From NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams:
Elmer Mejia grew up dirt poor in Tegucigalpa, the [capital] of Honduras. He became a Navy diver and medic, and in his early 20s volunteered to work at a clinic where he was exposed to the plight of the lobster divers for the first time. It was run by an Episcopal priest from Wyoming, Gus Sabrador, who became Mejia’s mentor and asked his American congregation to help Mejia go to medical school.
Mejia became a medical doctor with the mission of establishing a real clinic to help the divers, who are desperately poor and have no other medical care. He continued his studies in Texas where he was taught by a leading specialist in hyperbaric medicine, Dr. Caroline Fife. She says she was amazed by his determination to learn and succeed.
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A fundraising campaign for Clinica La Bendicion continues until Jan. 31.
Ann Fontaine wrote this post for Episcopal Café about the Diocese of Wyoming’s work with Clinica La Bendicion.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
