Friends and Family,
Friday all the clinic personell, who are PASTORAL HEALTH FOR OUR PARISH, took the afternoon off to March for education and prevention of AIDS! December 1 was WORLD DAY FOR AIDS,proclaimed by the UNITED NATIONS. We chose to do education and a MARCH in one of our townships, Xejuyup. We went in our jeep, two pickups with posters taped to our vehicles, a Banner of the Bishops Conference for compassion for AIDS victims and band instruments. We were surprised by a spring rain fall as we approached the community but it did not dampen our spirit. Band members jumped out of the trucks in the rain and the music started; the banner was carried by others, and the clinic personell chatted individually with those they encountered on the way.
We all wore the red ribbon, as a reminder of the Day for Prevention of Aids. We also made smaller ribbons to pin on the people, and distributed a prayer for victims of AIDS, composed by a Maryknoll priest, Dan Jensen. THANK YOU DAN! We had the clinic loud speaker roped to the jeep as our AIDS representative, Lyncho gave instruction and information in spanish followed by translation in Mayan Quiche by Manuel, native of XEJUYUP.
Our Clinic Laboratory does do Laboratory testing for HIV and we accompany patients with AIDS to the clinic for meds, especially when they are of low income and need translation to spanish. Medications are provided by the Ministry of Health. Our state of Suchitepequez is in fourth place for AIDS victims, not an honor for sure.
We ask for your prayers and financial support for our Program in AIDS prevention. We do have the support of a Mayan Quiche Psycologist who works with AIDS nationally and comes to our clinic to give individual support. He lives in a neighboring town and is always welcome to our clinic. He also has given talks to our youth in our town of Santo Tomas and also the mountain village through Pastoral for youth of our parish.
Send you donation to www.diocesehelena.org
thanks, SHEILA
Enclosed fotos of the day and the banner that hangs across the entrance of our MISSION:
