Guatemala Wrap Up Post

This is an open letter from Brad Krusky who just returned from Guatemala.  An update on Dentistry for All - Dr. Shane Fisher will be staying in Comi for the next six months to establish a perminent local presence working with Guatemalan dentists and health care practitioners as well as local social service agencies addressing larger issues.  If you would like more information on what is happening on the ground you can email Shane.

Danni and I had our first day at home yesterday...and as usual, it felt good to be home but there are constant reminders at every turn of our time with you all in Guatemala this year... every day has so many memories, so many experiences, and so many new ways in which we want to help improve the lives of our friends in Guatemala... We learn so much each year, and each year we expand our project work to reach more people in need of dental care, but also reach out into the communities and help out in other ways - this year, in addition to the immense amount of dental work we completed, we helped in so many other ways, here is a summary of what comes to mind:

• Women's Weaving Centre in Taltimiche - craft orders for re-sale on our website, as well as volunteer purchases, totalled over $6,000.00 U.S. dollars. Our purchases put more than 40 women to work for more than two months.
• 8 laptop computers donated by a Calgary group were brought to Comi for use in their vocational training programs.
• Contact made between our AMMID partners in Comi, and the Flying Doctors of Canada director, who has begun work on planning their first medical mission to Guatemala, to Comitancillo for several weeks in the summer of 2011
• Guatemala City inner city school (Mildred's School) - funds raised to fund the school's food program for kids who come to school hungry - by Brock Corydon school in Winnipeg (who sold healthy snacks at recess) brought to the school's director, who reported to us two weeks later that they started the food program the VERY NEXT DAY (it had been cut off last year due to lack of funding), and that with matching funds from another agency, the money raised will feed these very poor children for 5 months. Do you know a school who would like to participate???!!
• Guatemala City health clinic for the poor - antibiotics and various other prescription medications donated to Dr. Corona's clinic.
• Santa Domingo Xenocoj - we might just have saved Eddie's life...and put him on the path to changing his own life for good. What more to be said? A fundraising campaign is being put together to raise money to provide funds to send kids like him, from his town, to school instead of work. No one at that age should be supporting their family when they want to go to school. (Do you want to help?)
• El Remate - Dr. Enrique's health clinic - donated a new sterilizer, an instrument ultrasonic, and medications for his clinic.
• El Remate women's and men's carving co-op - two separate groups formed to work together to produce beautiful wooden crafts from farmed jungle-hardwood fincas (no natural trees were destroyed in the process!). For the women, we were their largest order of the year. They carve in their ‘spare time' at home to help cover household expenses. For the men, it was our second large order of custom designed wood-crafts which we sell at our fundraising events and at our Guate-Gala.
• Project Ix-Canaan scholarship fund - 20 women funded to attend various school and vocational training programs to better their lives... they had no chance of attending school without the funding received. One of Greg Mortenson's (Author of ‘Three Cups of Tea') favourite quotes - "Educate a boy, and your educate and individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community".