Guatemala

El Estor, Guatemala

August 6, 2009

After two years of sweat and tears (literally) and many deadlines, we are excited to report to our partnering clubs (Rotary Club of Park City, Rotary Club of Salt Lake, Rotary Club of St. George, and Rotary Club of Heber Valley) that as of today, we received official clearance from the Guatemalan government for our medical container designated for the Hospital in El Estor in the District of Izabal. 

A great big thanks to all the people who have labored tirelessly on this project so that we could bring access to medical care to many underserved communities.  The container will be loaded for transport at Puerto Tomas de Castillo to El Estor early tomorrow morning and should be in El Estor in the late afternoon. 

The inauguration of the hospital is scheduled for August 27, 2009.  The Puerto Barrios Rotary Club will be in attendance.  To view an article from the local Guatemala newspaper, click here. 

   

 

Guatemala

 Five volunteer medical expeditions, ranging from 15-40 people and three executive expeditions have provided projects in Guatemala through June 2007.  We had a large increase in local Guatemala volunteers joining our expeditions this year due to our partnership with a Non-Government Organization, Fundación Raxché.

 

Healthcare: In Jan 2006 – June 2007 five medical expeditions were sent to the most underserved populations in rural Guatemala in the departments of Santiago Atitlan, Alta Vera Paz and Izabal which collaborated with local Non-Government Organizations: The Ayudamos Foundation, Fundación Raxché, CHOICE Humanitarian, Transitions, WINGS and Maya Angel to increase access to health care to these rural communities. Medical teams are scheduled to visit four times a year to provide Surgical Outreach and Health Education clinic to support The Sustainable Health Care Improvement Model.  The Hope Alliance is assisting with the re-opening of the Hospital T Zunun Há which will increase access to emergency care to more than 123 communities in the province of the Izabal District and the surrounding 117 communities of the Alta Vera Paz District. The Hope Alliance associated volunteer doctors provided services in urology, OBGYN and podiatry on our first surgical team April of 2007 to the Hospital T Zunun Há in El Estor. Approximately 100 patients were evaluated and 60 selected for surgery of various types. With progress in advancing health care, the quality of life is elevated for the residents of that community.  

Sustainable Development:  We are currently working with local organizations to help administer resources and work closely with village leaders to determine the needs of each community.  Hope has learned through time and experience that each community must initiate a project and contribute financially if possible and or provide a significant portion of material or labor for the project to be successful.  

Education:  The Hope Alliance and Fundación Raxché are currently working on community development projects which will encompass health education training with the local Village Health Worker in conjunction with public health projects to demonstrate the correlation in heath and hygiene and will assist to improve health awareness through health education clinics in the local villages.  In addition The Hope Alliance and Fundación Raxché plan to initiate a Midwife curriculum with an emphasis in the clean-birth delivery method to address the high infant and maternal mortality rates in rural Guatemala.  Increasing the number of quality-trained health workers improves the well-being of the entire community.

 

January 2007

Recently, staff members and local volunteers from the community of El Estor helped with clean up of the hospitalito.  If you would like to see more of this project, click on the link below.

DONATE NOW!  (Please contact The Hope Alliance at 801-952-0400)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXAXpzq4do4

2006 Summary

In September of 2006, a partnership with Fundación Raxché, a local NGO, was established to renovate the Hospital T’Zunun Ha’ in El Estor, Izabal, previously abandoned for over 26 years.  Population statistics provided by the Ministry of Health indicate that high infant and maternal mortality rates exist in many villages within these departments which inspired the vision for a public hospital, one that would offer lower prices to the Community and decrease the prevalence of endemic disease  to more than 30,000 indigenous people.  The Hope Alliance has committed to ship three hospital modules of surgical and medical equipment to meet the needs of the Hospital and community by July 2007.  We are seeking funding and resources to aid in meeting this obligation.  Hope Alliance and Fundacíon Raxché have begun a cooperative project to link medical and health experts from the U.S. with local physicians in El Estor, Guatemala.  Medical teams will be coordinated with local staff and travel four times throughout the year to provide surgical outreach, primary healthcare and education training through our Village Health Worker training program and Midwife programs in conjunction with public health projects that promote health education in the villages.
Education:  The Hope Alliance and Raxché are currently working on community development projects which will encompass a Village Health Worker (VHW) and Midwife training curriculum to compliment the Ministry of Health and USAID’s current programs.  The projects would link the current delivery system and enhance the level of knowledge to identify at-risk individuals and improve patient care in the surrounding villages.  The pilot program will be directed by Raxché Healthcare Director, Eli Lopez, who specializes in rural healthcare and will be initiated in the provinces of Izabal.  The pilot program will expand outward, after its initial test phase, into the rural highlands as more Village Health Workers and Midwifes are accepted into the program.
In May 2007, the Westminster University Chapter will assist Eli Lopez and local VHW with a detailed assessment which will prioritize the areas of greatest need by region in areas of public health and use this data as a base-line assessment to begin Village Health Worker and Midwife training with each community. 
In April 2007, The Hope Alliance will send its first volunteer surgical team from Salt Lake City, Logan Regional Hospital, Logan Utah, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, Southbend IN and Foot & Ankle Medical Center, Nampa ID to Hospital T’ Zunun Ha’ under the leadership of Raxché Medical Director, Dr. Gutierrez.  The Hope Alliance associated doctors will provide services in urology, obstetric-gynecology and podiatry.  The surgical outreach project will transfer knowledge and skill from American Physicians to local physicians who can be trained on modern practices and techniques.
Sustainable Development:    As part of our development philosophy, we work closely with village leaders to determine the needs of each community.  The Hope Alliance has learned that each community must initiate a project and contribute financially if possible and or provide a significant portion of material or labor for it to be successful.
Healthcare: In 2006, four medical expeditions traveled to the most underserved populations in rural Guatemala in the departments of Santiago Atitlan, Alta Vera Paz and Izabal and worked jointly with local organizations: The Ayudamos Foundation, Fundacion Raxché, CHOICE Humanitarian, Transitions, WINGS and Maya Angel with the objective to increase access to health care to these rural areas.