- Latin & Central America
Health with tradition
In the rural regions of Guatemala, many people lack the most basic necessities, especially healthcare. The consequences are serious. People die from diarrhoea, respiratory infections, tooth root infections or other illnesses that are actually easy to treat. The only way to the nearest hospital is often an arduous walk.
As is so often the case, the most vulnerable are hit particularly hard: children, young mothers, pregnant women. In Guatemala, almost half of all children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition. The children who survive this start out with heavy baggage: many of them are permanently disabled - not a good prerequisite for taking their fate into their own hands and escaping the spiral of poverty.
This is where the work of the Rxiin Tnamet association comes in: it trains voluntary health counsellors who carry out culturally sensitive work in indigenous communities with the help of traditional indigenous remedies and methods. This also includes dialogue in the local language, primarily Maya Tzutuhil. In this way, Rxiin Tnamet not only looks after people's health, but also sets an example against ethnic discrimination.
Building up help on site
In addition to providing healthcare in the communities, Rxiin Tnamet runs a health centre in Santiago Atitlán with a laboratory, a pharmacy and a dental practice. With the help of volunteers, the partner is able to provide comprehensive healthcare and prenatal care: The volunteers are trained in workshops on the topics of health and nutrition and can then pass this knowledge on to their patients. For example, they support women before, during and after pregnancy and improve their general life situation in the long term by passing on their knowledge.
This is what our joint success looked like last year
- Around 240,000 people are cared for by healthcare professionals, midwives and community clinics.
- 51 experienced midwives have taken part in refresher training.
- 16 new midwives trained as part of the project have received a kit with obstetric equipment.
- 57 new teaching materials were developed.
- 20 medical and dental clinic days were held in the project's parish clinics.
To ensure that your donation has an impact in the long term, Misereor uses a small proportion for important administration an related tasks. This way, we make sure that projects are selected carefully and implemented responsibly and that their effects are regularly monitored. Should it not be possible to use your donation as planned, we will use it where it is currently needed most.
Our local partner organisations
Rxiin Tnamet
Since 1993, Rxiin Tnamet, a long-standing partner of Misereor, has made it its mission to bring healthcare services to rural communities. To this end, they train health professionals who can solve problems locally. They run small community pharmacies, call in doctors, educate people and support families in improving their nutrition.
Suzanne Lemken
Donor Communications
- Telephone
- +49 241 442127
- suzanne.lemken@misereor.de
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