When I was preparing to move to Guatemala six months ago to intern with Maya Health Alliance l Wuqu’ Kawoq (MHA l WK), “Why Guatemala?” was often a question posed to me by my friends and family. It was a question I found difficult to answer, since I…
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Kate opens up about the biggest lesson she learned being here with us. Leaving isn’t easy. It is saying “see you later” (not goodbye, because Guatemala and WK have captured my heart and I can’t leave forever) to all the friends I have made in work and…
Continue ReadingPriya Larson returns to our blog with more of what she’s discovered while in Guatemala! Things Guatemalans say and wear (that weren´t in Spanish class): “Fíjese que…” – They use this a lot. It sort of means ¨note that,¨ and you can conjugate it in all forms (Fíjate, fíjense). “No tenga pena”…
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Dr. Boris Martinez shares his thoughts and experiences: I started as a full-time physician and research coordinator for WK almost one year ago, and a lot of things have changed since then… Within this year I have built strong and meaningful relationships with people in the several Mayan…
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Priya Larson stars in our blog this week: For my first week at Wuqu Kawoq, I took some time to get oriented, then planned a sampling of field visits with their team. I saw complex care coordination, diabetes clinic, and nutrition monitoring project in action. This allowed me to…
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Devyn, a nurse-midwife student from Vanderbilt University who is partnering with MHA | WK, guest writes this week on our blog! Our team of interdisciplinary graduate students (two nursing, one business, one public health, and one economics) and an administrator from education are working with Wuqu’ Kawoq…
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In Guatemala, mothers have a 7 to 10 times higher risk of death due to pregnancy-related conditions. In the rural indigenous communities in which we work, women usually receive prenatal and delivery care from a traditional birth attendant (TBA), or midwife. Birth attendants are usually the only healthcare…
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My stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, my computer. I placed all of these items in my bag, as Sandy grabbed her glucometer and placed it in hers. Wicha looked at us expectantly, waiting for us to signal that we were ready to see the 8 diabetic patients we…
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As I sit on the top of the world (or the top of Central America at least), I understand why George Lovell explains Guatemala as “A Beauty that Hurts.” I have never been in a place this incredible, this stunning. Sitting on the peak of the highest point…
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Julie Bowser joined the MHA | WK team in January 2016, to investigate midwifery and women’s health practices in Guatemala for the next three months. Originally from Ontario, Canada Julie first came to Guatemalan 3 years ago, when she worked for a NGO based in Xela. She loves to…
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Katia Cnop is currently MHA | WK ‘ s Complex Care Coordinator. She has worked in Guatemala since early 2014 and will attend medical school starting in August 2016. She likes rock climbing, and in the future she hopes to work with underserved communities in the United States. For…
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