Honduras Hope Mission volunteers organize about 46 bags worth of medical supplies for use and distribution on a weeklong mission in the central American country in February.

MARS — Can you imagine lining up at 11 p.m. to see a doctor at 9 a.m. the next day? This is the scene Gary Weston paints of the medical clinics where he volunteered in Honduras.

Honduras Hope Mission has been providing medical care to impoverished communities since 2005.

Weston, the nonprofit's treasurer, said that what they do is anomalous with people in the United States seeing their primary care physicians annually.

This year, a team of 23 doctors, nurses, dentists, physical therapists and support personnel traveled to Villa de San Francisco in Honduras for a medical mission from Feb. 9 to 16.

That first trip to Honduras in 2005 included five people, and they didn't provide any medical care. One year later, about 500 Hondurans received care.

This year's team saw 2,626 people who were otherwise unable to access care.

“They're very supportive,” Weston said. “They look out for our welfare. Honduras can be a very dangerous community in terms of crime and corruption, but they very much want us to be there.”

Although medical care is provided by the government in Honduras, many poor people cannot get to the capital, Tegucigalpa, to access it. Weston said that volunteers team up with Hondurans to accomplish the mission of bringing care to the people directly.

“There are Honduran doctors, nurses and dentists who do this with us,” he said. “We're very dependent upon them. They depend on us for finances and supplies, but they help us with actually caring for the people with us as well.”

A week on this trip in Honduras includes setting up medical clinics in churches and schools for five days. On some of those days, multiple clinics are set up in two different locations. The medical professionals treat diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory problems, infection and other ailments.

“We did seven locations in the eight days,” Weston said of this year's clinics.

Many Hondurans work in agricultural jobs, Weston said, raising crops like watermelons, plantains and sugarcane. Because working in sugarcane fields includes burning the cane, many respiratory needs go unattended. Additionally, many of these people cook on open wood stoves with no ventilation, which can further irritate these problems.

When this results in the discovery of medical issues — such as cancer — that require surgery, there are national hospitals in Honduras. These hospitals are often difficult to travel to, so the medics on the trip can provide transportation to them when needed.

“We do dental care as well as medical care and some basic eye-care, usually mostly with reading glasses,” Weston said. “Some years, we've had an optometrist go, too.”

Volunteers who go to Honduras “pay their own way — 100 percent,” Weston said. Lodging, food, transportation and everything else they need while they're away is the responsibility of those on the trip. Weston said, “They put down about $1,200 apiece.”

The money raised by Honduras Hope Mission goes toward the procurement and distribution of medicine and supplies.

This year, the Rich-Mar Rotary and Rotary District 7280 supported the Honduran Hope Mission, which raises about $75,000 for medical supplies for the trip.

MAP International, Global Links, the Brother's Brother Foundation and the Ingomar Living Waters Foundation also provide supplies, including about 750 water filters distributed to families to reduce the number of intestinal ailments that people experience from drinking contaminated water.

“Some people only get water every four or five or even every eight days,” Weston said. “Parasites can get into it, so in 2010 we started distributing ceramic water filters that last for two years. Families can then treat the water they're using for drinking.”

Since the Honduras Hope Mission began distributing the filters, Weston said Honduran health officials announced there has been a 90 percent decrease in these types of problems.

The trip, which will be Feb. 8 to 15 in 2020, is open to the public, Weston said.

“We are always open to having new people go,” he said.

To learn more about Honduras Hope Mission, visit www.hondurashope-mission.org.