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The following excerpt is from a July 1, 2010 article published by InsideCostaRica.com. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
GUATEMALA – Guatemalan health authorities issued a red alert and began a drive to reduce the rising number of dengue cases and growing Aedes Aegipty mosquito population reported in the first six months of the year.
As of June 19, official statistics recorded 4,391 confirmed cases, including 98 of the hemorrhagic strain, compared to 1,133 in a similar period in 2009.
Click here to read the rest of the article, or here to read more about health & safety.
 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.
 The University of Washington Guatemala Project (UWGP) is a group of University of Washington students and recent alumni working to provide scholarships and vocational training for their peers in Guatemala. Their project is jointly designed and supported by UW students/alumni and the Movimiento de Trabajadores Campesinos (MTC), a non-governmental organization based in San Marcos, Guatemala.
This project, organized entirely at the initiative of students in the UW’s 2005, 2006, and 2007 Exploration Seminars and Study Abroad trips to Guatemala, aims to support primary and secondary education in Guatemala’s coffee-growing communities through a sustained commitment to youth empowerment.
Ongoing and Past Projects:
- Vocational Training Center: In 2008, the MTC requested funding to support a Vocational Training Center, rather than the scholarships that were funded the previous year, so that they could reach more youth. The Vocational Center hired Professor Baudilio Israel Recinos de Leon to oversee the vocational training and activities. Between July and December of 2008, the vocational center ran four main workshops: Cutting and Sewing, Carpentry, Computer Classes, and Beauty Culture – all taught by certified professionals. The courses were designed to serve 120 children and youth, but due to a high interest in the programs, 164 children and youth were served – 88 young women and 76 young men.
- Youth Leader Scholarships: Students were chosen by the MTC in Guatemala. Each of six regional associations received an equal share of funds and selected one or more students from their region. Scholarships could be applied to formal schooling, as well as learning useful crafts like weaving. The primary selection criterion was how much leadership the youth had demonstrated within the MTC–for example, leadership of a regional Youth Council or Women’s Council.
To learn more about UWGP, please see their website.
 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.
 Dentistry For All is a non-profit, 100% volunteer-run and supported organization whose members are dedicated to providing dental education, preventative, surgical and restorative care to the poor in numerous developing communities around the world. All dental volunteers cover the cost of their own travel, while fundraising assists in purchase of necessary equipment and supplies, volunteer sponsorships and other expenses related to the trip.
Over the years, DFA has formed relationships and partnerships with regional development organizations, local NGOs, dental organizations, university programs and countless dental equipment and supply companies, in order to continue to maintain and provide the highest quality of care to those whom they provide dental treatment to.
Dentistry For All recruits and requires volunteers from all walks of life – their efforts are focused on providing the much needed dental care in the poor regions of Guatemala and Nicaragua. However, it takes more than just dentists to form a successful team. A successful mission involves efforts made on many levels – and crosses countless skill sets. Several areas, behind the scenes and along the trip itself, require volunteers to put all the pieces together.
Over the past 15 years, Dentistry For All has seen over 12,000 patients. On February 18th they will be leaving for Guatemala for five weeks and working in four different communities: Comitancillo (San Marcos), Pastores (Sacatepéquez), areas around Guatemala City, and El Remate (El Peten). The Guatemala trip will involve groups averaging 16 people per week – comprised of dentists, assistants, sterilizers and other support volunteers.
To learn more about Dentistry For All, please visit their website (still under development).
 The International Eye Institute, Inc. (IEI) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt corporation (final approval pending from the Internal Revenue Service). Their purpose is to provide adult and pediatric eye care and surgery to people of impoverished regions around the globe.
The team typically visits Nuevo Progreso, in the San Marcos department of Guatemala, several times each year. While there, IEI works with Hospital de la Familia to provide eye screenings, examinations, and surgeries. The types of surgeries they provide include but are not limited to glaucoma, strabismus, cataracts, and plastic surgery.
Future missions are planned for other Central American countries, including Nicaragua. For more information about this group, please visit their website.
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