Friends and Family,
It is the end of year 2011 and we look to the dawning of 2012. Here at the Clinica Maxeña our needs with the sick and poor have dramatically increased. Hunger and malnutrition and disease are very prevalent. Guatemala has the highest rate of chronic malnutrition of children under five years of age, in the hemisphere. Our donations are down. We have to cut our staff and our programs to survive in 2012.
Daily at 6am, patients come at dawn, to receive a number for medical consult; consult is only three dollars. We have a well sorted Pharmacy and also a complete diagnostic laboratory. Our Emergency Room receives three to five emergencies a day; the most common are wounds to be sutured for field workers, and respiratory crisis in infants and children. Emergency deliveries of babies happen at least monthly. Snake bites, car accidents, diabetic emergencies keep our Emergency Room busy.
We have a Nutritional Project for malnourished infants and children. Many lactating mothers do not have sufficient breast milk for their babies. We prefer not to depend on formula; it is expensive and we know secondary disease results from lack of hygiene with the baby bottles and also contaminated water. Our Nutritional Project provides classes on nutritive supplements to the diet of the infant or child, recipes on how to prepare, a protein drink that is produced by the workers of Medicinal and NutritivePlants of the Clinica and free Medical consult to these infants and children by our doctor. The protein supplement of the Clinic is made from corn, rice, soy, wheat, peanuts, mush and other additives. In 2011, we began to work with Sustanable agriculture; we have planted a demonstrative garden of vegetables and native healthy herbs. The harvest is gifted to the mothers of malnourished children, in diabetic club and sold in the clinic to the public.
Our clinic has a team that works with environmental deficiencies that cause disease; garbage thrown on the road side, contaminated water, lack of sanitary facilities, such as toilets, lack of recycle centers, decrease of the forest. These are problems that the Ministry of Health should address but their response is slow, minimal and often non existent. CAN YOU HELP US.. As Christians we know that the GOSPEL tells us the POOR will always be with US. WE are called to be present to them!
You can put us on your christmas list. You can make possible the continuation of our WORK! You can educate your children of the importance of remembering the POOR at christmas. Thank YOU for your support. You make possible the continuations of our WORK in the CLINICA MAXENA!
You can donate on line at:http://catalog.diocesehelena.org/Guatemala Mission-c10
or make a donation by check to DIOCESE of HELENA
send to:
Diocese of Helena
Guatemala Mission
Mr Mark Frei
PO 1729
Helena, MT
59624
CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS TO YOU AND ALL YOUR FAMILY FROM THE CLINICA MAXENA¡
