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 In 2001, a small group of doctors, nurses and volunteers traveled on the first medical mission to Sumpango, a small village in Guatemala, Central America. Their mission then and now is to provide quality medical care, medicines and vitamins free of charge for humanitarian purposes and further enhance goodwill of the United States in Latin America.
After providing free medical care, medicines and vitamins at no cost to well over a thousand needy patients, the medical team felt compelled and committed to return thereafter every 6 months to treat the needy people of Guatemala.
In May 2006, the Emmaus Medical Mission group decided to expand their medical care to other villages in San Pedro, another village in Guatemala. With a group size totaling over 110 (including 40 doctors, 20 nurses & 50 volunteers), their group was able to treat free of charge over 8,000 patients in both towns simultaneously, while providing them with a substantial amount of free medicine and vitamins.
By 2008, the medical mission has taken on the official name: Emmaus Medical Mission. The mission has gown in size to 80 to 100 volunteers per mission with an active roster of over 2,000 rotating doctors, dentist, pharmacists and volunteers. Presently, the Emmaus Medical Mission has a proven track record of successfully treating thousands of patients, complementing their treatment with free medicine and vitamins. Doctors, nurses and volunteers are willing to donate their time and services in recognition of their commitment to service mankind.
To date there have been 20 medical missions to Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador, and their physicians and dentists have treated well over 65,000 patients. Their teams have performed numerous medical procedures including, but not limited to: hundreds of surgeries; pathological reviews; gastrointestinal endoscopies; pap smears; dental procedures; and many more specialized medical procedures.
Each mission’s group size consists of approximately 40 doctors & nurses, and 40 to 50 volunteers, to treat 4,000 to 5,000 patients per mission. Patients are offered a broad range of medical services & specialties: Pediatrics, Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pulmonary, Urology, Infectious Disease, Dermatology, Hematology, Oncology, Dental, General and Maxillofacial Surgery, Podiatry, Psychology, Pharmacy, Chiropractic Services and Registered Nurses.
The most common medical conditions treated are: Malnutrition; Hypertension; Diabetes Mellitus; Pregnancies; Severe Heartburn; Chronic Diarrhea; Dehydration; Parasitic Infestation; Asthma; Allergies; Skin diseases; Syncope; Chronic Lung Infections; and Gastrointestinal tract problems. The most common surgical conditions treated are: Inguinal Hernias; Uterine Fibromas; Cleft Lip & Palate; Breast Masses; and Head/Neck Tumors.
The Emmaus Medical Mission is complemented by voluntary teams comprised of administrative support planning and logistics; triage units; and a pharmacy team. The clinic and each doctor’s have the capacity to deliver patient privacy and effective, field-based healthcare.
Several organizations including Americares, MAP International, and Heart to Heart provide donations for the missions in the forms of medicines, vitamins and supplies at a very low cost. Each mission member traveling as part of the medical mission pays for all expenses and donates their time and services. Furthermore, each member is committed to provide monetary donations; over the counter medicines; vitamins & personal hygiene products through donations.
Their present goal is to expand the mission to other countries, as well as other villages in Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador with increased medical support and patient care; increase the scope and complexity of the medical procedures and increase the amount of free medicine and vitamins to be provided to the needy.
As Emmaus Medical Mission continues to grow and travel to new countries and villages, the need for medical and monetary donations must continue to grow as well. In 2010, five missions are confirmed. With the help of their community and the commitment and dedication of many, Emmaus hopes to carry out these missions with all the supplies and medicine needed to attend to the 25,000 to 30,000 people they anticipate seeing in 2010.
Emmaus Medical Mission is a Catholic based foundation. It is open to, and welcomes doctors, nurses, and volunteers of all religions, beliefs, and all walks of life. This is a medical mission that strives endlessly to provide the most important medicine that many of the forgotten people in the world need…Love. That is the unwavering foundation of their mission…Love & Care for those who are forgotten, one by one.
For more information, please visit their Facebook page or contact Fernando Becerra, Secretary/Treasurer by email, Lfbecerra @ aol.com (remove spaces) or phone (786) 202-0491.
 Guatemala Aid Fund (GAF) began 10 years ago when Bethany Eisenberg Zeeb, an adoptive mother of two Guatemalan-born children, decided to stop exchanging expensive Christmas gifts and instead began collecting necessities such as medical supplies to help Hermano Pedro Orphanage/Hospital in Antigua, Guatemala. What started out as one family’s effort in giving back, turned into the Guatemala Aid Fund thanks to tremendous support from family, friends and community. GAF is now a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
The Guatemala Aid Fund focuses specifically on the needs of abandoned and handicapped children and adults. They currently provide monetary support to programs including Hermano Pedro Hospital in Antigua, Luz de Fatima Orphanage in Guatemala City, Luz de Maria Orphanage in Guatemala City, San Fransisco Xavier orphanage and School in Mixco and the program Felices Corazones in the outer parts around Guatemala City to those in need. They also make donations as needed for KIVA loans, Safe Passage and other programs, especially during emergencies such as mudslides, floods and volcanic activity.
They are all volunteers and do not use any of the funds for their expenses. The money collected by the GAF is used to purchase health care item such as over-the-counter medicines, and health care products like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap and baby products. The GAF has also provided bedding for the hospital as well as surgical linens and specialty medical equipment as requested. All the donations are shipped via private courier or personally delivered and a receipt is received. They also visit the hospital and orphanages they support.
