C2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 5,1980
Newcomers leave dairy herd to help others
By SALLY BAER
Staff Correspondent
MOUNT JOY “We have so much here that we
wanted to do a little more. It is easy to donate money,
but you are not giving of yourself.” These are the
words of Sheryl Newcomer, Mount Joy R 3, explaining
why she and her husband Preston chose to go to the
Dominican Republic for ten days earlier in the month
to work with a medical relief mission.'
For the Newcomers it meant making arrangements
for the care of their 85-head milking cow herd, a leave
from Sheryl’s teaching position at the Manheim
Township Schools and someone to care for their 22-
month-old son Timothy. When they first considered go
ing, these arrangements seemed impossible to make,
but the pieces fell together and both Sheryl and Preston
are enthusiastic about the opportunity it afforded
them.
The small island of the Dominican Republic which is
about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire is
located in the Carribean Sea. It sounds like a perfect
place to spend ten days in mid-winter, but the
Newcomers were not there for vacation. What they en
countered was the “unbelievable” destruction caused
by Hurricane David when it swept through the island
last August Preston said, “Destruction was
widespread on the island. Banana and coconut trees
were broken off and it will be a matter of years before
they can bear again. The people depend on these
crops.”
Actually, 90 per cent of the agriculture on the island
was destroyed in the wake of the hurricane. Winds of
up to 180 miles per hour came with the storm, and blew
over everything in its path. Houses constructed of palm
wood were blown away, but even homes built of cement
block were destroyed because the concrete was not
reinforced. Many people took refuge in concrete block
churches and schools and were killed when walls col
lapsed and crushed them. At least 600 people were kill
ed by the storm and 150,000 were left homeless.
The building-up process continues, and it was to this
that the Newcomers and the relief mission contributed.
The Newcomers stress that they were merely part of a
coordinated team effort, and said their interest was
stimulated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shenk who had
worked on five previous missions. They joined the
Shenks and the Rev. Roger Colvin. All are members of
St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Mount Joy.
Once in the Dominican Republic, the Newcomers
met other Lancastrians who were there on the same
mission. Eventually the group numbered 56 from all
parts of the United States and Canada. Sheryl explain
ed that the purpose of the trip was “to meet as many
health needs as possible. We met their physcial needs
and their spiritual needs as they wanted.”
Sponsorship of their Medical Group Mission is by the
Christian Medical Society, a non-denominational
organization made up of doctors and dentists in the
United States and Canadk Once there, the group was
divided into two teams, a surgical team and a clinical
group. The Newcomers were with the clinical group;
and while they are not skilled in using medicine, they
provided essential support services as the group
traveled from village to village to offer their services.
Each day the team set up their clinic in a different
village. Before their arrival, which was coordinated by
the local church, one member of the church had sold
tickets to those needing services. Sheryl noted that the
tickets were used for two reasons. It *ncouraged only
those who really needed the medical services to attend
the clinic and it also helped the people keep their digni
ty. Adult tickets to the clinic cost 50 cents and
children’s tickets cost 25 cents.
Preston was traffic controller of the children’s part
of the clinic and it was his job to get the ticket holders
ready to meet the doctor and nurses and to keep the
flow of patients moving. Preston said tickets had been
numbered, so he simply put the people in order as they
arrived and made sure patients were ready to see the
doctors.
About the team effort, Sheryl said, “We worked very
well together and could set up the dime very quickly m
the villages. The relationship we formed was very
special.” The Mission used churches, schools or
whatever buildings were available. In one village they
set up in a bar; in another, they used a private home.
One of the most common medical problems en
countered was parasites m children. Sheryl explained
that mostly women and children attended the clinics.
The women were frequently low m iron and vitamins.
Sheryl said, “We gave out hundreds and hundreds of
vitamins.” She pointed out that women bear large
families and the ones they saw were frequently preg
nant or had recently given birth, explaining their
vitamin and iron deficiencies.
Both Sheryl and Preston said there were many com
plaints of headaches and backaches. Sheryl said.
Sheryl Newcomer and her son Tim brought a few
small items backwith them as mementos of the
ten-day relief mission to the Dominican Republic.
“They carry large loads on their backs and heads.”
Aspirin and other painkillers were usually prescribed.
Sheryl’s job was working in the pharmacy, helping to
dispense the medication as prescribed. She worked
with two nurses and said she always checked before
handing over the medicine to the patients. All the
medicines were kept in wooden boxes for ease of
storage, and most had been donated for use by the Mis
sion.
