Frequently Asked Questions
Services and Support
What do you do to help the people?
We help them with medical care, educational support, and clean water.
Tagged: medical care, casa colibri, clean water
How do you help with medical care?
The clinic was established so that people would have a place to go for their medical needs. We host medical teams that provide primary care during medical mission trips several times a year. During those trips, the physicians find cases that require follow-up care such as cleft lip and palate surgery, cataract removal, and hernia repair. Specialty teams also visit the clinic periodically and provide eye care and other specialized medical treatment. There is a full-time village health promoter who works at the clinic. He is training to become a professional health-care provider.
What kind of educational support do you provide?
In the course of getting to know the area and the needs of the people, we identified a serious shortage of educational materials. To help meet this need, we established the Guatemalan Village School Textbook and Library Program. In addition, we have initiated a pilot program in one of the villages to promote early literacy and school readiness. This program was made possible by a UNESCO grant through Reach Out and Read.
Casa Colibrà has established a reputation for providing high-quality training seminars for village health promoters and midwives (traditional birth attendants). We hold trainings throughout the year which address the specific health needs of the community. Official statistics show an extraordinarily high infant mortality rate (50%) and maternal mortality rate (25%) in the villages. The training seminars are aimed at reducing these dismal figures by zeroing in on the causes of death.