To learn more about GAF, please visit their website.
 New Life with Education, a school for children with special abilities, it is located in the village of Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala.
In January 2000 the school, Nueva Vida, was founded for those with different abilities who were not allowed into public schools. It started in one room with one Guatemalan teacher and eight students. Three of those students had spina bifida, the others with muscular dystrophy, autism, Down syndrome, mental retardation and dwarfism. They were all studying on a kindergarten or first grade level.
The school’s vision is for the children to see themselves in God’s eyes, to know He loves them and has a purpose for their lives and to help them obtain that purpose. They want them to become productive adults who have a strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ as their foundation.
New Life is a licensed primary school and now has grades pre-kinder through sixth. The children are out in the street headed to school instead of hidden in their homes. Some reasons for their impaired learning are severe hearing or vision deficits, learning disabilities, or attention disorders. They are placed in classes of not more than ten students per teacher, some classes as few as four. Due to the students’ varied abilities, in 2010 there will be 1 kindergarten, 2 first grades and 2 second grade classes. Any child who cannot gain an education in public school may attend New Life. Most graduates of sixth grade are continuing to study.
To learn more about New Life, please visit their website.
one kinder, 2 first & 2 second grades
A little girl, 20 months old has a cleft palate and has already had the lip repair, and needs phase 2 of her surgery. She doesn’t need special supplies or formula at this point. We are networking to find a cleft team that is going to be in Antigua or GC soon. Any ideas? Please respond by commenting, below.
Health for Humanity’s surgical team is preparing for two upcoming surgery trips:
- Obras Sociales in Antigua, Nov 6th – 19th: Gyne general and plastic (cleft lip and palate) surgery.
- Hospital Hilario Galindo near Retalhuleu: Nov 11th – 18th doing Gyn surgery.
Patients need to be registered with and assessed by the respective hospitals first. Contact information@healthforhumanity.org for more information.
 The Friends of the Deaf, officially known as the Friends of People with Auditory Deficiencies, a non-profit 501(c) (3) tax exempt organization, founded in 2009, is dedicated to improving the lives of people with auditory deficiencies through their support of Las Voces del Silencio (LAVOSI).
LAVOSI is an educational project for the deaf in Guatemala; “where the voiceless have a voice and a choice!” Las Voces del Silencio (LAVOSI) is a new project in Guatemala dedicated to educating and training the deaf and their families. Their school is conveniently located in Antigua which has good access for the many deaf men, women and children in the surrounding area. They opened their doors for classes on January 25th and have enjoyed a steady growth of students as the word spreads through the community about this new school for the deaf.
- In Guatemala there are an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 men, women and children (out of a total population of about 14 million) with hearing deficiencies.
- The Guatemalan government does not have the resources to help fund organizations such as Las Voces del Silencio
- The public education system of Guatemala makes no provisions to address the needs of this group.
- The few private schools in the country cannot address the needs of a population this large.
LAVOSI has an outstanding staff of teachers all of whom communicate easily with the students using the Guatemalan Sign Language. From the moment their students enter their doors they find a beautiful, spacious facility and are greeted with the smiles and hugs that give them a sense of belonging that they don’t find in many other places. At LAVOSI the deaf and their families find a loving, caring and professional educational environment. Their services are free and open to all regardless of financial status, religious affiliation or social status. The sad fact is that the deaf are left out of society here. They are discriminated against and exploited. They find it almost impossible to find work, and when they do, they receive far less wages. The public schools make no provisions for deaf students. A typical class size in the public school system is 30 to 35 students, making it difficult for any student, much more so for a deaf child. They are left out and left behind! The few private schools for the deaf are mostly located in Guatemala City, which is too far away and too costly for the majority of people that need their services.
At LAVOSI they offer elementary classes (language, social studies, mathematics, sign language, etc.) to the deaf children Monday through Friday. They also offer vocational training in the basic and fine arts, Guatemalan crafts, manual arts, general homemaking, baking, culinary arts and basic and advanced computer training. Parents are encouraged to attend the Parent Information and Training classes on Saturdays. They are taught the Guatemalan Sign Language so that they can communicate more effectively. They are also taught that having a deaf child is a blessing and not something to grieve or something of which to be ashamed.
LAVOSI receives NO funding from the Guatemalan government, therefore only a few dollars a day can make a big difference in the services that they can provide. Learn more about opportunities to support LAVOSI.
You can learn more about the organization by visiting their website.
 Project HANDS is a group of people whose goal is to provide healthcare, education and other support to those who, by chance of birth, have lives less fortunate than their own. Their projects are aimed at improving the quality of rural Mayan life by providing healthcare and education.
Healthcare: Because the Maya have little or no access to medical care, the group sends medical teams to run outreach clinics, and surgical teams to perform elective surgery. As an extension to their idea of bringing surgery to the patients, they are working on a long term project to build a small surgical facility or hospitalito in a rural area.
Their trips usually go to rural northern Guatemala, to the departments of Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz and Quiche. On these trips they work closely with their affiliate Partner for Surgery (PfS), a US based NGO. PfS does all the local ground logistics for the trips and Project HANDS provides a small group of about 5-6 people to run the clinics. These clinics are set up in outlying rural areas where the focus is to find patients who need surgery. However, they also bring a small pharmacy with them and try to help all patients who come to the clinics. The patients who require surgery are then scheduled to have their procedures done either by the next Project HANDS surgical team or other volunteer surgical teams.
