On November 29th, I'll return to San Marcos with Bette Palovchik of Shuarhands.org, the small foundation that helps to fund the work Luis Fuentes has been doing in the San Marcos district. As a brief re-cap, Luis grew up in the town of San Marcos which is in the district of San Marcos, in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. San Marcos is one of 22 districts in the country and is designated as an area of extreme poverty, (the people are unable to buy enough food to sustain health.) He and his four brothers were raised by their illiterate parents who grew strawberries and broccoli on a small plot of land and sold the produce at the local market. All of the money went to the boys' education. Luis and one brother are lawyers, and the other three are engineers. Luis has dedicated is life to helping the poor, particularly the indigenous people living in remote villages in San Marcos.
In 2010, Bette was in San Marcos doing medical interpreting for a group of plastic surgeons who were in San Marcos on a surgical mission. Luis had helped coordinate the mission, and Bette was impressed with the work he was doing. She agree to help finance his dream, to open a clinic for the poor, and in 2011 the Policlínica Niños Shecanos opened. Luis asked Bette if she could find a pediatrician from the US to come for a couple of weeks for the grand opening, and thus began my connection to Guatemala.
I'm giving you this recap because without having Luis in San Marcos, not just a permanent person, but a person who is rooted in the community and totally committed to improving the lives and health of the people, likely nothing would have come of my efforts. Outsiders like me, even when we try our best to give aid without insisting things be done in a particular way, rarely succeed in achieving a long-term sustainable result. Having Luis there to guide me and to be the interface with the village leaders has been invaluable. Luis knows everyone in the building trades, in business and in politics, and he is completely honest and professional. Donations go through Shuarhands and Bette sends funds to Luis, knowing that he will stretch every dollar and be able to account for every penny.
Since my last visit in February, the natural spring two miles from Tacaná and it's holding tanks were cleaned and pipe was laid underground to the fields. Planting is almost done. Sibinal will be the next site for irrigation, and that should be underway now. Most exciting is that I met with my local congressman, Jim McGovern who is very involved with world hunger. He was excited about the project and felt it might have promise as a model for remote areas. With his help, I've been in touch with the USAID office at the Embassy in Guatemala City and will meet with one of the directors while we are there. Also, one of the field directors will come to see the projects. My big hope is that they will become involved with financial support for other communities that we are unable to finance. I'm going to post photos that Luis sent me of the Tacaná project on Picasa, and also of me packing up 49.06 pounds of medications. I shipped 35 pounds to Bette for her to carry!
More after I arrive. As usual, WIFI will be sketchy and posts may be erratic.
In 2010, Bette was in San Marcos doing medical interpreting for a group of plastic surgeons who were in San Marcos on a surgical mission. Luis had helped coordinate the mission, and Bette was impressed with the work he was doing. She agree to help finance his dream, to open a clinic for the poor, and in 2011 the Policlínica Niños Shecanos opened. Luis asked Bette if she could find a pediatrician from the US to come for a couple of weeks for the grand opening, and thus began my connection to Guatemala.
I'm giving you this recap because without having Luis in San Marcos, not just a permanent person, but a person who is rooted in the community and totally committed to improving the lives and health of the people, likely nothing would have come of my efforts. Outsiders like me, even when we try our best to give aid without insisting things be done in a particular way, rarely succeed in achieving a long-term sustainable result. Having Luis there to guide me and to be the interface with the village leaders has been invaluable. Luis knows everyone in the building trades, in business and in politics, and he is completely honest and professional. Donations go through Shuarhands and Bette sends funds to Luis, knowing that he will stretch every dollar and be able to account for every penny.
Since my last visit in February, the natural spring two miles from Tacaná and it's holding tanks were cleaned and pipe was laid underground to the fields. Planting is almost done. Sibinal will be the next site for irrigation, and that should be underway now. Most exciting is that I met with my local congressman, Jim McGovern who is very involved with world hunger. He was excited about the project and felt it might have promise as a model for remote areas. With his help, I've been in touch with the USAID office at the Embassy in Guatemala City and will meet with one of the directors while we are there. Also, one of the field directors will come to see the projects. My big hope is that they will become involved with financial support for other communities that we are unable to finance. I'm going to post photos that Luis sent me of the Tacaná project on Picasa, and also of me packing up 49.06 pounds of medications. I shipped 35 pounds to Bette for her to carry!
More after I arrive. As usual, WIFI will be sketchy and posts may be erratic.
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