We were happy to meet Dr. Sonia Garcia, a family practice doctor with an office on the stately Plaza Bolivar in Otavalo, who also singlehandedly staffs the health center in Mojandita, a small village outside of the city. We we put in contact with Dr. Sonia by the Tandana Foundation, a charity that runs medical brigades in the area.  As I waited to meet Dr. Sonia for the first time in the waiting area of her private practice, I was comforted by the familiar presence of 2 well dressed, iPhone toting individuals also waiting to see her. They had that unmistakable drug-rep vibe, and yes, my intuition was correct, even after being away from the office for a while!

Dr. Sonia was extremely lovely and immediately asked us to accompany her to the Mojandita Health Center (see the link under “Our Charities”).  We decided to have Julia do some art projects with the kids of Mojandita, so we threw the painting supplies in the back of our pick-up truck and rumbled up the cobblestone “road” to the clinic.

We arrived early, and the locals guided us in the direction of an amazing waterfall, just a 25 minute walk from the road. We got back, invigorated, just in time for the start of clinic, and it turned out to be a busy day.  The health center was clean, well staffed, and serves the local residents with skill and compassion.  Dr. Sonia has been working at the Mojandita Health Center for almost 20 years, and knows each of her patients personally. We were happy to help out, Lena and Mimi have another great role model in medicine, and we left with a list of much needed medicines that we are happy to purchase and deliver in time for our next clinic day.

-Gail