Cloudy Skies in the Forecast

Friends and family,
Greetings of Love from Guatemala. I was hoping I could report blue skies and sun but we are still hearing the drizzle of rain at night and soggy earth about us. I think it does affect one´s spirit even though I lived many years in Seattle and should be used to overcast. The news yesterday informed us that rains would be present until November and storms and hurricaines are brewing in the atmsophere. This will affect greatly the roads, crops and prices of food.

Yesterday was Nutrition Class for mothers with malnourished babies at the Clinica Maxeña. All the chairs were occupied by mothers with their infants and other small children under five. Micaela presented the class and taught a new recipe to the women and a short video was presented. The main ingredient in the nutritive snack was Chipilin, from our medicinal, nutritive garden. Chipilin is a tropical, leafy, green plant that is high in iron, calcium and beta carotene. This plant gives flavor and color to corn maze and used locally in tamales. Today it was combined with rice, and spices. After the class, the babies are brought to the clinic for consult and examined by Doctor Ever. The children all appear more healthy, smiling and gaining weight. Milk supplement is not a part of their normal diet but reality is the mothers all suffer a scarcity of breast milk because of their own nutrtive status and it is a necesity to recovery of malnutrition. Formula is expensive here, 20. dollars for 2.5 pounds. We limit the mothers to two cans per child per month, except in severe malnutrition. Powder Milk, Nido, is provided to older infants and children and also a local protein supplement, Incaparina. Soy is also promoted and grown in the clinic Garden. The women have learned how to make milk from this plant in this class, but time and patience is required. Chico, in charge of clinic projects, recently did some home visits with Micaela. These visits are essential to help us to understand the home situation and verify the poverty of the families. We hope to provide small gardens for the mothers in their own environment as a longer term solution. At the end of the class an ONIL stove was raffled to the mothers in attendance, and the mother who had the winning number was very happy with her gift.

Thank You for your donation to our clinic which enables us to provide milk and medical care to these mothers and infants. We do plan to provide more ONIL STOVES to the mothers in this class. 100. dollars provides a free stove to a needy family.

You can donate on line to the CLINICA MAXEÑA!! at www.diocesehelena.org

Photos included are: Micaela with Chipilin in the clinic kitchen, Myself with the mom who was gifted an ONIL STOVE and a view of a village road, damaged from the storms.
Blessings! love sheila

When Life seems UNFAIR

Friends and family,
It has been awhile since I have sat to write a bit on my blog. Life has been very busy. The rains come and go and the greatest damage is to the roads, which daily have more bridges out and roads impassable. One learns to adjust to the inconvenience and we remain optimistic that better wheather is ahead.

We have a new young patient in our in patient ward. Maria is 15 years old and has only fourth grade primary education. Her life has been very difficult. She was kidnapped when she was seven years old, apparently in the time when children were being stolen and sold; she was recovered in fifteen days. Details are sketchy. Over two years ago she was sexually abused by a family member. Very sadly she is now HIV positive and with AIDS and Papilomas. This was discovered by our clinic doctor when she was referred here by the catechist of the community. Apparently she was in treatment for sexual disease with a different clinic; she was never checked for AIDS until now. Once we had made the diagnosis, we took her immediately to the AIDS clinic and she started antiviral medication. She will remain in the clinic because of her AIDS symptoms and the malnourishment as long as needed. We also will remain responsible that she takes her antiviral medications. We ask for your prayers and support for this very special young person.

The clinic is very busy with increase in patients coming in with respiratory and gastrointestinal disease; this increase is a result of Storm Agatha and the destruction of water systems. Our Nutrition Project continues to grow, serving more children each month. We are very grateful to all who responded to our plea for support for patients and others who suffered with the storms. This has allowed us to purchase more medication and milk and protein products.

Health care in Government Hospitals has improved, as the present government removed all costs to patients for some exams and medicines; care is completely free. The problem is that the budget did not allow for increase of patients and the reality is the Hospitals lost some revenue they did receive from patients. The management and Doctors are demanding more workers and equipment and medicine for the needs of the patients. Monday the Roosevelt Hospital, the largest Hospital in the country, will go on strike. Other National Hospitals have threatened to do likewise if their demands are not met. This will cause a crisis for the poor and sick, especially with the already increase of disease from the storm and the epidemic of Dengue in the country.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!and PRAYERS!!

