This past February I traveled to Guatemala with a group of ten people and volunteered as a nurse. But before I talk about the trip, I would like to give a few facts on poverty in Guatemala. Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world. The chronic malnutrition rate in children under five years old is 50%. The face of poverty is rural, young and indigenous.
While in Guatemala I spent most of my time visiting with families. The missionaries worked with members of the local community to see who needed medical assistance. I met with the patients in their homes to triage their needs. If I could not provide the care required they were sent to a doctor in the city. I had a large variety of patients. A few patients with newly diagnosed diseases required teaching on disease management. 10-15 patients received teaching and supplies to care for their pressure sores. Treatment and teaching for pink eye, leg wounds, parasites and many other types of infections were given. Almost all of the families I visited could not afford to go to the doctor and had trouble providing enough nutritious food for their family.
Many chronic health issues encountered in Guatemala are a result of malnutrition. Infections are a prime example of this . I can teach people how to care for a wound, but if their nutrition is not adequate to build a healthy immune system they cannot fight infections. For example, one family I visited had children that were so malnourished they had little wounds all over their bodies and they were about a foot shorter than they should have been. Both their parents passed away and their older siblings could not get jobs that paid well. One brother worked seasonally in a sugar cane field but it did not pay enough to put an adequate amount of food on the table, never mind education for these children (plug for fair-trade sugar cane).
The level of poverty in Guatemala is overwhelming and I am not sure what God has planned next. But I will continue to help one person at a time and let God take care of the rest. Thank you for all your support. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve Guatemala.
by Angela Nierop