The group’s next trips to Guatemala will be:
- October, 2010 – Triage trip to El Quiche
- November, 2010 – Surgery trip to El Quiche
Education: The majority of Mayan women are homemakers, wives and mothers. However, many have much more to offer their families and communities and wish they could. With the Guatemalan healthcare system desperately sagging and in need of everything from equipment, supplies, medications and professionals (throughout the whole country but especially within the indigenous population), it seems a perfect fit to marry these women with careers in the healthcare sector. When twenty one year old Carmen worked with the group as a Q’eqchi translator in one of their outreach clinics, they saw her potential. Upon asking her if she would like to be a nurse she smiled shyly and said “If only…” implying it was something completely out of her reach. But why should it be? That was enough to start the group thinking, and led to Project HANDS funding young women to continue their education and go on to nursing school.
To find out more about Project HANDS, please visit their website.
 Dubbed the “Blueprint Brigade,” by Time Magazine, Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) grew from little more than a handful of members in 2002 to over 12,000 today.
EWB-USA has over 350 projects in over 45 developing countries around the world including water, renewable energy, sanitation and more. These projects are completed in partnership with local communities and NGOs. EWB-USA helps create a more stable and prosperous world by addressing people’s basic human needs by providing necessities such as clean water, power, sanitation and education. EWB-USA’s strength comes from its over 250 dedicated chapters, including university chapters on 180 campuses in the United States. Because of its strong university presence, EWB-USA is the catalyst for a new movement to educate the next generation of socially conscious engineers deeply aware of the needs of the rest of the world.
EWB-USA partners with developing communities in over 45 countries across the world. Their membership consists of professionals and students from a variety of professions including engineering, health, anthropology and business. EWB-USA members make up over 250 chapters located throughout the USA. Through its projects, EWB-USA provides innovative professional educational opportunities that provide a global perspective. Each EWB-USA chapter makes at least a five-year commitment to a partnering community. With the community’s input, the chapter designs and implements low-cost, small-scale, replicable and sustainable engineering solutions to problems identified by the community. This includes water, sanitation, and renewable energy. EWB-USA members train local community members and local NGO’s to successfully monitor and maintain the projects.
To view a representative list of EWB projects in Guatemala, please click here. To learn how to submit a project application, click here for English, or here for Spanish.
To learn more about EWB, please visit their website.
Let’s Be Ready’s mission is to prepare at-risk Guatemalan children for the first-grade by establishing preschools and training preschool and first-grade teachers. Their vision is to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala by reducing the high rate of drop-out and repetition of children in the first-grade. Their goal is to have 80% of their students successfully complete 6th grade—current national average is 20%. Their schools provide the students with a safe, clean place to play and learn. Parents are involved in the school so as to ensure both the support of their program and the commitment to their child’s on-going education.
Their methodology:
- They identify unemployed teachers who have been trained in the National Curriculum and who have the determination to start their own preschool.
- The teacher forms a partnership with a community who needs and wants a preschool.
- The community is required to provide the building for the school and the teacher must recruit parents willing to participate and volunteer.
- The teacher must also agree to be a demonstration school (i.e., they must share ideas and resources with other nearby schools) and they must agree to be accredited by the Department of Education.
- They find a sponsor to provide the teacher with financial support to cover their salary, training, equipment, materials and the cost of operating the school room.
- The teacher must attend their annual teacher-training program before opening their school.
- They require student attendance of 90%.
- They require 100% parent participation in school meetings and functions.
- The students’ readiness for the first-grade is assessed at the end of the year and the students are tracked through the completion of the 3rd grade.
Their teaching training program:
- They invite preschool and first-grade teachers from public and private schools in the communities in which they have established preschools to observe their classrooms.
- They require all of their preschool teachers to undertake a three-week teacher-training program before the beginning of each school year
- They also provide their teachers with mentoring throughout the school year.
Currently, Let’s Be Ready runs preschools in the following communities:
- San Pedro Las Huertas
- Colonia Hermano Pedro de Santa Ana
- San Juan del Obispo
- San Miguel Escobar
- San Juan Alotenango
- Santa Maria de Jesus
- Santo Domingo Xenacoj
- Aldea San Antonio de Santo Domingo Xenacoj
- Aldea El Rosario de Santo Domingo Xenacoj
- San Pablo La Laguna
- Chuisec
- Pacoj
- Tierra Colorado
- La Pila
Volunteers: They accept bilingual preschool teachers for assignments of at least 3 weeks and help them set up their lodging.
To learn more about Let’s Be Ready, please visit their website.
CasaSito increases educational opportunities in rural areas of Guatemala so that indigenous people living in poverty can attend school, receive quality instruction, and obtain the skills they need to improve their lives.
CasaSito has two approaches for addressing educational needs, depending on location. In the Department of Sacatepéquez, they offer scholarships and work closely with local learning centers to provide in-depth and extensive support for students and families. In more remote areas, they work with community leaders to provide support for more short-term projects, such as school construction, education material grants, and training workshops.
- Scholarship: The CasaSito scholarship program focuses on indigenous junior high and high school students of the Sacatepéquez area who have good grades, but are unable to continue their studies due to their economic circumstances. With this program, students may choose their school career as long as their choices are within their budget and their family financial situation.
