TAMUK Students for Global Communication

In Summary…

As part of our final de-brief for the trip, the professors asked each student to share what their favorite take-away was; clinically, culturally and personally. There were some common themes in the thoughts that were shared. One of the first things we noticed in Belize was the diversity of cultures found there. Many of us anticipated Spanish and native Mayan cultures, and were surprised to find a much wider assortment. The people of Belize are composed of 34% Mestizo (Mayan/European), 35% Creole (Jamaican descent), 6% Garifuna (Afro-Amerindian), Chinese, and Dutch and German Mennonites as well as other minority groups.

We found that the concept of time in Belize has its own benefits and drawbacks. The slower pace we encountered there calmed the anxiety we felt at being in a different country, and helped us to relax when working in less than ideal circumstances, with unknown cases and insufficient materials. However, the Belizean’s concept of time can also be a setback, as our bus was an hour late and we had already checked out of our rooms at the hotel. (Adding in a lesson on patience…LOL)

As we experienced differences in the Belizean healthcare system, we learned that doing things in a different way is not necessarily wrong, and even presents its own strengths. The Community Healthcare Workers are a good example of this. The workers are selected after living in the community and getting to know the people for a minimum of 5 years. These individual’s learn on the job as they visit homes of everyone in the village, become their friends and serve as their first contact, medical or otherwise, for any concerns they may have that is beyond their own ability or knowledge. The Community Healthcare Worker is part of a network of other health care workers, and is able to seek out answers, resources or medical care for the family through that network. We had the opportunity to go on home visits together with a team of nurses and physical therapists to assess the needs in the community. Their medical documentation is centralized throughout the country to better aid it’s people. Another difference we noted was seeing the importance they placed on family and closeness that existed within their family units. It is common to find extended families all living under one roof, sharing in the burden of supporting each other and sharing in each other’s joys and struggles.

We learned that being able to adapt and be flexible is crucial in our work in Belize. We encountered many differences that made therapy challenging. Some families we worked with only spoke Spanish creating the need for translation among clinician pairs. The diversity of living conditions meant that at times we were working inside at a table, and other times we were sitting in the dirt or ditch outside in the hot sun. We found a great deficiency in available materials, especially books. It was common for the children, even older children, to struggle to blend sounds together to make words. When we asked the family, they reported they had no books in the home and very limited access to books at school. Other individual’s would have benefitted from assessments such as a modified barium swallow study (MBS), but had to make due with clinician judgements instead.

As we worked with the families, either in home visits or in open clinics, we gained a respect for the people, and each individual family’s culture. Some of our suggestions needed to be adapted depending on what resources the family has access to, or what they thought would or wouldn’t work for their child. Whether the differences were found in their level of understanding, comfort level, or time restraints, we learned to listen to their perspectives and feedback as we planned therapy goals.

The people of Belize have taught us much during our brief visit about the strength of families and extended families, unity within communities and pursuing one’s goals regardless of circumstances. These are lessons we will not soon forget.

We’d like to thank:

Texas A&M Kingsville and their Study Abroad department for making this program possible,

Chad and Ellen from Therapy Abroad for all their behind-the-scenes work and being excellent hosts.

Thank you to our supervisor’s for sticking with us, providing us the support we needed during our therapy sessions and helping us polish our report writing.

And…one big thank you to our sponsors for helping to making this trip a reality! Thank you.