MEDICO - Organizing Volunteer-Driven Missions in Central America

An experienced neurosurgeon, Dr. Melissa Macias has practiced with Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, providing patients with quality treatment for issues of the nervous system. Community focused, Dr. Melissa Macias served as a volunteer with Medical, Eye, and Dental International Care Organization’s (MEDICO) mission to Honduras while in medical school. 

A humanitarian service organization that has focused on health care efforts in Central America over the past quarter century, MEDICO organizes short-term medical teams that provide comprehensive services to patients in vulnerable communities. MEDICO relies on the efforts of medical and non-medical volunteers and places program participants for seven to 10 days with local partnering organizations. 

Mission participants are not required to speak Spanish, as interpreters assist in ensuring that communication barriers do not pose a major issue. Accommodations vary widely and range from small basic hotels in town to tents in remote regions of Honduras and Nicaragua. In certain cases, volunteers may be put up in village schools or churches arranged by village leaders. One of the common comments of participants regards the way in which their perspectives are enriched through connecting with families and children and ensuring that they receive urgently needed care.