Cross Catholic Outreach

Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor

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Delivering food, shelter and hope to the poorest of the poor.
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Part II: A Day at San Lucas Rural Health Project

September 1, 2011 by Cross Catholic Blog

Sabina and her husband of 25 years, Roberto, are poor farmers with nine children.
Sabina and her husband of 25 years, Roberto, are poor farmers with nine children.

On Tuesday, I promised you a story of someone whose life was saved by the efforts of San Lucas Rural Health Project, a Cross Catholic-supported health outreach to rural mountain communities in Bolivia. Meet Sabina Ovideo, a 47-year-old woman whose life was threatened by a heart condition, but thanks to the efforts of the rural clinic she was saved!

A few years ago, Sabina was suffering from what seemed like mysterious symptoms: she had trouble breathing and walking, felt tired, and was vomiting. “I could barely walk. I would vomit up blood. I had no strength, I couldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t make any effort to do anything,” Sabina said.

She and her husband of 25 years, Roberto, are poor farmers with nine children. When I visited their house, I saw there was no way they could have afforded health care without help from the San Lucas Rural Health Project. The dirt floors, single bed, and lack of electricity and plumbing said it all—this woman would never have been able to see a doctor, let alone pay for a surgery or sophisticated treatment, without help from the Catholic clinic. As it is, they can barely even eat.

Sabina went to her local San Lucas Rural Health Project clinic in the village of Sapanani Alto, high in the mountains. The doctor at the clinic diagnosed the problem as an irregular heartbeat. With little time to spare, clinic staff took her to a hospital in Cochabamba, the nearest city about an hour away by car, and paid for her to have a pacemaker surgically implanted, something she and her husband never could have paid for on their own.

After the surgery, Sabina was able to walk and work without any problems—she was a new woman! Today she maintains her health with medications and regular check-ups at the clinic. Without the quality, affordable care from this Catholic clinic, Sabina probably would have kept on suffering at home, her poverty keeping her from the care she so desperately needed.

Roberto and Sabina both say they had great faith that God would carry them through the ordeal—and He did. “With God, you can go anywhere,” Sabina said with a smile.

Thank you to the generous Catholics who give through Cross Catholic so that the clinic has the resources to provide healing and a new life to women like Sabina!

-Stephanie J.

Filed Under: medical, women Tagged With: medical care, women

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Cross Catholic Outreach
2700 N. Military Trail, Suite 300
PO Box 273908
Boca Raton, Florida 33427-3908
800-914-2420
Cross Catholic Outreach is a 501(c)(3)
EIN 65-1156061

Audited Financial for Fiscal Year 2019

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