Road Trip! The folks at 9-1-1 Guatemala have started their journey to Guatemala to deliver their state of the art ambulance to the hospital in La Tinta. Follow their journey on their blog, as they drive from Salt Lake City to La Tinta, Alta Verapaz.
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August 2010 La Antigua Network Meeting The following announcement comes from the La Antigua Network (http://www.laantiguaguatemala.net):
Dr. Avery Dickins de Girón, Assistant Director for the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Vanderbilt University has provided a summary of a very exciting project to alleviate malnutrition in Guatemala via a locally sourced nutrition product. Link for Health is very proud to have Avery as a member of our Advisory Board.
To learn more about local production of RTUF products, click here for an article by Mark J. Manary of the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
The GuateNut project seeks to alleviate pre-existing malnutrition in Guatemala and work to prevent full-blown malnutrition through early treatment, and to do so through local-sourcing of agricultural products that will provide local economic benefits. This is a collaborative effort of the Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), Project Pyramid, the HARP Foundation, and Primeros Pasos.
The goal is to produce a locally-sourced, peanut-based product to help combat childhood malnutrition in Guatemala. Guatemala has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, and over 20% of children have stunted growth.
A similar product, PlumpyNut, manufactured by a privately held French company (Nutriset), is widely used in Africa and around the world. The PlumpyNut paste has recently begun to be imported to Guatemala.
Yet, all of the key ingredients for such a Ready To Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) or Ready To Use Supplemental Food (RUSF) are readily available in Guatemala. These are peanuts, powdered sugar, powdered milk, and vegetable oil (in addition to a vitamin and mineral supplement sourced in the U.S.).
Locally sourcing the ingredients not only addresses malnutrition but provides economic opportunities for local development. Farmers will have another market for their products, production and distribution will employ local workers, and these activities should seed other entrepreneurial ventures.
Our short-term goal is to produce a RUTF or RUSF either in paste or cookie form that is appealing to the Guatemalan palate and marketed in a way that does not mark it as medicinal. The paste form will be the most expedient route, although there are unique packaging concerns. A cookie form would likely have quicker take-up among the target population, but cooking may result in the degradation of certain vitamins.
Our initial market would be USAID, and Guatemalan NGOs such as Primeros Pasos and Wuqu’ Kawoq.
Our longer term goal is to produce a energy bar-like product that would have all of the nutritional benefits and yet being appealing enough to be sold in stores and markets. This product would be branded much like U.S. power bars, and the revenue stream would subsidize production of the therapeutic products.
We are working to adapt the product to a cookie form according to local preferences and have had successful prototype efforts thus far. Initial distribution will be done in the clinical setting at the Primeros Pasos clinic in Quetzaltenango.
Coxjac School Latrine Project: This is a project to construct three latrines for a school system in rural Guatemala. The process will also incorporate lessons involving the environment and waste management, hygiene and sanitation, and construction techniques and teamwork. The project is being carried out in Coxjac, Totonicapan, Guatemala, under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Casey Kittredge. The latrines will be used by three groups of students who use the school (elementary, middle school and a weekend middle school program) for a total of 240 students and 12 teachers. The current bathrooms have been deemed unsanitary by the Department of Health due to their proximity to the area where the atol, the morning snack, is prepared for the elementary students. La Cruz Water Project: This project is to build a 1200 liter rainwater catchment tank, with an accompanying hand washing station, at an elementary school in La Cruz, Cajola, Quetzaltenango. The tank will hold a 2-week supply of water for the 285 students that attend the school. The Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta has little access to water, consisting of a small chorro that receives water once a week for an hour. The young students currently bring water in 2-liter bottles from their homes or the local stream to school in order to sustain the water supply. Water Charity is pleased to be participating with other NGOs in this project, and their funds will go for skilled labor and materials. The community and parents from the school are contributing additional labor, and will maintain the tank and pipes upon completion. Santa Apolonia Composting Latrines