Access to healthcare is one of the most pressing issues in Guatemala, as it has the highest childhood stunting rate in the hemisphere and the Guatemalan highlands rank near the bottom of nearly all basic healthcare markers. With 60% of Guatemalans living in poverty, many are not able to afford or access healthcare. Illnesses put families into years of debt especially if the main income earner of the household becomes sick.

Our medical program began in 2002 and serves rural communities where such access to healthcare is nonexistent. During these rural mobile clinics we also host health workshops offering such education as how to purify water and how to give adequate nourishment to their children.

Along with serving rural communities multiple times a week, the Pop Wuj Clinic also operates for the urban poor. Staffed by a local doctor and nurse, the clinic has developed an incredible reputation in the city and a line forms well before its doors open. The clinic is free to those who cannot pay, and for those who can, all income is invested back into the school's various projects.

We attract healthcare/medical students and professionals to our school in order to learn Spanish, which allows the rural communities we serve to have access to superb care.

There are many costs to running the clinic. The medications, transportation to rural areas, rent, and support for chronically ill patients make up its budget. Given its success, this unique model serves as one that will be mimicked throughout the developing world.

For more information on the Pop Wuj Medical Clinic, please visit www.pop-wuj.org.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Nutributter project

Over the last two weeks before Christmas, Pop Wuj has launched it's second group of NutriButter families.  Women and children from Llanos, Chiriquiac, Buena Vista, and Tierra Colorada - all nearby rural communities with high poverty levels - arrived at Pop Wuj on Friday December 9th to a room full of crying babies, excited children, and curious mothers.  As before, Pop Wuj asked mothers with children between 6 and 20 months to engage in a nutrition education and supplementation program, funded by Timmy Global Health.  

After the initial welcome meeting explaining the ins and outs of NutriButter to the moms and families, Jess Reichard, Dona Lidia, one of the hard working Guarderia teachers, and Dona Lety, a member of the first round of NutriButter families and the resident handy lady of Pop Wuj walked for hours from home to home handing out more NutriButter, children's vitamins, and making sure the supplement and program was going smoothly.  These home visits are not only to make sure everyone has enough NutriButter to get through the holidays, but also to start building a relationship of trust and learning between the moms and Pop Wuj volunteers.  The stronger the relationship, the more potential impact the nutrition program can have in its target communities. 

From here on out, a couple of long term Pop Wuj volunteers will teach monthly classes at the Guarderia, the most central location for this group generally from Llanos and Tierra Colorada.  Each meeting will cover a new topic of nutritional interest - from supplementary feeding to the nutrition-infection cycle.  As babies age out, more will be invited to join the group, ideally continuing to grow the area of impact of this supplement/education program.