Drs. Anita and Michael Dohn.
In January 2014, Drs. Anita and Michael Dohn ended their work as full-time medical missionaries at the Clínica Esperanza y Caridad in San Pedro de Macorís and returned home to the United States. The latest issue of Episcopax, the newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic, published this farewell letter from them (English translation below):
The article about the Dohns in Episcopax #33 (January-February 2014). Click this image to enlarge it.
Clinicia Esperanza y Caridad in San Pedro de Macorís.
At the conclusion of their years of service in the Dominican Republic, medical missionaries Anita and Michael Dohn bid farewell, leaving us the letter we publish below:
Looking back, what do we leave behind? There are some tangible signs: the groups of health promoters, the HIV/AIDS Treatment Center, and the children who are living thanks to these treatments. The intangible signs include, for example: the independence, self-sufficiency, autonomy, and confidence in themselves of the groups of health promoters as they continue to plan and execute the new programs for their neighborhoods, a new vision of themselves, their capacities and the capacity to positively affect their world, and the self-esteem, psychological wellbeing, and spiritual wellness of the patients in the clinic who live with HIV/AIDS.
But there is something else. It’s not only what we have done but also how we have done it. As the activities here came to an end, we heard again comments that the projects and programs had shown to people how to put love into their work, either as community health promoters, youth counselors, or health promoters who worked weekend nights in the streets with sex workers and their clients.
Our mission for the last 14 years has been to live the life the Lord has called us to live. While living this life, groups of health promoters were organized, children survive, and patients with HIV/AIDS receive treatment, among many other things. But our loyalty to this mission is best measured to the extent by which we have been able to act as ambassadors of Christ and to the extent we have been an example of how to put love in the work of the Lord.
Let’s continue praying, Anita and Michael.
The Dohns receiving an appreciation plaque from the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic in Epiphany Cathedral in Santo Domingo in April, 2013.
The work of Clínica Esperanza y Caridad continues as a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic under the supervision of an administrative committee appointed by the Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín.