Inspired to make a difference

It’s Tuesday morning, Nov. 17. International Baccalaureate diploma candidates at South Side

High School attend an informational session on an inspiring cause.

“The work is wonderful work, and they need your help,” South Side High School Principal Dr. Carol Burris says as the presentation begins to unfold.

Dr. Scott Elberger, a Rockville Centre resident and father of two South Side High School graduates (Ben and Leandra), has just returned from El Salvador. He is an active member of Pediatricians for Central America's Children — a group of dentists, nurses, doctors and emergency workers who travel there twice a year.

The medical team brings supplies to Central America with the goal of improving public health there over the long term. The doctors

pay for their own flight expenses. South Side students donated toothbrushes to this organization, and made a difference in improving the dental hygiene of the Central American children.

El Salvador's children suffer from various medical ailments. Under age 3, 20 to 30 percent of the children are anemic. This condition is dangerous to a child's cognitive skills, physical activity and other abilities. The doctors provided new mothers with iron supplements to give to the children, and instructions on the safest ways to use them.

Cervical cancer also plagues El Salvador. Cervical cancer often arises from having unprotected sex at an early age. The HPV vaccine, which is now widely used in the U.S., is not available in these communities. Dr. Elberger's medical team will be making a case for a grant to fund the distribution of this vaccine in El Salvador.

Malnutrition is common in children there as well. One community that suffers from malnourishment — Yarambal — grows corn as its only marketable commodity. As corn is an “empty” vegetable, children do not get enough nutrients. Vegetables such as broccoli and spinach are not grown, as they do not ensure profit.

By this point in the presentation, the IB students feel moved. According to Dr. Elberger, people in these communities of El Salvador don't smoke cigarettes, but from using wooden fires, they have higher rates of lung disease. This reality is unfathomable to many South Side students. Just as Dr. Elberger's organization receives help from many organizations — such as the Peace Corps and Blessings

International — we still need to all work together to help those in need.

As our school moves into the next phases of fundraising efforts in the spring, students are urged to collaborate, discuss and believe in the

power of motivation.

IB diploma candidates have the potential to be as great as the HPV vaccine and the toothbrush. Each of us shares the power to save a life. To learn more about this worthy cause, visit www.pfcac.org. You, too, will be inspired by these incredible volunteers, just as South Side's students have been, to make a difference in the world.