Improving health of 500 Guatemalan school children

Mayanza has recently returned from our July trip to Santiago and we have many successes to share with you!  This trip was exciting for a number of reasons: we strengthened partnerships with local stakeholders, collected feedback on our programs from the people that we serve and continued our current interventions in the schools.

We had an amazing team of 14 volunteers who gave their time, money and endless energies to our project.  We made an impact on this community that touched each of our team members in ways that they will carry with them in the future.

The team saw ~500 children on this trip and have seen a significant improvement in the level of anemia and dental caries in this community.   Our team also had a number of meetings this week including with teachers from the schools, the community health educator, physical education teacher, and local dentist.  We worked with each of these team members to strengthen our partnerships and commitment to this community.

With support from Soles4Souls and a nccPA Health Foundation grant, we evaluated the Diabetes Lifestyle Modification Program aimed at reducing the devastating effects of diabetes mellitus on the women and families of this community.  We have partnered with a local community health educator, Lola and a physical education teacher, Febe to provide the instruction and support in the areas of goal setting, healthy eating, exercise instruction and stress management for 10 Mayan women at risk for diabetes.  We will return in six months to check their progress toward their personal goals for wellness.

Thank you very much for your support for this project.  We hope that we can continue to count on you to help us provide these services for the children and families of Santiago. 

Please continue supporting our “Little by Little campaign” where your donations will be matched.

Thank you!  Muchas gracias!  Maltiox!

Jami, Emilee and Carla

Happy spring!  Here at Mayanza, we are busy preparing to return to Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala in July.  We are excited to work with the families of the school communitiies of 4 schools that we partner with.  We plan to see approximately 600 children and provide a variety of services to improve the health of these children.

Every six months we return to provide dental screening, fluoride varnish, and anti-worming medications, as well as measuring growth and supporting our health educator, Lola.  Every child that we see gets their very own toothbrush, toothpaste and soap.

In February, we piloted two new programs, Women's Diabetes Lifestyle Modification Program and Oral Health Treatment for the Children of Santiago.  We are looking forward to talking to the participants of these programs for feedback.

Please consider supporting our return trip in July!  Every donation goes directly toward our work in Guatemala and improving the health of the school communities that we serve.