My time with OTGI in Pamplona, Colombia has been packed. Moto rides up the mountain to inspect a transition house for caminantes, volunteer family dinners, more mobile aid trips up and down the mountain with sandwiches & eggs and rides for walkers (and Jess getting a little queasy and dehydrated on the winding mountain roads). My grip on the door handle has relaxed just a smidge with each uphill-on-a-corner truck pass, and so has my grip on my obsession with following all the rules. It seems the only hard & fast rule here is to do what it takes to get the job done. We crammed two volunteers, one driver, three caminantes, and a bag of oranges the size of a mini fridge into a Corolla with a finicky door latch; did the sniff test on yesterday’s sandwiches; and avoided eye contact and a key request from the hotel concierge. But I feel most confident throwing off the rules in the nightly medical clinic rounds.

One of OTGI’s projects is a weeknight pop-up clinic in Vanessa’s shelter for caminantes spending the night. Volunteers take rotations to heft a first aid backpack stocked with various sundries to Vanessa’s shelter after supper, hosting a clinic as robust as the volunteer staff available to man it. As a physical therapist I was assigned to clinic duty 2 of the available 3 nights, though I don’t consider myself to be a first responder. I was paired up with James, a tall good lad from London towering nearly 6.5 feet above the paving stones. His Spanish and former clinic experience was invaluable as we (he) spoke with caminantes and we did our best to address issues of child malnutrition, headaches, coughs, allergies, dehydration, foot lacerations, old stab wounds, tooth pain, and general joint & muscle discomfort attributable to miles of road walking and carrying awkward loads.

We distributed vitamin A and anti-parasitic Albendazol to kiddos, acetaminophen and muscle liniment spray to adults, and I doled out various muscular stretches to nearly everyone. Even still, there was no cure, no abolishment of the problem; just a listening ear and an ameliorant made up of equal parts medicine and hope.

On Thursday evening there were nearly 60 caminantes in the shelter, and we treated over 25 of them in a four-hour period. It would have been many, many more had we had more than 9 pairs of knock-off Crocs to hand out, but even with those we had crowds pressing us, pleading for new shoes, holding up their broken sandals (some intentionally sabotaged that evening in order to increase their chances for new kicks). It was exhausting, rejuvenating, heartbreaking, and fulfilling. A full spectrum of emotions crowded my chest, making me feel as if I could be crushed and explode simultaneously. How can this much need be met?

James — the tall good lad — works in the consulting profession, as does his wife, Hannah. They organized a wonderful needs assessment for OTGI, and I was privileged to sit in on the review and discussion of their study. Post-it notes and posterboard transformed the volunteer common area into a colorful depiction of needs as determined through interviews of caminantes, shelter staff, and OTGI coordinators. We spent three hours discussing how best to utilize resources to meet caminantes‘ need for shelter, clothing, food, transportation, health care, safety, and more.

Our takeaway from the workshop transported me back to Psych 101 with Dr. Proctor, learning about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We reflected that if a caminante’s need for shelter was not met, they were not likely to be asking for medical or dental care. If their children were hungry, they were less likely to be asking for jackets and coats for a cold day ahead. If they had a safe place to sleep and a square meal, they wouldn’t be worried about security against thieves. Meeting basic needs first offered the most bang for proverbial buck. But how, and who first? This is what keeps On the Ground International going.

How difficult it is to manage the purse strings when the purse hasn’t enough for everyone!

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I have been moved by the plight of the caminantes from Venezuela. These individuals are desperately leaving their home, their friends, and their history; driven by sudden and complete poverty, drawn by a glimmer of hope in an unknown city. I never felt I could outgive their need. So I’m endeavoring to contribute to the purse, to pad the coffers that help supply the basic necessities that every human has a right to. If you’re interested in joining me, please visit onthegroundnow.org for more information on what OTGI is up to now and for different ways to help from home. 🇨🇴❤️🇻🇪