Physical Health Guatemala Project #36419

Improving health of 500 Guatemalan school children

by Mayanza, Inc.

Project Report | Feb 21, 2019
Highlights from Santiago - February 2019

By Jami Smith | Executive Director, Mayanza

Each child received a screening physical exam.

Mayanza has recently returned from a week on the ground in Guatemala and we have many successes to share with you! This trip was exciting for a number of reasons: we saw the greatest number of children on this trip, we strengthened partnerships with local stakeholders and started a new program for diabetes education.

We had an amazing team of 13 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.

We saw ~580 children on this trip, which was a 14% increase from last year. This speaks to the community engagement in our project and the trust given to us by the teachers and parents of this school community. We are working to crunch numbers to see how our interventions have impacted the community, but see the increased level of engagement as a very positive sign.

Our team 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 implemented a 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 12 Mayan women at risk for diabetes. We took some initial measurements and 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 look for an email from us in April regarding an upcoming campaign called the “Little by Little campaign” where your donations will be matched.

Thank you! Muchas gracias! Maltiox!

Jami, Emilee and Carla

Dental screening and fluoride for all!

Education in practice - brush those teeth!

The parents are excited and engaged in health.

Anti-parasite medicine to help treat anemia.

Lola teaching about healthy behaviors.

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Dec 3, 2018
Mayanza Project Highlights from 2018

By Jami Smith | Executive Director

Our new partner, Dr. Alejandro, the local dentist.

The team at Mayanza is very excited to share our outcomes from our work in 2018. We will be sending another report in 2019 after our trips in February and July.

The team traveled to Santiago Atitlan Feb 10-17, 2018 and July 28-Aug 4, 2018. For our intervention, each child received a full screening physical exam including measurements of growth and vision screening. In addition, each child had a dental screening examination and fluoride varnish application by a physician assistant, medical or dental student. Then, the school children were each given their very own toothbrush, toothpaste and soap.

Highlights of 2018:

We have formed a partnership with a Community Health Educator, Lola Ajtujal. Lola visits the children in each of the schools every week to teach a lesson on a variety fo health topics.
The team expanded to see many more students in 2018:

2016 - we saw 113 students

2017 - we saw 300 students

2018 - we saw 500 students in both February AND July

Each child received a dose of the anti-parasite medication, albendazole twice in 2018.
The team hand-carried over 100K multivitamins to the four schools so each child would receive a daily vitamin.
We added a fingerstick hemoglobin station and almost 78% of children screened were willing to have this test. Rates of anemia ranged from 40-47% across the schools which confirmed the need for anti-parasite medication and daily multivitamins.
We have also partnered with Dr Jose Alejandro, a Guatemalan dentist who has agreed to evaluate and treat the students that we screen in the 4 schools.
Lastly, we have been successful in receiving two grants to pay for the dental supplies for Dr. Alejandro to treat the students in these schools.

NCCPA Foundation Kathy J Pederson Grant to Promote Equitable Care - $5,000

Oral Health Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy - $10,000

We look forward to sharing our results of our current programs and our plan to pilot a new diabetes lifestyle intervention and support group for women when we return in February!

Warm regards,

Jami

Our New Hemoglobin Station!

Children are excited to have visitors at school.

Our team talks to the parents about our work.

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