- School materials and facilities: CasaSito assists six communities in developing the basic resources that they need to provide a solid education. CasaSito provides support for school buildings, teachers’ salaries, furniture and technical equipment that is needed for “Telesecundaria” (a form of long-distance education where students learn from videos). CasaSito also offers school materials such as books, notebooks, and writing utensils. In very rural communities, CasaSito is assisting to build and furnish dorm rooms for students who travel long distances to attend school.
- Food Programs: Students cannot focus in school if they are always hungry. Therefore, CasaSito supports cafeterias in four of its partner programs. These cafeterias not only help children to focus in school, they also provide at least one nutritious meal each day. (And provide employment for community members, usually women.)
- Adult Skill Training: Adhering to their belief that empowering women is one of the effective ways in development, CasaSito provides three communities with skill development programs. CasaSito has trained women in baking, sewing, jewelry making, farming and literacy.
- Library and Computer Labs: CasaSito supports library and computer labs in four of its partner programs. These labs allow students and community members access to a wide variety of knowledge. They also foster a love of learning and reading that students will hopefully carry with them even after they finish their schooling.
- Festivals: CasaSito believes that a well-rounded education includes a variety of extracurricular activities. Therefore, CasaSito holds small festivals for organizations who wish to improve their programs in art, music, athletics, and debate.
As a part of educational mission, CasaSito strives to improve the living condition of the families of rural areas of Guatemala to a level from which they can build their own future and better lives.
- Rainwater Catchment Tanks Construction Program: This program improves domestic water supplies for rural villagers in Guatemala, where besides the lack of clean drinking water, water for bathing is greatly restricted, especially in the dry season, causing skin and other health problems. Each tank can hold up to 6,000 liters of water, which if used properly will last 2-3 months of the dry season and offer clean water during the rainy season.
- Community health posts: They raise funds to help community health posts with equipment and medicine. They also look for associations and university volunteer programs to partner with local communities to improve the quality of health services and special projects such water quality control, medicinal herbal garden, workshops and intensive courses for health promoters.
- Emergency relief: They provide medical help and food supplies to communities and individuals who suffer from the lack of medical services or natural disasters. In 2005, CasaSito offered emergency food supplies to villages around the Tacaná area, which was very affected by Hurricane Stan. They often assist children and their families with medicine, hospital visits and emergency transport fees.
- Microfinance projects: They help associations to apply micro loans to equip their education centers and support mothers who are related to their partner associations to start small business in order to improve their income. One of the most important ingredients of social development in developing countries is the participation of volunteers. Every year, thousands of volunteers arrive in Guatemala and look for ways to help. However, not all of them have strong financial support and for those who stay in the Antigua area, the cost of living can be expensive.
Volunteers’ Program
- Volunteers: The Volunteer Program is very important to CasaSito. CasaSito relies on their volunteers for supporting their general education program. They teach classes, distribute materials, building tanks and centers. They contribute a great deal to the success of CasaSito and its partner communities.
- Volunteers’ House: The goal of the “Volunteers’ House Project” is to provide a comfortable and economical housing option for volunteers working in the Antigua area. The house is 7 blocks from Parque Central, near Parque San Sebastian. The minimum stay is two weeks and prices start at Q1000/month and depend on length of stay and whether you take a single or double room. The prices include use of a full kitchen, filtered water, coffee and tea, and unlimited access to a computer and high speed (wireless) internet.
For more information about CasaSito, please visit their website.
From Houses to Homes (FHTH) aims to strengthen community harmony in highland Guatemala by building lasting, healthy homes, improving access to health care and education, and inspiring participation between the poor and civil society. From Houses to Homes is a New Jersey-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in September 2004 to build homes and improve the lives of the rural poor in Guatemala. FHTH is currently funded through private donations, corporate giving, and contributions from private foundations. Nearly 100% of all donations go toward building homes and providing health and education to revitalize disadvantaged communities in Guatemala.
Home Building: In the poorest areas of highland Guatemala, improper building materials, a lack of appropriate resources, and unsustainable architectures turn houses to foul rubble in the blink of an eye. Many families live in makeshift homes that are constructed of nothing more than cornstalk or cardboard walls with dirt floors. Decrepit housing quashes hope, fuels health problems, and destroys family unity. From Houses to Homes-Guatemala, Inc., recognizes that flourishing homes and thriving communities begin with improving actual home structure. From Houses to Homes works with the poorest of Guatemalan families to build or rebuild houses making them strong, safe, culturally appropriate, and affordable to maintain. These homes become the foundation for a community building process.
Each home costs approximately $1,500. Their homes are 13 x 19 foot homes, made entirely of concrete block, with cement floor, corrugated metal roof, with skylight, a metal door with lock, and a metal-framed window with glass. The home is stuccoed and painted inside and out with colors chosen by the home owner. A plaque with your name will be placed on the home honoring your donation.
How They Select Their Families: There are over one million corn stalk shacks in Guatemala. Some communities consist entirely of these provisional houses which sometime include additional scavenged resources, like corrugated metal siding, scraps of wood, or even plastic bags as siding. All houses have dirt floors, occasionally a bed, and most with leaky roofs. Staff at FHTH try to visit every family three or more times over several months at unannounced times to see how the families are actually living. The only requirement to receive a home is that they are very poor and can prove ownership of the property. They then try to select the families with the largest number of members so there will be a benefit to the largest number of people. A single mother with five or more children will head the list. During their first five years of operation, they have averaged six members per home. This means that FHTH has provided a safe home to approximately 1,680 people.
