Education for Impoverished Guatemalan Youth

Stopping and preventing family crisis and disease is the goal of a recent two-day preventative health care training  between the Antigua Health Clinic and the Social Work Program.

Dr. Miriam, an Antigua Clinic doctor and facilitator of the training explains, "the first step in implementing preventative health care with our families is to work with our key collaborators, Common Hope social workers, because they are the first contacts with our families and play a crucial role in orienting them."

Thirteen Antigua social workers participated in the training. "The training deepened our understanding so that we can serve our families in a more comprehensive way" said Patty, Antigua Social Work Program Manager.

A key component of preventative health care is to diagnose and treat the illness so it can be managed. Having social workers equipped with the knowledge to seek signs of concern earlier will allow them to make clinic referrals sooner. The training also taught social workers to more effectively look for environmental conditions that can be making health problems worse.

The Antigua Clinic offers services that address many health concerns families face, yet in a culture not prone to healthcare access, not everyone takes advantage.

This collaboration between the Health Care and Social Work aims to better inform and encourage families to participate in early childhood wellness, prenatal, cervical cancer prevention, diabetes and hypertension programming.

This is just one step in providing families with the tools, knowledge, resources and care they need to stay healthy. And your donations make it possible for thousands of people to receive access to quality health care and family development services. ¡Gracias! 

Common Hope is always looking for new ways for programs to collaborate in order to expand their reach and deepen their impact. In what ways do you collaborate? Have you ever discovered unexpected opportunities to collaborate that strengthened your team or department?