Source: The Word from Guatemala
November 17, 2015
His Eminence, Metropolitan Athenagoras, stands in the pharmacy of the Aguacate Clinic
The outside of the medical clinic
On November 8, Archbishop
Athenagoras arrived in Aguacate, Guatemala to bless
the newly completed Father Andres Giron
medical/dental clinic, his gift to the long-suffering
Mayan people of that region. Why is this outreach so
important to them? Why were the faithful so happy to
receive this blessing? With half of its population
below the poverty line, and 16 percent in extreme
poverty, Guatemala faces a healthcare crisis of
monumental proportions. Right now the country has 8
million people in its public healthcare system, with
a medical budget of about $55/person, compared to
$3,500/person spent in the United States. Sadly, this
paltry sum is only spent in Guatemala’s major
cities, resulting in a near total lack of medical
care in the rural regions. In the village of
Aguacate, I asked about this problem, and they showed
me an abandoned one-room health post that
sporadically offers injections, but no other
services. Recently, I read an article in Prensa
Libre, decrying the healthcare crisis in the public
sector. Workers in a number of the national hospitals
have not been paid in four months, and 10 basic
medicines are not available to treat the people.
Surgeries are either postponed or denied for lack of
anesthesia. This has become a national scandal. This
past August, for example, a 35 yr. old mother of
seven from the village of Aguacate needed surgery for
a large abdominal tumor. She waited patiently for a
month and a half at a city hospital, at great expense
to her family. She needed blood, and in such cases
willing donors have to be found. Unfortunately, her
blood type was rare, and so the village had to take
up a collection to cover the cost. On the day of the
surgery, the doctor informed her that there was no
anesthesia. She would have to come back another day.
This was too much for her to bear. She wanted to go
home and die with her own people.
![The crowds carry a sign that says “Thank you for giving physic[al] and spiritual health.”](http://www.pravoslavie.ru/sas/image/102208/220885.p.jpg?mtime=1447792946)
The crowds carry a sign that says “Thank you for giving physic[al] and spiritual health.”
For reasons like this, the coming
of the clinic was greeted with great joy. The need is
so great. In just four days an OCMC medical team was
able to treat 434 people, but many others were sent
home when the outreach hastily came to an end.
Peaceful demonstrations in the country against
government corruption were blocking the major roads
to the airport. It’s important to note that
many thousands of our Mayan Orthodox brethren live in
such remote areas and must rely on trusted, but
unskilled health workers from the village, who can
perform a few basic medical functions. Apart from
these volunteers, all other professional services in
private clinics or hospitals require payment up front
for consultations and medical tests. Then there is
the matter of buying medicine, if prescribed, which
is usually out of reach for most people. Medicines
that are purchased come in small quantities, a few
pills at a time. More often than not, they are
nothing more than placebos.
Gathered in prayer for the Divine Liturgy
Right now, the clinic is
depending on volunteer doctors, nurses, mission
teams, and translators to meet the need. Hopefully,
in the near future we will be able to staff the
clinic with full-time medical personnel. Funds are
being collected to pay for nursing scholarships to
properly train the local people to run their own
clinic. Once again, we thank the Archbishop and the
One World, One Community Foundation for initiating
the project. Since then, many other dedicated
individuals and aid organizations have stepped
forward with vital medicines, diagnostic equipment,
building designs, dental chairs, computers and
building materials. Working together with all of you,
we hope to make a difference in the lives of
thousands. Improving the health of the Mayan people,
one village at a time is something to celebrate. We
pray for many more blessings to come in the name of
Christ.
Gazing out on the crowd of thousands
Blessing the rooms of the clinic
Standing in the dental room, which features two fully operational dental chairs
His Eminence, Metropolitan Athenagoras, stands in the pharmacy of the Aguacate Clinic
The outside of the medical clinic
![The crowds carry a sign that says “Thank you for giving physic[al] and spiritual health.”](http://www.pravoslavie.ru/sas/image/102208/220885.b.jpg?mtime=1447792946)
The crowds carry a sign that says “Thank you for giving physic[al] and spiritual health.”
Gathered in prayer for the Divine Liturgy
Gazing out on the crowd of thousands
Blessing the rooms of the clinic
Standing in the dental room, which features two fully operational dental chairs
