journey of her own. In January 2000, Volchok departed for Tegucigalpa, Honduras and stayed for four weeks.

A teaching experience

On previous tours to Central America, Volchok had enjoyed the exquisitely beautiful Honduran countryside and found the Honduran people to be engaging and generous. When she arrived this time, she was struck by the circumstances into which the country had fallen. The devastation of the storm stunned the progress of the city of Tegucigalpa and forced many more of the city's inhabitants to the point of destitution. Volchok saw the devastation up close. Ruins of entire neighborhoods destroyed by Hurricane Mitch remained scattered throughout the city.

The Honduran Health Exchange integrates western and holistic medicine as well as local medicinal traditions. Methods that are generally considered "alternative" such as massage, midwifery, and the use of herbal remedies are very useful for HHE because they are accessible, easily shared, inexpensive and make use of local resources. They also allow the members of the Health Committees (described later) to help care for their own communities. When Volchok approached Dr. Juan Almendares, M.D., founder and director of the Honduran Health Exchange, about visiting the project, he confirmed that he was always looking for ways to enhance its services. He enthusiastically invited Volchok to introduce the physicians at HHE to acupuncture therapy.

During her time with the Honduran Health Exchange, Volchok conducted a three-week course in acupuncture therapy (including the theory behind the tradition and how to diagnose and treat ailments). She spent her mornings leading a class of four staff physicians, including Dr. Almendares, and one volunteer physician. She demonstrated acupuncture techniques and led the physicians in hands-on practice. In the afternoons she joined them in their clinical rounds at HHE's El Chimbo Clinic. When asked about the patients' reaction to acupuncture, she recalled that most had a respect for acupuncture as a revered, ancient tradition. She said it was a privilege to be able to provide rare moments of comfort and quiet to the Honduran patients she treated. "These people know what pain is. They had no fear of pain from needles," she said.

The El Chimbo Clinic offers services free of charge from 3 to 10 p.m. Though lines of people form for hours before the clinic opens, Volchok observed that the atmosphere is one of caring, loving attentiveness. The doctors were very kind to each patient. This is in sharp contrast to the state-run hospital where patients wait for hours in dingy corridors with doctors moving quickly from one patient to the next. The health of the patients varies but conditions caused by malnutrition are most common. These include micronutrient deficiencies, developmental problems, immune deficiency disorders, and tuberculosis (susceptibility to TB is dramatically increased by malnutrition and further complicated by it). Muscle and joint pain conditions are also common due to a lifestyle of strenuous physical work; daily laboring in fields. There are also high incidences of cancer and high blood pressure. Volchok observed that anxiety, stress and depression are frequently related to poor health among Hondurans.