Bringing help and hope

WARWICK — They spent Holy Week providing comfort and medical care for poor families living in the Dominican Republic.
The day after Palm Sunday, March 21, a group of parishioners from the Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr in Warwick, joined an Island Impact Ministries mission to serve 975 patients in remote Hispaniola villages near the Haitian border.
The team of 25 also delivered 1,650 pounds of medical and hygiene supplies.
Island Impact Ministries is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing medical, educational, spiritual, and construction assistance to the people of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The members of the St. Stephen's team included Janette Garneau, who served as a Spanish translator, Janet Grahn, who lead the team in the pharmacy, and Warwick orthopedic surgeon Dr. John Juliano, who provided medical care.

Juliano's wife, Mary, who formerly practiced dentistry, guided patients through the clinic and although she admits very little knowledge of Spanish or Creole, was able to communicate with her patients in a universal way.
"I made a conscious effort to meet each villager with my eyes, to offer a warm smile and hug, as I escorted them to the next station," she said. "I know that they appreciated the smile and the hug because they hugged me back."
The St. Stephen's group also included Rachelle and Tommy Garneau; James and Andrew Juliano and Erin Kerr, all alumni of St. Stephen-St. Edward Elementary School.
They were joined, among others, by nine junior and senior nursing students from the University of Scranton and two of their nursing instructors.
"The team was a well-oiled machine," said Juliano, "and each team member fell into their jobs."
She explained that the Scranton nursing students took patient histories, blood pressure, pulses and temperatures. Other non-medical adult members organized and ran the pharmacy with the high school students.
The medical providers were arranged at tables where they saw patients, did cursory exams and took more in depth histories with the help of a Spanish and Creole translator.
"Since I have been back, I have been asked over and over, 'how was your trip?" said Juliano. "I find that so hard to respond to. What adjectives can I use to describe my experience? Was it awesome? Great? I don't think so.
"It was an opportunity for me to be the hands and feet of Christ, for myself, and for those who could not accompany us on this journey but who prayed for our group, who donated supplies and money," she added. "Hopefully in my face, in the soft touch of our team, of a look in another's eyes, our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic saw Christ's face in the medical team, our nursing students, our translators and our teen pharmacy workers, whether it was in the clinics or when our college and high school students played with the children during lunch breaks."
- Roger Gavan