Photo essay of first week in Guatemala (Kathryn)

We are warmly welcomed into the home of Margaret Bean, CNM who has been living in Antigua for almost 15 years and is our host before and after our trip to Vamos Adelante

We visit Manos Abiertos, a Planned Parenthood Federation project with full services for women including a small birth center run by a US trained CPM

Tuesday morning at 5:30 AM we leave for Vamos Adelante with Nina, their executive director, crossing 4 very swollen rivers in her trusty SUV donated by Volkswagon; the rainy season is not yet over!

Melissa at the clinic with Nina, and their dear housemother Dona Gina whose serious depression was relieved when offered the position several years ago

After seeing patients all day in the clinic, we ride the "chicken bus" into the mountains to the village of Ceylon where we stay with Felina, a Vamos Adelante health promoter for 3 nights. Melissa and Christina's bedtime reading; note the corrugated metal walls of the one room house. The sounds outside those walls throughout the night were amazing: pigs, dogs, roosters, blaring radios, more dogs, erupting volcano (no kidding), 3 AM fireworks, 5 AM bus arrival, and more dogs!

C & M wash dishes at the "pila", the outdoor sink. The clean but very humble home has no running water (no flush toilet, no showers)

Piglets and garbage behind the house. Recently Felina's 2 adult pigs were stolen for food; hunger and poverty lead to desperate actions.

Children and the elderly who are identified with malnutrition (a sadly common problem in Guatemala) are served one meal a day at a nutrition program; we help serve.

Melissa does a prenatal check in Felina's home. Most women in the villages receive no prenatal care

A man comes to Felina's house with a knee laceration sustained by his machete while working in the fields. Christina does the local anesthesia and Felina put in the sutures

While walking in the village we see a mom and child whom we had seen as patients the day before; the mom for a prenatal check and the daughter for a febrile illness. We were so pleased to see the child looking much better, although suffering from malnutrition and in the feeding program.

The children love to have their photos taken and see their images in the the camera. We will get copies made for them.

Village children convince us to dance with them; early the next morning they arrive asking when we will be ready to disco again!

One of our star dancers!

A young girl living in extreme poverty, one of 10 children. She is in the feeding program but often comes to Felina's home asking for food.

We leave the village of Ceylon on a 5:20 bus to return to the clinic where we meet with 5 of the 7 health promoters to talk with them about pregnancy and their interest in our helping develop a program of prenatal care with them

They are eager to learn new knowledge and skills; here we teach them about blood pressures. Note the Vamos Adelante SUV in the background; for safety it is parked in the courtyard of the clinic.