Medical Care for Rural Guatemalan Families

In Guatemala, the public health system is often unreachable for people who have no financial or transportation means to get to municipal or community health centers. Thus, Partner for Surgery has established a two-pronged approach to best enable access to both health care and preventive health education.

Yearly, we run a series of five missions bringing medical care and preventive health education to the most isolated communities. On each mission, teams of medical professionals and health educators work in clinics to provide medical care and on-site education to patients with surgical needs to receive surgery within the next two months.

In 2018, 2166 individuals received medical care as part of these missions, 887 were scheduled for surgery, and more than 2000 people attended sessions on preventive care.

Breast and Cervical Cancer continue as the first two causes of suffering and loss among poor rural families in Guatemala. PFS worked to reduce morbidity and mortality by ensuring access to comprehensive screening, follow-up, treatment, and education services for vulnerable and medically underserved rural women.

Last October, Frank Peterson, founder of Partner for Surgery, and I, joined a medical mission and visited families whose babies had been in our nutrition and surgical care program. We witnessed once again the amazing dedication of our medical and non-medical volunteers, staff and Health Promoters, who make the best of very challenging circumstances to make sure some of the most vulnerable populations of Guatemala receive medical and surgical care. The deep kindness and compassion that they convey at every moment strengthened our own resolve to continue with our commitment to rural Guatemalans. 

Thank you for your support! We couldn't have done it without you.

We last met Hernan and his family soon after the Fuego volcano disaster when they were recovering from the trauma, and his three daughters were being treated for burns received during the eruption. One of the girls, Tatiana, will have scars on her face. With the help of your donation, the girls were seen by Dr. Lourdes Santizo at the Children’s Burn Clinic at Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City, Guatemala

But life post-Fuego is drastically different. They’ve abandoned their home, as due to the lava and debris, the Guatemalan government deemed it unfit to live in. The shelters established for Fuego victims were overpopulated and unable to accommodate Herman and his family,.
Eventually they were able to find a new home and have begun to rebuild their lives.

Still, Hernan’s three daughters are recovering well and continue to see Dr. Santizo for their follow-up appointments.
Their therapy will continue for the foreseeable future.

“My girls were affected in many ways due to the volcano; they cry or have nightmares,”Hernan said. “It is normal since they experienced something so traumatic."

Thanks to your support, Partner for Surgery and ACPC have been able to provide Hernan’s daughters with physical therapy and the support of a psychologist.

Hernan says he can’t thank enough those who donated.

“You have brought happiness into this home. We could not have done it without your support.”