A delegation of three dozen Montgomery County officials and residents will travel to El Salvador over the weekend to deliver medical equipment, hospital supplies, old computers and money to the only hospital in the state of Morazán.
The leaders, which include County Council President George Leventhal, state Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez and Silver Spring Regional Services Director Reemberto Rodriquez, will travel Saturday to the Central American country as part of the county’s sister-city relationship with the state of Morazán.
Leventhal and other participating county employees are paying their own travel and other expenses for the trip, which takes place from Saturday to Nov. 11, according to the county.
The delegation is taking the medical supplies and equipment as well as 150 retired, older model computers and $12,000 to the only hospital that serves Morazán’s 175,000 residents. The delegation will also meet with Luise Enrique Salamanca Martinez, the new governor of Morazán, and visit the site where Morazán’s new university will be opened.
The county formed its relationship with the Salvadoran state in July 2011 when County Executive Ike Leggett visited the country. According to the county, Morazán was selected because many county residents fled from the state from 1979 to 1992 during the Salvadoran civil war.
Leventhal thanked Holy Cross Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center and Suburban Hospital for donating the medical equipment and supplies as well as the county’s Department of Technology for donating the computers.
“This is a great example of people coming together to lend a hand to our Sister City in El Salvador,” Leventhal said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to exchange ideas and learn from folks down there and strengthen the ties we have forged.”
Morazán is located in the northern part of El Salvador (highlighted in red). Via Wikimedia Commons