“We didn’t see anything really serious,” Sheryl
noted, adding that one of the most heart-wrenching
things they encountered was malnutrition in children.
“It was hard to take.” Children frequently had skin
rashes, and some were brought in simply for check
ups.
Asked about the continuing medical care these peo
ple are likely to receive, Sheryl expressed her concern
about that. Often patients were given a 30-60 day
supply of vitamins, but she said, “While they have it
they feel better, and then they wait until another clime
comes.”
Medical care is available in larger towns and cities,,
but transportation for most rural people is not possible.
Sheryl said most of the towns they visited could expect
to have access to a clinic at least twice a year.
For the people, the arrival of the clinic was a special
time. Sheryl said, “They dressed up in their best
clothes. It was almost festive for them.”
Preston added, “I think the children were glad to
come to the clinic and they tried to act real brave. They
were really shy.”
Part of their clinical group was dentists who had
their work cut out for them. Sheryl kept records on the
number of patients they saw in their clinics and, in
terestingly, the number of teeth pulled. Pulling teeth
was the only procedure the dentists were equipped to
do. The records for the dental clinic are: first day - 23
patients, 44 teeth pulled; second day - 60 patients, 107
teeth pulled; third day - 32 patients, 60 teeth; fourth
day - 33 patients, 62 teeth; fifth day, 78 patients, 160
teeth; sixth day, 28 patients, 58 teeth.
Sheryl said the children found the dentists exciting
and the “dentist always had a big audience.” The den
tist worked outside, usually under a tree or a tem
porary roof constructed to keep away the shade.
The Newcomers had nothing but praise for the
Dominicans. “Even in their destitution, they would
give you the shirt off their back - if they had one.”
Preston said.
He related a story he experienced in the evening
when they had returned to the rented quarters in which
they stayed. As he went for a walk over roads that had
been washed away by Hurricane David, he saw a
farmer chopping cornstalks. He said he crawled
through the barbed wire which is used to keep animals
away from property, walked to the man and began
working. Newcomer said he made a few utterances in
Spanish and communicated to the man that he grew
sweet com in the United States. After working
together, the man began to check every ear of com,
picked out the ten best and offered them to Preston.
yfcmestead
wifiz
Preston is proud of a carving made from a
coconut which was made in the Dominican
Republic. He and his wife Sheryl spent 10 days
there as part of a Medical Relief Mission.
Rev. Roger Colvin, left, and Bob Sherk talk with a'
patient at one of clinics the medical relief team set
up in the Dominican Republic.
About the people, Sheryl noted, “They seem to be
reasonably happy. The children entertain themselves.
They play jacks with stones. I would love to take them
sometoys.”
Preston said, “I don’t understand who owns the land,
but we saw a cooperative which was raising
tomatoes, beans and rice, and acres and acres of
onions. There were always a lot of people in the fields
working.” Sheryl added, “The harvesting is done
primarily by men and children, since the mothers are
busy in the homes with the other children.” Preston
noted that there was very little farm equipment used,
and that wooden oxen carts carried produce to the
train.
Sheryl said that as part of their ongoing agricultural
program there are 60,000 acres to be opened for farm
ing in which irrigation canals have been constructed.
There is another 60,000-100,000 acres in which the
government is in the process of building canals. “They
are looking to the large acreage to help feed the people.
After the second 60,000 acres unopened, they hope to ex
port rice,” she explained.. Agriculture currently
dominates their foreign trade picture, with sugar and
sugar byproducts accounting for 32 per cent of their
foreign earnings. Coffee and cacao earned 34 per cent
and minerals earned 22 per cent. Over 80 per cent of
their exports go to the United States.
There is 60 per cent unemployment on the island
but Sheryl said, “They are basically self-sufficient.
The people live on what they can grow.” Some people
' have plots of land which are located outside their
village. Fresh fruit is widely available and fish is plen
tiful for those living near the shore. Sheryl said, “The
potential for good nutrition is there.”
They also pointed out that the people,on the island
are not politically oppressed, and the government
cooperated fully with their visit.
The Newcomers described the great amount of
reconstruction work which must be done as a result of
Humean David’s destruction. Preston told of visiting
the town of Juan Paron where three of the 500 houses
were left standing, with nine capable of being repaired.
He said the Mennonite Central Committee is helping
people rebuilt these homes, with the goal of 599 homes
over the next two years. “The people are doing their
own rebuilding, with just six people directing the work.
The people are excited about doing it.”
The MOC is not giving the homes to the people but
are requiring that they pay $2.00 per month for 10
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