CLINIC LOS ORTIZ

The Ortiz family has been in Las Mercedes, Cerro El Tigre, El Salvador since 1886, and they have always cooperated with its surrounding community in different ways.

The Idea of the clinic started in 1979, when the Ortiz family organized a small place which was assisted by a nurse. Sadly it had to be closed because of the political violence in the years 1982-1991. Nevertheless, the idea was always in Roberto Ortiz Avalos and family heart, so this year the idea became a reality, thanks in part to Glasswing (Non government organization) and USAID. With their cooperation, the construction started in August and was inaugurated past Wednesday, 11 of December.

The Clinic will have a permanent nurse and a doctor which its main objective will be health prevention and to assist common diseases and if it is necessary refer them to the nearest hospital.

The clinic construction has an office and examination room for the doctor including its own bathroom, totaling an area of 26m2.

There is a second area for the nurse, which includes her office and a storage space for medicines and medical equipment required for the operation of the clinic, with a total area of 24 m2.

The third area is a waiting room which has the capacity to seat 25 to 30 people, while they wait their turn to see the doctor or nurse. This area has 28m2 of construction. By the way, this room has been furnished with beautiful and comfortable benches made of wood extracted from the farm.

And last but not least, the clinic has its own public bathroom area, which is an important project in which our friends Klatch Roasting Micro roaster of the Year 2009 and PT's Coffee Roasting Co. 2009 Macro Roaster of the Year have cooperated in Las Mercedes´s Clinic. Using a normal bathroom may be a common thing for a lot of people, but here in El Salvador, and especially in the rural zones, people don’t know how to use them. They use bathrooms called FOSA which is a hole in the ground (latrine).

One of the objectives here at the clinic is promoting personal hygiene, which includes teaching how to use bathrooms with running water. This is an important project in preventing diseases specially those that attack the digestive system. Our friends Klatch Roasting Micro roaster of the Year 2009 and PT's Coffee Roasting Co. 2009 Macro Roaster of the Year have donated the equipment for these bathrooms.

The needs are many and we thank for your continuous support in Las Mercedes effort to upgrade the living standards of its surrounding community. The Ortiz Family has a firm commitment to cooperate in any new project, health, education or public infrastructure.