Trip Description:

 

Over the spring break of 2015, M-HEAL sent a group of 16 students to Antigua, Guatemala as part of its first Service Abroad and Needs Assessment (SANA) program. The 16 were split into two groups of eight taking into consideration those with Spanish speaking ability and those without and balancing them between each group. One group worked in the morning, while the other worked in the afternoon. Each group volunteered each day for about 4-5 hours.

 

During the week the group spent half the day volunteering in a variety of settings such as schools and community centers in the neighboring villages. Travel time to each was between 5 minutes and an hour. While there, each group member was designated a different job each day. These jobs included shadowing the doctor, administering antiparasitics to patients, working with children through skits, teaching them how to wash their hands, and handing out toothbrushes and toothpaste. The places the group visited spanned from rural communities on farmland, to schools on the side of a cliff, to public school children with uniforms, to communities no more than five minutes from center city Antigua. As indicated, each site the group visited was different but generally, at every site seen, the group identified at least one of the same underlying issues in one community as was seen in another. Each night, the group would come together and go over our observations seen during the day. These observations were typed into a database and later the most prominent observations were formulated into preliminary needs statements.

 

When the group wasn’t volunteering, they spent their time learning about and embracing the culture of Guatemala through exploring some local sites and the surrounding city. First they traveled to the local Mayan ruins, Iximche. This excursion gave an interesting perspective into the Mayan culture and their beliefs. Further, the group was also given the opportunity to watch a Mayan ritual for continuing good health, an incredible display of color and fire that they were able to witness first hand. This experience made them aware that Mayan traditions impact the health care practices some Guatemalans decide to take part in, which is important to take into consideration for the future project team. Also during the week, the group was able to climb up one of the four volcanoes surrounding Antigua, Guatemala. This was a tough but rewarding climb as the group was able to become closer the further the ascent up the Pacaya Volcano. Moreover, as a group they climbed to the top of the hill where Cerro de la Cruz resides to watch the sunrise, reveling in the vast beauty of Antigua.

 

In just a few short days, the group was able to make an impact in the surrounding communities, but the group aspires to create a lasting impact with a project team to assess and address some of the needs they have found in this area. Our group operated through

International Volunteer Headquarters (IVHQ), and more details can

be found at their website or in this PDF. If you have any questions,

please contact Erik Thomas (erikmich@umich.edu).

 

To follow the 2015 travelers' journey, please visit their Facebook page,

Twitter, Instagram, and blog.

 

 

Special Thanks:

 

We would like to thank the University of Michigan's College of Engineering, Engineering Student Government, the Ginsberg Center, International Volunteer Headquarters, Máximo Nivel, World Medical Relief, and the University of Michigan's Health System for their generous support of this program.