By Frank Peterson | President
During Partner for Surgery’s last rural triage mission, which took place between July and August, the team embarked on a home visit to Zoila and her children. The youngest, Angel, in his mother’s arms, was born with a cleft lip and palate. He is recovering nicely from lip surgery and we are planning to do his palate in October. Meanwhile, he is in our nutrition program and Marta, our health promoter, is responsible for visiting the family each month.
Zoila has been struggling to support her home without the help of the children’s father. The six of them sleep in one small room with just one bed.
Raul, Zoila’s father, was able to give his daughter a little piece of land with a few avocado trees and bread fruit, where they also grow corn and beans to eat. Zoila has been cleaning houses and doing laundry for $10 a week, when she can find work.
A lovely return
Our rural mission was also happily greeted by a returning patient, Felisa, who came to us in 2016 with a hernia.
Since her surgery, Felisa has been feeling great and is able to work again.
“I would be dead by now if it wasn’t for you. You helped me immediately. You covered my personal expenses and gave me the surgery I needed. I had the hernia for 15 years and did not find the help I needed. At the local hospital they used to tell me that I was old and not worth helping, but you did. I thank you and everybody who came across to make it possible.”
We feel honored to have helped Felisa overcome her hernia.
Wish list
In September we launched our first amazon wish list. This list, updated as needed, gives donors a more tactile option to help families in Guatemala, by showing exactly what the donation will be used for.
We launched the list with the most needed item, manual breast pumps. These pumps help children born with a cleft lip and palate receive all the nutrition they needed without having to resort to formula, which can cost as much as $600 per child. Paired with feeding bottles, breast pumps provide a cost-effective option prior to surgery.
Visiting Canada
Our director of operations, Ariel, is visiting Vancouver and Victoria, in Canada, meeting with hospitals and surgical team representatives about recruiting more volunteers for our upcoming missions.
Our progress in numbers
Between June 1st and August 31, 2017, we:
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