History

Poverty, low income, lack of employment, and poor access to health care are factors that create stressful living environments and can cause numerous negative health effects. People lacking a consistent source of health care are less likely to receive preventive health services, such as routine check-ups and screening for chronic conditions. As a result, diseases and illnesses are often worse by the time low-income or uninsured patients seek treatment. Manos Juntas was founded in response to improve the health of the Oklahoma community.

Dr. Boyd Shook, whose awareness and concern for the large number of uninsured people and the high cost of healthcare in the United States; his desire to help the underprivileged; and his passion for Internal Medicine with more than 50 years of experience, was motivated to start the non-profit organization Manos Juntas. Kathy McCallie, whose persistent dedication to help the poor and as a Ministry of the Epworth Methodist Church, proposed to her father to join hands to create Manos Juntas.

Dr. Shook and Kathy participated for the first time in a Medical Mission Trip to Nicaragua with the Community of Hope Church group in 1994. This was a life changing experience for him and his daughter. They visited remote rural communities where they saw extreme levels of poverty including the lack of basic human needs such as clean water, nutrition, health care, clothing, and shelter. It was hard to believe that a vast majority of the Nicaraguan population struggled to survive on little more than 1 U.S. dollar per day.

After they returned to the United States, their experiences in Nicaragua inspired them to continue medical work within their own community in Oklahoma City. Although the poverty levels between the places are not comparable, the need for accessible health care among the uninsured, the unemployed, and the undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma was growing. In 1995, a year after the trip to Nicaragua, they opened the doors to Manos Juntas, a free medical clinic in the basement of the Epworth Methodist Church.

During the medical mission trips to Nicaragua, Dr. Shook and Kathy also realized that many children and young people face economic hardships that force them to sacrifice their education for their family’s survival. Poverty dramatically affects children's success in school and the lack of sufficient health care ultimately results in many absences from school. They are much more likely to suffer from hunger, fatigue, infections, diarrhea, the flu, and colds. Moreover, many of them are forced to work in order to bring home food for the family. These circumstances decrease students’ ability to concentrate on schoolwork and often force them to drop out of school. Dr. Shook and Kathy wanted to do something for these kids and decided to create the Manos Juntas Scholarship Program.

During the first 3 years Manos Juntas started their three main programs: Medical and Construction Mission Trips to Nicaragua, Free Medical Clinic, and the Scholarship Program. In 1997, Fundación Manos Juntas became officially incorporated as a non-profit organization. Since then, Manos Juntas has joined hands with volunteers and friends to reach out a helping hand to those in need.