The Cascade Medical Team (CMT) is a 501 (c) (3) organization headquartered in Eugene, Oregon. Since 2002, in conjunction with its parent organization, HELPS International, as well as PeaceHealth, and McKenzie Willamette Hospital, CMT has provided free medical care to the Mayan people of the highlands of Guatemala.
Once a year, CMT takes a team of volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, allied health professionals and support staff to Guatemala to perform general surgery, gynecological procedures, eye and dental care. CMT also takes a construction team that installs efficient ONIL wood burning stoves in Guatemalan homes. As of 2009, the construction team is also installing HELPS Gravity Water Filters, an inexpensive in-home purification system.
CMT’s yearly mission is housed at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Altiplano, located just outside the city of Solola. This college campus provides the team with facilities for a small hospital and clinic, dormitories for men and women and a gymnasium that is used for meals and general meetings. While the setting is beautifully situated on a plateau overlooking Lake Atitlan in the highlands of central-western Guatemala, it is a region of extreme poverty. During each year’s week-long medical mission, people come from many miles around, usually by bus or on foot, seeking medical attention.
Members of the CMT team pay their own way to and from Guatemala, including expenses for food, lodging and transportation. However, CMT must raise the funds for all costs associated with the medical supplies and equipment.
CMT’s ninth Guatemalan mission begins on Saturday, February 20, 2010 and ends on Wednesday, March 3, 2010.
To learn more about CMT, please visit their website.
Comments are closed.