REMEMBER YOU CAN DONATE ON LINE TO THE CLINICA MAXEÑA AT: www.diocesehelena.org

World day of ENVIRONMENT

Good Evening Friends and family from Guatemala,

As I write this blog, the rain is still drizzling after a heavy rainfall. Overall the situation, following Storm Agatha, has improved. Emergency repairs to roads and highways have been achieved and also temporary bridges are in place and landslides cleared. Many people are still in shelters but food and medicine are being distributed. Unfortunately water systems continue to be a major obstacle for the majority of communities where the Mission Of the Diocese of Helena is located. We are beginning to do an evaluation of this situation, as lack of water affects greatly the health situation for the people we serve. Our parish Clinic, LA MAXEÑA, is very busy, especially our laboratory and medical consult.

Today we closed shop in the Clinic, for the afternoon, to celebrate World day of Environment. The actual day was June 5th, which was the height of the crisis of AGATHA! With our usual Music and Prayer, we opened our Pastoral Health Meeting. A banner hangs across the front of our Parish kitchen and Meeting Room. It´s message reads: "For a Peaceful Life sharing with NATURE". The theme of this year´s International Day of the Environment is: MANY SPECIES, ONE PLANET, ONE FUTURE! It is an URGENT PLEA to conserve the diversity of the LIFE on our PLANET! Millons of persons and millons of species share the same planet and only together can we enjoy a more safe and prosperous future. Together, we as the personell of the CLINICA MAXEÑA, carefully considered the actions we must take to preserve all the species living on our earth. We discussed the forests and disappearance of trees, our over use of carbon, our inadequate garbage disposals, plastic bags, unnecessary use of electricity, unsafe water supply, and much more. A video made real the effects of plastic bags and the garbage dumps on roadsides, in communities and near rivers.

Our ONIL STOVE PROJECT was discussed in detail and a committment was made to promote and make reality this project. We are very grateful for friends who have contributed one hundred dollars to provide an ONIL STOVE for a poor family. Thousands of families want this possibility, and one by one, we hope to make this REALITY!! This stove is envionmental friendly; little fire wood is necessary. It helps prevent illness, burns, eye and respiratory disease and of course it is very economical for the POOR! THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATION!!

You can donate on line to the CLINICA MAXEÑA AND TO THE STOVE PROJECT AT:
www.diocesehelena.org

BLESSINGS AND THANKS TO ALL!

Love SHEILA

Meeting, Reflecting, Celebrating

Friends,
We go from sun, to grey clouds, then rain again. The earth is becoming saturated in many parts of the country. This morning a bridge partially collapsed on the highway that takes us to the city. The highway closed and this brings stress, financial losses, and more complications for Guatemala. It is time to stay home and travel only for necessity.

Yesterday we had our monthly general meeting with Clinic Workers. A visiting professional gave a short workshop on motivation in one´s life. These conferences are of great value for the workers as these opportunities are not as frequent as should be. Also we had a short recognition and celebration for Father´s Day. The clinic gifted cups and a hankerchief to each dad, and all enjoyed delicious tostadas and music. The meeting time was short but we come together again next week in our Pastoral Health Meeting to talk and plan actions for the environment.

Pastoral Health is the focus of who we are as a Clinic. This meeting is a very important gathering as the environment is one of our main focuses in preventive Medicine for the Clinica Maxeña! World environment day was celebrated June 5th. The Clinica Maxeña, because of the emergency in the country, will celebrate on June 26 at our meeting. The ONIL STOVE PROJECT will be our focus. We are very grateful for the generous response that allows us to put many stoves in homes of the most poor. These stoves, save firewood, prevent lung and eye disease with a chimney, and save cooking time for moms, so more time with the children.

The child Cristobal, that I wrote in my last blog, is recovering and home again. The infant son of our worker Martin, had an emergency when he caught his little fingers in the spoke of a bicycle, and had to have two fingers partially amputated. I just sent a complicated pregnant patient to a specialist to Xela, the second largest city in Guatemala. She has a blood dyscrasia and has to deliver in a hospital where blood products are readily available. Unfortunately her fetus was in distress when she departed for the hospital. We are grateful the town now does have ambulance service and they are very accomodating to the Clinica Maxeña. Catarina is one of my god children so I do also ask for prayers for a safe delivery for her and the baby. Daily we are called to serve and accompany many patients with emergencies, acute and chronic illnesses, and desnutrition in children. We are blessed to have many dedicated, competent workers and the generosity of MANY! THANK YOU!!

Thank You for your interest, prayers and financial support.
You can now donate on line at: www.diocesehelena.org

BLESSINGS! SHEILA

Picture of workers after workshop on MOTIVATION.
An older child with malnutrition and anemia.