Hello to all who have supported the work of MHI. I write from San Marcos to let you all know what is new here.
#MHIRehabilitation
The physical/speech therapy program continues to progress, with the addition of several new families. The center in San Miguel adds patients every week San Jose more slowly. As we now have 190 families in the rehabilitation center in San Miguel, we have decided to hire an administrator, to help organize the patients who receive therapy, as well as to assist in coordinating the surgical aspect of the program. We all agree that a woman will best serve this role. Maudelia Lopez has agreed to take the job. She is from the adjacent municipality of Comitancillo, and has lived in San Miguel for 25 years. She is a native Mam speaker, a nun, with a university degree in anthropology. She has previously worked with local women in the area of human rights; she is especially interested in the spirituality of the Mam culture, and how it interfaces with a modernizing world. She is well-respected by the community, and we believe will make a strong contribution to the program.
Finally, I will share a personal observation. We have several deaf children in the program. We have had little luck with those who could benefit from hearing aids - they are expensive, and hard to maintain. Via Elizaeth Brrios, of the therapy program, we became connected with a group of American audiologists from Seattle, who have developed a program to teach Guatemalans how to assess the need for, and maintain, hearing aids. The group came to San Marcos for a jornada, and we sent several several children to be evaluated, and of those several received hearing aids. I went with them; the jornada took place at a school for the deaf in the city; it is a small place but has children of all ages, who receive speech and occupational therapy, and some didactic classes. It was the second time I spent some time there. In the evening after the jornada, I found myself wondering aout the special atmosphere one can sense in the place- an amazing positive energy. Then I looked at a short video I shot of some adolescents “signing” with each other. Of course- it is a place where the kids can go and communicate with other kids, like they could never in a regular school. It makes one realize what a gift it is to be ale to hear.
#MHIMedicalRelief
Some come for special surgical needs; we have just encountered a newborn with a severe cleft lip/palate. Thanks to Mario de Paz we have found a location for corrective surgery. the challenge now is to be ale to feed the baby, so she grows enough for the operation. We are looking for the special nipples/bottles needed, and will provide support with infant formula.
#MHINutrition
The nutrition program continues apace; we are involved throughout the entire province, and burning through the PlumpyNut and Nutributter we last received. We remain, unfortunately, the only resource for the malnourished children in the Altiplano.
#Feto-Maternal Ultrasound
Most of you will recall that Mario de Paz, who is in charge of the nutrition program, is trained in ultrasonography. He has done some outreach with midwives in San Miguel, who care for and deliver 90% of the pregnancies in the municipality. We have decided to expand and formalize this aspect of the program, with the goal of actually training selected midwives to do the ultrasound themselves, and recognize certain complications that lead to high risk deliveries. Technology is such that they can use tablets and send images real-time via the internet, to Mario, who can read them and corroborate findings. We will use teaching on modules published in the medical literature, where midwives (in Africa) have been trained in obstetric ultrasound. This is, in the end, a very cost-effective way to improve maternal/fetal health care. There are few things sadder than a mother dying in childbirth.
MHI will also welcome Dr Karen Fernandez to the board of directors. Karen is a Guatemalan (Chapina) who went to medical school there, then did a pediatric residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where we met. She then trained in pediatric hematology/oncology at Ohio State. She now works in Fresno, California. Karen has done extensive work with the pediatric cancer center in Guatemala City. We welcome her input into MHI, and hope her talents can help enlist the involvement of more Guatemalans.
With that I will wish all a happy fall season. Here the rains still come every day. Travel can be painful as some of the roads are washing out or are being buried in landslides. It should stop mid November. Ciao, Bill