Health and Education: While home building is their main focus, they recognize that houses just remain structures and communities remain collections of impoverished families without proper health and education. In addition to homes, they believe that providing poor families with better access to healthcare and education most effectively helps address community deterioration in highland Guatemala. From Houses to Homes makes health and education possible by subsidizing health care costs and school registration fees. While they can’t combat this problem in its entirety, they try to assist the neediest families in the highlands.
J. Brian Moran II Clinic in Pastores: FHTH has just purchased a piece of property to build a medical clinic in Pastores. Janeth de Reyes, the Director of the Cambiando Vidas School in Pastores, was kind enough to recruit her son, Emilio, to design the clinic. She also introduced them to her son, Edgar, who is a Doctor to guide us through this project with important information about the community and medical needs of the Guatemalan people. We are extremely grateful to Janeth for her support and guidance.
To learn more about FHTH, please visit their website.
 Open Windows is a dynamic children’s educational center (library, computer center, and more) in the town of San Miguel Dueñas, ten miles (15km) from Antigua, Guatemala’s famous Spanish colonial city.
Open Windows Foundation is a US non-governmental organization (NGO) that currently provides 1,000 children in the community with important educational services and programs to help improve their life options and to increase their self-sufficiency. It is a US-registered, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Dueñas is an agricultural town of 12,000 people, of which 4,000 are school-aged children and yet only 2,000 attend school. The rest do not go for various financial and cultural reasons: a lack of resources for the bus fare to school or to purchase pens and paper; or, the child being the sixth or seventh sibling or younger daughter, where no need is seen for them to be literate.
There are NO other libraries or computer centers in San Miguel Dueñas (not even the four local schools have either of these facilities). Open Windows, therefore, aims to improve the living conditions of the economically deprived children from in and around the town, by providing access to important educational resources through its services, which the community has come to depend on. These include:
- Loaning books to individuals and local schools;
- Tutoring and homework support;
- Introducing motor skills to teach children dexterity with scissors, crayons, stitching etc.;
- Basic reading and writing skills for children and adults;
- Higher critical thinking skills through educational games and creative problem solving activities;
- Encouraging creativity through art projects and manipulatives;
- Learning to use computers for educational purposes;
- The Tom Sullivan Scholarship, which enables deserving students to go to high school; and
- A bi-monthly medical center.
To learn more about Open Windows, please visit their website.
 I would like to introduce you to a blog that my twelve year old daughter discovered and recommended, Think Green, Live Clean. TGLC provides people with the simplest, easiest, and smartest solutions for living a ‘greener’ lifestyle.
One of TGLC’s contributing writers is Trent Hodges, a Peace Corps volunteer currently residing in Santa Catarina Barahona, and working on a project called Sustainable Community Tourism. The idea behind the project is to create income for communities through preserving their natural surroundings and implementing tourism. The goal is to create small scale tourism in local communities where the monetary benefits go straight to the people. In this manner, the community derives more benefit from conserving their natural surroundings rather than the alternatives such as deforestation, hunting, and intrusive development.
Trent will be blogging about his two year journey in Guatemala on Think Green Live Clean. If you would like to join him on his adventure, please bookmark this link.
The Guatemala Healing Hands Foundation (GHHF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality and availability of health care in Guatemala through education, surgery, and therapy. Specializing in the treatment of congenital and hand injuries, they aim to reach Guatemalan children and adults through medical missions led by a team of specialized and skilled surgeons, therapists, and volunteers.
GHHF offers physicians, therapists, nurses, students, and volunteers the opportunity to take part in a cross cultural educational experience. GHHF aims to both educate the local medical providers and supply specialized care for the needed hands of this poor country. They hold a two day, bilingual conference; the purpose of which is to provide education that will, overtime, help the Guatemalan people to be able to care for their own with the latest medical techniques.
GHHF sends qualified professionals to Guatemala to train the local healthcare providers in hand surgery and hand therapy. These highly skilled volunteers come from across the globe to participate in GHHF. GHHF also welcomes volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who are looking for a multicultural educational experience and wish to lend a hand in a country that greatly needs their help.
On their 2009 trip, GHHF screened 174 patients, operated on 68, evaluated 190 therapy patients, fabricated 168 splints, and followed up on past patients.
Since the establishment of GHHF in 2004, their teams of dedicated volunteers have successfully:
- Evaluated 597 patients for hand surgery and therapy (at screening day);
- Completed surgery on 263 patients;
- Fabricated 622 splints;
- Brought one child to New Mexico to receive extensive hand surgery;
- Brought one child to Shriners for microsurgery; and
- Conducted workshops and conferences for over 1,875 people (doctors, therapists, and students).
To learn more about this group, please visit their website.
The Valhalla Project is a Guatemala based organization that seeks to reverse global warming, assist indigenous people in developing self-sustaining agriculture, and educate the public about the environment. They accomplish this mission by planting trees. The Valhalla project introduces ungrafted Macadamia seedlings to indigenous people as an alternative to slash and burn agriculture, which contributes to global warming.
