Guatemala: Working together for health – right from the start
A visit to the doctor with a sick child, a reliable pharmacy, healthy food: for many families, these things cannot be taken for granted.
Your donation makes Misereor’s work possible all over the world. Here, it helps people in Guatemala to stay healthy and to receive care when they fall ill.
- Latin & Central America
Health through tradition and respect
In rural areas of Guatemala, many families lack the bare necessities – above all, basic medical care. The consequences are devastating: people are still dying from diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections or tooth abscesses. These illnesses can actually be treated quite easily. But the nearest state-run clinic is often a long way away, and the walk there is too arduous.
As is so often the case, it is the most vulnerable who are hit hardest: infants, young children, pregnant women and young mothers. Almost half of all children under the age of five in Guatemala suffer from chronic undernourishment or malnutrition. Those who survive often suffer lifelong health problems – a major obstacle on the path out of poverty.
This is where the work of Misereor’s partners in the project comes in. Rxiin Tnamet, for example, trains volunteer health advisers who also help to revive and pass on traditional indigenous healing knowledge. Education and support are provided directly in the respective Maya languages, primarily in Tzutuhil Maya. This not only ensures reliable care but also empowers people to stand up against social discrimination.
Embedding support directly within the local community
In addition to providing mobile healthcare services in the villages, Rxiin Tnamet runs its own health centre in Santiago Atitlán, complete with a laboratory, a pharmacy and a dental surgery. A dense network of trained volunteers ensures comprehensive preventive care for pregnant women and newborns across the region. The volunteers pass on their knowledge of hygiene and a balanced diet directly to families, thereby improving living conditions in the long term.
Here’s how your support makes a difference:
- Comprehensive care: Around 240,000 people have reliable access to healthcare professionals, midwives and community clinics.
- Nutrition as the foundation of health: Misereor’s partners support families in growing fruit, vegetables and medicinal plants in their gardens.
- Strengthening maternity care: Experienced midwives take part in practical further training; newly trained midwives receive a complete kit of equipment for safe deliveries.
- Knowledge transfer: Development of targeted teaching materials in indigenous languages for hygiene and nutrition training.
- Targeted practical sessions: Regular medical and dental treatment days in rural parish clinics.
Would you like to find out more about our charity projects? Then read our magazine “Weiter.wirken” now. The magazine about and for the people who make a difference at Misereor.
When making a donation by bank transfer, please quote the reference “S63401 Guatemala: Working together for health – right from the start” in the payment reference field. This lets us know which project is particularly close to your heart; your contribution will be channelled as a general donation towards this work and Misereor’s overall global mission.
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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