Guatemala is a developing country in Central America. It borders Mexico and Belize in the north and northeast and El Salvador and Honduras to the south. It has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean and a very short Caribbean coastline between Belize and Honduras. The country covers a land area of 109,000 square kilometers of mountainous forest highlands, lowland jungle and tropical coastline.

52% of Guatemala’s twelve million people are Ladino (of mixed Amerindian-Spanish extraction), and 48% are indigenous Maya. Approximately 60% of the population speak Spanish, the remainder use one of the twenty-one Mayan dialects. Of these the largest linguistic group is K’iche’, with over a million K’iche’ speakers.

Since the Spanish Conquest, the Mayan people have been progressively deprived of their lands and have suffered extreme marginalization and discrimination. The vast majority continue to live in remote communities without access to drinking water, electricity, schools or health services. The years of civil unrest and the total lack of infrastructure has inhibited the process of community development and assisted in maintaining the legacy of submission and isolation of indigenous people. The plight of the Maya was brought to light with the publication of the memoir I, Rigoberta Menchu, written by a young Maya woman whose father, mother and brother where killed by the Guatemalan military in the course of their ‘pacification program’ (http://www.wagingpeace.org/hero/rigoberta_menchu.html ).

Guatemala’s 36-year civil war officially ended on 29 December 1996 when a series of peace accords were established. The conflict left an estimated toll of 150,000 dead, 40,000 disappeared, 440 indigenous villages razed to the ground. More than a million people were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other remote areas of the country or in neighboring countries, particularly in southern Mexico. The great majority of the victims of the conflict were Mayans. Ten years later the people of Guatemala still await the full implementation of the peace accords.

Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America. A recent UN report shows 60% of the population live in poverty (<2$ US per day)) while 93% of the indigenous population live in poverty. The reasons for this include a major income discrepancy between the rich and the poor (one of the highest in the world), high crime rates, illiteracy and low levels of education and health. The Mayan peoples of Guatemala have the highest mortality and malnutrition rates in the country. Recently released World Health Organization figures show that 67.3% of the Mayan compared to 34% of the ladino population suffers from chronic malnutrition.

The following statistics from the Pan American Health Organization (2002) and UNICEF (2004) illustrate the problems faced in Guatemala:

Since the official end of the civil war in December 1996 the Government has undertaken a limited program of institutional modernization, however access to healthcare is still extremely limited, particularly in the rural areas. It is estimated that there are still 21,000 communities in different regions of Guatemala that do not have access to Department of Health services (20% of the population). Only 8% of the indigenous population has access to regular healthcare. At the Regional Government Hospitals funds are regularly used up before the end of the year after which only emergencies can be treated. At the Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro Hospital only a fraction of the operational budget comes from the government, the remainder coming from donations.

Guatemala is a country that welcomes volunteers. In Antigua and throughout the country there are many large and small volunteer groups working. Volunteer activities include care of orphans, malnourished children and those with disabilities, various building and educational projects, and of course the surgical teams that come to the Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro Hospital throughout the year.

Health for Humanity’s volunteer efforts make a significant difference to the lives of the individuals we treat, returning them to an active life supporting their families. When combined with the work of all the other volunteer teams we do have a significant effect the overall healthcare situation in Guatemala. In addition, we empower the local healthcare workers by providing education and medical equipment and supplies. Our team members frequently say that they have benefited from their volunteer experience almost as much as the patients. The gratitude of the people, and the new appreciation for the problems of the developing world compared to our own privileged situation at home, more than compensates for the hard work.