Guatemala Team March 2011

Guatemala Team March 2011
Olathe Rotary Members Wes McCoy and Michael Ashcraft (3rd & 4th from left in back) join a team of MNU students and others traveling to Guatemala with Heart to Heart International to help provide medical and water services to Patanatic and communities near Lake Atitlan. Not all team members are pictured.

About Heart to Heart International

From the Heart to Heart International "Guatemala Volunteer Opportunities 2011" flyer:

Heart to Heart International (HHI) is improving global health through humanitarian initiatives that connect people and resources to a world in need.  We achieve this mission using two key strategies:  the energy of volunteers and the equity of strategic partners. 

Scope of Service Opportunity

Medical volunteers will provide primary health care to families of the community of Patanatic and surrounding areas in collaboration with the HHI clinic medical team.  Most families have no medical history available.  General health assessments will also be part of the work. 

Non-medical volunteers will support the educational activities of the water, sanitation and hygiene program that includes:  installing water filters, cooking stoves, latrines, monitoring the use and operation of the filter at the home of the families, participating in de-worming campaigns, reforestation and other activities at the schools.

From the Heart to Heart International "Water for Life" flyer:

Water for Life
Billions of people around the world suffer every day because they lack access to clean water or adequate sanitation, causing water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, which is the number one killer of children in developing countries.

Guatemala is in the same boat.  Nearly one in four people lacks access to safe drinking water, and one in three lacks access to adequate sanitation.  The issue is complicated in areas such as Solola. 

But Heart to Heart is working to reverse this trend through a comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) initiative that seeks to ensure everyone in the region has water for life.

Learn more about Heart to Heart International at http://www.hearttoheart.org/.