Project: This is a project to build composting latrines in Santa Apolonia, Chimaltenango. It is being carried out under the direction of Peace Corps Volunteer Ellen Ostrow. In the municipality of Santa Apolonia, Ellen works with two rural agricultural communities, Chuaparal—an indigenous population—and Cojulya—a primarily Ladino population. Over half of the 47 families in the two groups do not have latrines. For those that do, the latrines, which often serve for more than one family, are in poor condition and do little to aid fecal control. The communities are plagued by chronic diarrhea and other gastrointestinal diseases. The groups have requested a community latrine project, which will benefit a combined 300 men, women, and children. Ellen is part of the Rural Home Preventive Health project, Peace Corps Guatemala. Volunteers are partnered with local health centers in various municipalities. Each health center reports to departmental level health centers which then report to the ministry of health. Julio Verne School Project of Melanie Reda: Melanie Reda is a Peace Corps Volunteer, working in Aldea Saquiya, Municipio of Patzún, Chimaltenango. She is undertaking a project to construct a water deposit, and install eight faucets and three flushable toilets at the Julio Verne Elementary School. Kristen Petros’s Water Tank Project: Kristen Petros is a Peace Corps Volunteer living near Patulup, El Quiche’. The local elementary school has 65 students, from pre-primary through sixth grade. The school receives no water during daytime hours. Water is needed for drinking, food preparation, hand washing, and cleaning. Katie Bovitz, Volunteer in Paraje El Zapote: Katie Bovitz is a Peace Corps Volunteer, serving in Paraje El Zapote, Pachilip in the Municipality of Joyabaj, Department of Quiche. She is serving under a 9 month extension to her original Peace Corps commitment of two years. Katie will be leaving Guatemala in April, and asked if Water Charity could fund a last project she wanted to do before she left. After reviewing her proposal, they committed to the project, within her timetable. They told her to start acquiring the materials, as the funds are on their way. In 2008, Katie raised money to build a two-room elementary schoolhouse in the village of El Zapote. The school is currently under construction and is scheduled to be finished by the end of April. She needed the funds for the latrines and hand washing station for the school. Lenny’s “Pilas” Project: Peace Corps Volunteer Lenny Van Boven, serving in Chicocox, Quiche Guatemala is leading a project, involving extensive community participation, to provide sinks for use by 86 people. Ventilated Latrines for the Village Of Chuisac: Katie McKenna, a Peace Corp volunteer, contacted Water Charity with a wonderful project in which she would work together with the villagers themselves and a local NGO with which she had previously partnered. In short, Water Charity decided to fund the building of latrines for the entire village of Chuisac in Chimaltenango. The project will be done in stages, with the first 20% already in motion. Sonte School Project: The community of Sonte is located next to the major road running north through Alta Verapaz. It is easily accessible, and close to a major city. It is very poor and consists mostly of peasant farmers. A hand washing station will be built at the elementary school of the community. This project will be carried out by the teachers of the school and Peace Corps volunteer Dave Bowker, working together with community and local government. The school has recently received electricity, which will be used to power the pump. Corozal School Project: Corozal is a small rural village in Alta Verapaz that is surrounded by tropical jungle. There is no electricity available, but the community does have a system of pipes that delivers water to about 50% of the houses and the school from a nearby spring. The project is to build a hand washing station for the school. It will consist of 8 faucets, sufficient to support the school’s growing population. All pipes inside the cement and running to the faucets will be galvanized steel and the cement itself will be reinforced with rebar, making the project very durable. To learn more about Water Charity, please visit their website.
Over 1,400 women and children were seen in our medical clinic and all patients received donated pharmaceuticals from the COTA pharmacy. In addition to the above services, the orthotic and prosthetic team distributed walkers, wheelchairs and crutches to patients who were screened for these particular needs. The COTA dental team cared for 134 patients during our visit. One hundred volunteer medical and support staff members traveled from 16 different cities in the U.S. to travel with Children of the Americas for the 2010 team. To learn more about this group, please visit their website. Here is a sampling of photos from their trip:
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The Illini Prosthetics Team
Children of the Americas
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