The mission of the Valhalla Project includes:
- Global reforestation of open genetic macadamia nut trees;
- Marketing and sales of natural foods and natural skin care products;
- Promotion of sustainable agriculture for farmers worldwide;
- Job creation through local production and processing; and
- Green investment opportunities in eco-entrepreneurship.
1972, Lawrence Gottschamer was retired in the line of duty as a Fireman in Redwood City, CA, prior to serving in the army during the Viet Nam war. In 1975 he was asked to go to Costa Rica to farm 100 acres of macadamia nut trees. His mentor at that time, Mr. Edelberto Camacho, from the Instituto Interamericano de Ciencias Agricolas in Turrialba, Costa Rica, was and is still well known in the industry. He spent countless hours in private consultation with Mr. Camacho and numerous other professors discussing all phases of agriculture particularly the macadamia tree. While in Costa Rica, Lawrence started the first private nursery in Turrialba. In Costa Rica, he had the chance to meet with experts coming from Hawaii, as the Costa Rican macadamia industry was modeled using Hawaiian methods. As it turned out, the macadamia agro-industry in Costa Rica fell short of commercial expectations because conventional Hawaiian clones were used in the plantations. It was always apparent to Lawrence Gottschamer that locally developed varieties adapted to local climate work much better.
When Lawrence Gottschamer finished his work in Costa Rica he decided to go to Guatemala, where he met his future wife, Emilia Aguirre, a Guatemalan lady with a deep passion for mother nature, with a strong desire to do anything to protect the environment; since that time they have been working together, side by side, for their sustainable agriculture project. He continued his work with macadamia. He built several small macadamia-processing plants for the private sector, and was one of the founders of “Voit, Juarez, and Gottschamer, Consultants” an agro-industrial consulting company.
In 1985 Lawrence and Emilia founded the Experimental Station Valhalla. Its pursuits were and continue to be ecological. With the gene bank in hand they pursued a genetically diverse high carbon dioxide and water exchange capacity tree which is competitive and superior to the grafted or cloned trees available at that time. Their purpose was to use the technology to provide the indigenous communities with a substitute for their current practices of slash and burn agriculture. Finally there was proof that there is a tremendous future for the private sector in the eco-development industry. At Valhalla, they have developed seedling trees whose economic performance is considered at least as good as the best of today’s grafted material.
To learn more about Valhalla, please visit their website.
“THOUGH THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD ARE INCREASINGLY MORE COMPLEX, THE SOLUTIONS REMAIN EMBARRASSINGLY SIMPLE…” – Bill Mollison, co-founder of the world-wide permaculture movement
The mission of Project Seres is to help at-risk groups in developing countries build resistance to climate change threats using knowledge, tools and resources that are environmentally ethical, ecologically sustainable, and economically affordable. Project Seres is a project fighting the injustices of climate change, and working to create social and environmental equality for all. They work by empowering people through education, providing the tools and knowledge to help them make sustainable, positive changes.
A Centre for Climate Change Education & Sustainable Development: Around the world, climate change is starting to touch people’s lives. The magnitude and seriousness of its impacts varies greatly, but without a doubt it is the poor and vulnerable – primarily in developing countries – that are being affected first and hardest. One of the sad realties of climate change is that the majority of these people are not even aware that climate change exists: while their future is being hotly debated on the world’s political stage, they continue on with the struggle of their day-to-day lives – a struggle which is becoming increasingly more difficult every day. Climate change is not just an environmental issue, it is a social injustice. Project Seres fights against this injustice, working at a grass-roots level with at-risk groups where need is greatest to create social and environmental equality for all.
Seres College: Project Seres will carry out its mission through the Seres College – a centre for climate change education and sustainable development based in Guatemala and serving communities throughout Central America. The college itself will be a working example of sustainable living, showcasing a range of technologies, techniques and alternative agricultural practices that are being used around the world to help people in developing countries adapt and build resistance to climate change. Included among these will be appropriate and affordable renewable energy technology (such as micro-hydro, solar and wind), natural building techniques, and alternative agriculture methods such as permaculture, organic agriculture and agro-forestry.
The college will also provide much needed education and information about climate change and global warming, focusing on the impact that it will have on the communities, lives and futures of people living in the region.
Students: The students of the college (all of which will be full-scholarship students) will be farmers, workers, laborers, mothers and fathers from poor and vulnerable communities across Central America. The material taught in the college will not require any previous education or literacy levels. It will be taught using a hands-on, practical approach that is sensitive to cultural differences and incorporates traditional methods of learning. Training will be provided in intensive three month periods, during which time students will live on-site, participating in the daily running and up-keep of the college grounds and by doing so developing an appreciation of the technologies and methodologies used.
Education and Sustainable Development: During their three months at the Seres College students will learn about climate change and global warming, focusing on the particular threats in their region and identifying associated at-risk areas for their community. Using the sustainable development tools and methods demonstrated in the college, students will be encouraged (and assisted) to develop a Climate Change Adaptation plan for their community, which will be designed to build resilience and reduce the community’s risk in the at-risk areas.
