Health & Well Being

Health & Well-Being

According to USAID:

“Guatemala has the highest rate of stunting in the Western Hemisphere and the fifth highest rate in the world, with nearly half of all children under five stunted and chronically malnourished. Lack of access to health services has life and death consequences; the maternal mortality ratio is 108 deaths per 100,000 live births. Health outcomes drastically decline when disaggregated across Guatemala’s population, where indigenous people, people with lower educational levels, and people living in poverty are disproportionately affected. Among indigenous children under the age of five, stunting rates rise to 70 percent, while indigenous women experience a 30 percent higher risk (139 deaths per 100,000 live births) of maternal mortality. High teenage pregnancy rates (one in five girls nationally have given birth by age 19, one in four in the Western Highlands) further exacerbate Guatemala’s youth bulge and complicate educational and economic advancement for young parents. These health challenges limit Guatemala’s growth.”

Esperanza's work in this area includes:
health education, clinics, and clean water (a priority)

Getting Clean Water: a Two-Step Process

STEP ONE

All water in Guatemala is contaminated; it all needs to be purified for drinking and cooking. But in Nimasac, the situation was even worse.

Before 2020, few families in Nimasac had running water. Water was collected in cisterns or by going to 'springs' which gathered the tiny stream water.

The diagnostic health clinic we conducted in 2018 found that dehydration and water-borne illnesses were common and contributed to poor health.

There was one existing well, and a second well was planned but had insufficient funding. Both well groups were competing for limited resources. Esperanza consulted with Engineers Without Borders [EWB] in Guatemala, and arranged a meeting of all interested parties, including the town government. EWB provided follow-up.

At the end of 2019, through the work of a new, combined water committee, the town initiated the installation of water pipes. The work was completed by Nimasac residents. Esperanza purchased the home water meters for the poorest families who then were able to pay the plumbers for installation.

Now nearly all family units (which are often extended family compounds) have a spigot and meter allowing water to be piped to their home. Precarious water levels at springs and streams during droughts no longer threaten the townspeople, and the backbreaking labor of carrying buckets from springs to homes has been eliminated.

STEP TWO

The next goal was to purify the water being used in the village. Considerable research was done to determine the optimal system to treat the water for drinking and cooking. After an initial trial project with 20 families and a simple water purifier was unsuccessful, Ecofiltro was introduced.

Ecofiltro is a Guatemalan based social enterprise who has developed a simple, economic, home-based water purification system. Since its inception in 2012, Ecofiltro has distributed over 700,000 filters throughout Guatemala. (https://ecofiltro.com.gt/en).

After consultation with experienced Guatemalan clean water groups, our Clean Water program, initiated in 2023, includes the following:

mandatory household WASH (Water And Sanitation/Hygiene) education for 4-6 hours,
payment of 10% of the system cost by each family,
signed family covenant for proper use and care.

Esperanza has successfully raised funds to provide almost 350 water purifier systems. We were able to serve all of the families requesting filters. The final Ecofiltros will be distributed in 2024.

Be sure to visit our Stories page to hear from the recipients of the training and water filters:

Go to Stories Page

Community Health Efforts

Community Health Clinic

In 2016, a two-day community health clinic was offered; eighty people were seen by a nurse or doctor. With this, a relationship with the local government clinic was established. Since this first clinic, Esperanza has been able to help with medicines, supplies and small clinical equipment needs.

We are currently exploring a nurses training mission trip with a Midwest university nursing school for 2025. Stay tuned!

Family Planning and Women's Health Education

The average family in Nimasac has four to eight children. Women get married as early as sixteen. Information about family planning is often unavailable, nonexistent, misinformed, or denied.

But some are interested in learning more. In 2022 a physician led conversation broached the topic with a group of men. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, nurses provided women's health information to a group of women. We expect to continue this process in the future.

Dental Supplies

Recent trips to Guatemala have included the distribution of toothbrushes and toothpaste, expensive commodities in Nimasac.

See the SPECIAL PROJECTS page for more about Health support.