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Katherien Bragg — A Custom-Made Mission |
Massage therapy is sometimes thought of as “fluff and buff,” but when I traveled to El Salvador on a custom-made medical mission, I was grateful to have the opportunity to give massage in a trauma healing center for survivors of the 17 year long civil war. This was a poignant experience of literally touching the lives of people from three generations of people impacted by the war. I was deeply moved by the stories and lives of these folks. Part of my experience consisted of volunteering in the trauma healing clinic. War trauma survivors came form all over this severely war-battered region to see a psychologist, and receive massage therapy immediately after the session. The bodywork is a powerful tool for integrating the psychotherapy and for more thorough recovery from traumas. For me, it was an honor to ease the minds and bodies of the patients I worked on. Hearing their stories was horrific—being witness to their suffering seems like the least I could do. It gave me an up-close look at the terrible, long-lasting impact of war. It made me feel like I could contribute a little to healing individual wounds that remain. Another part of the experience that PeaceHealth generously provided me was living with Salvadoran families. Since I was on the mission alones, not with a brigade, and since I am bilingual and bicultural, Paz Salud set up wonderful connections for me to stay with a woman who works for the trauma center and with a rural community leader (and heroine!) who lives across a reservoir from the town of Suchitoto where the center is located. This was a rich chance to get to know people, hear their stories, share at their tables, get a glimpse of their country and their history in their own words. It is important to me to stay in touch with the poverty and oppression that these individuals and communities endure. I will always remember the women I lived with, and their families and neighbors, as well as the bravery and leadership they represent. Moreover, the Franciscan nun who set up the home-stay contacts, Pat Farrell, will be a life-long friend of mine. I am grateful to Sister Eleanor and to PeaceHealth for a truly life -enriching experience, a chance to serve, to learn and to share in El Salvador. Through massage therapy and other life work, I want to stay on a similar path of cultural interweaving and commitment to addressing the bigger-picture problems of the world, like war and poverty, by working hands-on. |
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Katherien Bragg, |
© El Salvador Health Mission