“Because we care, Because we believe things can be different, Because our children deserve a chance.”
Guatemala SANA (healthy Guatemala) is a program developed by Vice President Rafael Espada to change the course of Guatemala.
Salud: Health … addressing the healthcare needs of the children particularly in rural areas.
Ambiente: Environment… ensuring that all citizens have access to potable water and that the natural resources of Guatemala are preserved.
Nutrición: Nutrition … malnutrition must be addressed; short-term programs involve feeding the children through centers in each municipality. Long-term programs involve teaching crop rotation, improved food harvest, etc.
Acceso a la Educación: Access to education. Education is a civil right. Child labor must cease and children must receive an appropriate education.
ABOUT GUATEMALA SANA…
Vision: Improve the quality of life for the millions of rural children in Guatemala who do not have clean water, food to eat or the opportunity to receive an education.
Mission: To integrate primary healthcare, nutrition and primary school education in a centralized location within the town; and provide clean water and sanitation. In effect, our schools become small community centers where both children and parents receive healthcare, nutrition and education.
Location: Sacatepéquez is an indigenous province in Guatemala composed of 16 municipalities and a total population of 318,861. Sacatepéquez is affected negatively by all of these indicators. Its children are the most at risk for death from basic diseases and malnutrition.
THE PROGRAM
The towns were selected based on need, interviews with mayors and civic leaders, and evaluation of the current schools. In each of the selected Guatemala SANA schools we are:
- Performing basic repairs (painting, fixing ceiling leaks and bathrooms, etc.)
- Providing clean water supplies & water filters
- Providing sanitation drains
- Providing new stoves & refrigerators
- Setting up a 2-bed primary healthcare clinic
- Hiring a nurse to work in each clinic
- We also provide these services for the children in each SANA school:
- Physical and nutrition assessments
- Ophthalmology exams
Since Guatemala SANA is a 10 year project, each year we add something of value to our program. In 2010, we will conduct dental and hearing exams for all of our children. A major concern is the malnutrition of these children. Guatemala has one of the worst malnutrition rates in Latin America affecting the physical and mental development of our children. It is impossible for children to learn if they are not well nourished, therefore, Guatemala SANA provides supplemental food for these children.
Guatemala SANA is supported by tax-exempt foundations in Guatemala (Fundación Guatemala SANA) and in the United States (Guatemala Sana Children´s Project)(501 (c)(3) IRS status). Please Note: 100% of donations go directly to benefit the children in the Guatemala SANA program. No salaries or overhead fees are paid for administration.
To learn more about SANA, please visit their website.
You claim here that 100% of the donations will go to directly benefit the children. Unfortunately, that is not true. If a donor uses paypal, at least 3% will go toward their processing fees. Then there are annual state reporting fees for being a 501c3 and non-profit corporation in the United States. In addition, there are always bank fees for transferring money from the US to Guatemala. And finally, even non-profit NGO’s in Guatemala end up paying some fees to SAT. To make the claim that 100% of donations goes directly to benefit the children of Guatemala is a falsehood. While you may indeed be doing good work in Guatemala, you should be more truthful in your communications.