Friends and Family,
I greet you from the hills of Guatemala. We are in our winter here, the rainy season, and also election time. Guatemala is in economic crisis, which also has touched lives everywhere. Here it is accentuated because of the poverty and corruption. Unfortunately for us the government budget for health seems to have all but disappeared. Patients are receiving very little care in National Hospitals. Medicine just does not exist and surgeries are being performed less frequently and only emergencies. More patients daily are coming to our consult, requesting credit or free care.
We want to express our thanks to you for helping the Clinica Maxeña in these difficult times. We remain committed to the POOR, as the Gospel asks of us.
We are excited as we venture into sustainable agriculture. With this project we hope to convince the Mayan indigenous population to return to the customs of their ancestors and grow their own food. We hope to decrease the incidence of childhood malnutrition. We have obtained the use of a small area of land with a spring nearby. We will plant local herbs and some vegetables and also promote chickens and rabbits in cages that can be place on the grass, their natural habitat.
June 5th, each year, is proclaimed as World Day for the Environment by the United Nations. Environment issues are dominant on the agenda for Health Care Institutions. Politicians ignore this crisis, which includes open garbage dumps along the roads and rivers, deforestation, lack of clean drinking water, no recycle practices, increase use of plastic bags and disposable foam utensils. What future are we creating for the next generation? This year's theme is the FOREST and WATER. the CLinica Maxeña will commemorate the Day of the Environment on June 30; each worker will be asked to commit to plant one tree. The clinic will also host an exposition on environment issues in our meeting space. This will be open to the public until July 30th. The Clinica Maxeña will raffle two ONIL stoves in June. These stoves save firewood, and also have a chimney which eliminates smoke in the family home, decreasing respiratory illness and burns. One hundred dollars buys an ONIL stove for our environmental project.
THANK YOU for journeying along with us and for your continued support in our work in caring for the sick in the Clinic. We invite you to visit the Clinica Maxeña.
Sincerely
Sheila McShane
DIRECTOR
Please check out the CLINICA MAXEÑA on FACEBOOK
You can donate on line at: www.diocesehelena.org Note for the CLinica Maxeña
Or send to
Guatemala Missions
Diocese of Helena
PO Box 1729
Helena, MT 59624
note your donation for the CLinica Maxeña
