California Pediatrician joins AHMEN team from Alabama

I am a recently retired pediatrician from California.  I have been to the garifuna area of Honduras 4 times.  This an area of the Caribbean coast inhabited by descendants of escaped slaves from 250 years ago.  It is the poorest part of a very poor country.  I go with a group led by 2 brothers from the United States, who work with local friends to bring health care and other improvements to the area.  My role is to do checkups and treat illness on the local children, as well as do some work on adults.  We work closely with local christian groups, Cuban doctors, and Cuban trained Honduran doctors and nurses.  It is inspiring to see these widely divergent groups working together to help the people.  We bring our own medicines, and use the 2 clinics built by the group in 2 towns, and also work in schools and other buildings in towns without clinics.  A typical day consists of seeing patients for 6 or 7 hours, giving talks to the local midwives, consulting
with the other doctors, and learning how they do things, as they often know more than I about dealing with local conditions, illnesses, and availability of treatment.  We are operating in a basic fashion, with a lab that can do a CBC, u/a, pregnancy test, and malaria smear.  
This year I did exams on 6 children at a new school for the deaf in Pan De Flores, and at an orphanage for AIDS children in Limon.  
The area is very beautiful, on the coast, and we had showers at the clinics for the first time.  We bring our own food and water and are well fed.  Some of us sleep at the clinics, and often we stay with local families in huts.  
When I return home, I feel so grateful for all I have, such as electricity and water and bathrooms.  I feel like I have done something useful and productive and like a better person, not so focused on my own little desires and problems.