Climate Change Adaptation: Projects will be implemented as a joint effort between the community, Project Seres, and a partner NGO/organization. As a Centre for Sustainable Development, the Seres College will maintain strong networks with other groups working in the field, helping to connect those groups looking to implement specific projects, solutions or technologies with communities that are ready for them. Acting as a networking hub between the community and other philanthropic/aid organizations, the Seres College will help improve communications and information sharing, and also help the existing resources working in the field to be more efficient and effective in their work. Equally as importantly, by implementing projects in which the community (rather than the organization) has identified the need ensures a greater level of community engagement, buy-in, commitment and long-term viability for the project.
International Outreach: The college will run three 3-month sessions each year. During the time when students are not in attendance, the college will be opened up for short-term courses for international, paying participants (such as Permaculture, Climate Change Education and Awareness and Straw-bale Building workshops). Income generated from these courses will be used to help finance the scholarships for the local students studying at the college.
To learn more about Project Seres, please visit their website.
 The Children’s Malnutrition Center of San Juan, Guatemala provides temporary care to infants and young children who are severely malnourished. The children range in age from infancy to 10 years of age. The children come from homes where they did not receive proper nutrition, primarily due to their parents’ lack of means to provide the necessary food and care. Some children are even near death by the time they are brought to the Center.
The children receive housing, daily bathing, medicine, and three meals a day. There is also a doctor who works 2-3 hours of time every day at the facility. A child is discharged from the facility once the doctor determines that that they have regained proper health and that there are proper assurances that the child will receive proper nutrition on a regular basis once they leave the facility.
There are approximately 35-40 children living at the Center. However, they will have the capacity to house and serve up to 200 children once the many repairs and improvements have been made, and additional resources are acquired to hire additional staff to care for the children. Unfortunately, there are only about three staff members available to care for the nearly 40 children during the day, which doesn’t give them much time to provide individual attention to the kids.
The Malnutrition Center was built in the 1950s as a tuberculosis hospital, but was converted to a care center for children in the 1970s. In the 1970s, under the direction and funding of the Lion’s Club of Guatemala, it flourished as it housed almost 200 children. However, since that time, funding from the Lion’s Club has been decreasing and the facility has fallen into disrepair. The facility is in need of significant work in order to improve the living environment and quality of care that is provided to the children.
The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes identified the Children’s Malnutrition Center of San Juan, Guatemala as one of its first international ministry locations because of the extreme needs and because of the potential to improve the quality of services at the Center. The goal is to elevate the quality of care as well as expand the capacity of the Center in order to serve more children. Mission teams mobilized by the Florida Baptist Children’s Homes will work to make improvements to the facility and spend time interacting with the many children.
To learn more about this group, and their project, visit their website.
 Inteligencia Móvil Internacional de Guatemala or “IMI Guatemala” is a non-profit association that seeks to help people with disabilities in Guatemala by providing low cost and locally assembled wheelchairs.
HISTORY: IMI Guatemala is the pilot project of the U.S. non-profit Intelligent Mobility International, or “IMI. The idea started from a collaboration with students from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and students from Rafael Landivar University in Guatemala City. After a great first 10 weeks, the group grew to include students from another California based university, the Art Center College of Design, and soon after launched IMI.
As the first in-country subsidiary of IMI, IMI Guatemala creates a local presence, allowing for the best possible manufacturing, user feedback and appropriate design in the creation of low cost mobility devices including their first product, an award winning appropriate wheelchair. IMI and IMI Guatemala work together to create and develop an affordable, ergonomic, durable and low cost wheelchair, designed and assembled with wheelchair users from partner Transitions of Guatemala.
VISION: IMI believes that supplying mobility can change lives. With the help of low cost, appropriate mobility devices, those with limited resources can regain mobility and live an active and productive life. Their task is to empower people with disabilities who are living in both urban and isolated rural areas to have the tools to become reintegrated with their communities.
MISSION: To partner with local designers and in-country disability NGOs throughout the world to produce low cost mobility devices, supply training, and offer job opportunities. Every detail of their wheelchair design accounts for the developing world environment for which it was made.
To effect any lasting change in the developing world your product must integrate the following elements: Cost, Quality, and Sustainability. Their wheelchair accounts for all of them:
- X-brace: The function of the X-brace is to collapse the wheelchair so that it takes up less volume for storage and travel. Functionally, the X-brace supports and aligns the two sides of the wheelchair and distributes the forces to its structural members. Their unique design collapses the chair over 1/3rd of its width without compromising strength and at a minimal added cost.
- Footrest: The footrests have been designed to support the users’ legs and lower body while using the chair. In order to fully accommodate the needs of multiple disabilities the footrest position can be easily adjusted to maximize support. This design allows for the frame to collapse using an inexpensive and highly durable system.
- Tires: The terrain in the developing world is rugged and the infrastructure is not accommodating for conventional wheelchair tires. Mountain bike tires are ideal for this environment. Conventional wheelchair wheels have significantly less contact area than mountain bike tires and often little or no tread. Conventional wheels are more likely to get stuck, prematurely wear, and can even endanger the user. In addition to the improved safety and functionality benefits, the tires allow for an air filled ride by absorbing significantly more shock than conventional tires.
- Casters: The caster assemblies are an integral component of the wheelchair and serve multiple functions. The primary function of the casters is to distribute the force exerted on the front of the chair to the ground without compromising the wheelchair’s ability to turn. Their casters are capable of rotating 360 degrees in a smooth, uniform fashion under all user environments- while the chair is moving, stationary, and under considerable force. Furthermore their casters are unique in that their height can be adjusted to customize the angle of inclination of the seat. Integrating this angle adjustment feature allows IMI to further customize the wheelchair for specific end user needs.
To learn more about the work of IMI, please visit their website.
 Hope Haven International Ministries (HHIM) reaches beyond the borders of our nation by extending mercy to people with disabilities around the world. This is accomplished by working closely with relief and development organizations, mission groups and individuals in various countries.
In the early 1990’s, Hope Haven, headquartered out of Rock Valley, Iowa (USA), had an opportunity to get a first-hand look at the living conditions that persons with disabilities experience in foreign countries. Through this experience, a formal proposal regarding Hope Haven developing an international ministry was approved by Hope Haven’s Board of Trustees in 1993 and thus was the beginning of HHIM. Since then, we have expanded our Iowa based ministry to 9 other satellite shops located in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, as well as two international shops located in Guatemala and Romania. HHIM rebuilds donated wheelchairs, as well as manufactures the Hope Haven KidChair in both Iowa and Guatemala, and delivers them to people in need around the world.
Mission of Hope Haven International Ministries: The mission of Hope Haven International Ministries is to assist persons with disabilities to reach their potential. This purpose is accomplished by providing support for the development of opportunities for improving the economic and social welfare and independence of people with disabilities within countries and cultures throughout the world. This ministry, as with all of Hope Haven’s services, is “a ministry of Christian mercy based on the conviction that God’s Word speaks to and directs all of life.”
Hope Haven Guatemala: In the summer of 2008, Hope Haven’s Director of Operations moved to Guatemala to live full time and operate a new wheelchair manufacturing facility. Hope Haven is now employing wheelchair users and caretakers in this new shop. People are learning new job skills and making a standard wage, so that they are now able to provide for their families and learn new trade skills.
This shop is specializing in manufacturing the KidChair. After challenging the students of Dordt College, located in NW Iowa, to design a pediatric wheelchair to meet the specific needs of a disabled child living in a Third World country, the Hope Haven KidChair was born. With ongoing modifications and additions, as a result of continuous input from Engineers, Rehab Technicians, Therapists and families, The Hope Haven KidChair has evolved into a system which meets the needs of almost any child who requires wheelchair mobility while living in a demanding Third World environment.
Now manufactured in La Antigua, Guatemala the Hope Haven KidChair is being build by Guatemalans with disabilities. These wheelchairs from the Hope Haven Guatemala factory are given free of charge to children with disabilities in Guatemala, Mexico and Central America thanks to foundations, service clubs, churches and individuals that cover the $180 sponsorship per wheelchair.
To learn more about this group, please visit its general website, Guatemalan website (in Spanish), or view a video of the workers in Guatemala.
 The Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP) is a partnership between North American & Guatemalan Rotary clubs and the non-profit organization Cooperative for Education (CoEd). This initiative provides badly-needed textbooks, library materials, and computer labs to underprivileged children in Guatemala.
The Project has been supported by over 300 Rotary Clubs. Since 1996, the textbook program has been brought to many impoverished rural communities. There are over 31,990 students using textbooks at 170 schools. The GLP has also founded 30 self-funding computer centers and 39 school libraries. The project already serves 10% of the country’s neediest secondary schools and is working with the goal of ensuring that no child in Guatemala grows up without the gift of both traditional and technological literacy.
The Guatemala Literacy Project matches Rotary clubs in North America with needy schools in Guatemala. These clubs raise funds to purchase textbooks, library materials and/or computers. Contributions typically range from $1,000 to $5,000. 100% of funds collected go to the hard costs of the project. Not a cent goes to administration or fundraising.
The project is implemented jointly by North American and Guatemalan Rotary clubs & districts and the Cooperative for Education (CoEd).
Textbooks
This program brings vital textbooks to impoverished Guatemalan middle school children. Studies show that the use of books in the classroom improves grades by up to 30% and comprehension, retention, and interest in subject matter by over 70%. These books, printed in Spanish, are in the core subjects of math, science, Spanish and social studies.
Computer Centers
Guatemala has a 25% unemployment rate for unskilled labor. There are simply too many unskilled people and not enough land or jobs to support them. Yet, on the other hand, there are significant opportunities for those who have skills, especially computer skills. According to a study by the Interamerican Development Bank, computer technology imported into Guatemala in recent years has grown by over 500%. In addition, 80% of mid-level jobs require computer skills.
Most schoolchildren in the impoverished rural areas of Guatemala have never had access to technology. Thus they continue to fall behind their urban peers. Their program seeks to bridge this divide by creating computer centers within underprivileged schools.
Mini-Libraries
One of the contributing factors to the low literacy rate in Guatemala is the lack of available reading materials. Most rural children have never read a book. By setting up mini-libraries within schools, books that capture children’s imagination and encourage reading are made available, as well as reference and teaching materials that enhance classroom learning. This is a highly collaborative program: Teachers at each recipient school work with library experts to form a list of needed materials along with a concrete plan of how they’ll be used. This ensures that all library materials will directly improve the education level at the school.
Self-Sufficiency Component
The most innovative aspect of these projects is that they are financially self-sufficient. Rental programs are set up in each school in which students pay the school a small fee to use a set of textbooks and/or the computer centers. This creates a fund for replacing the books and computers as they wear out.
To learn more about this program, please visit the website. To view a list of Guatemalan schools currently served by GLP, please click here.
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