Primeros Pasos

Having recently returned to the U.S. after having lived in Guatemala for the past year and a half, I have, needless to say, gained new perspectives and experiences that have permanently influenced my direction in life. This was especially crucial to combating the "uncertainty disease" that plagues many 'fresh out of college' students. What to do? Where to go? Med School? Law School? Grad School? All of these things become pressing questions that get the mind so bogged down that it's difficult to pick one path. And even when you find something that you feel remotely sure about, you still find yourself praying that it's the right choice. Sometimes, however, there are places you go and see, trying to find that direction, that often times become a bigger impact than you expected. One such place for me, while in Guatemala, was Primeros Pasos, a non-profit clinic located in the rural area of the Palajunoj Valley in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in Central America.

The clinic, whose mission is to better the quality of life for some 15,000 people living in the Valley, is free for children under the age of 18 years, and 30 quetzales or about $4 for those over that age that come to receive medical attention. Primeros Pasos is staffed with the director that oversees all the daily operations and volunteers that come in, one Guatemalan doctor, one Lab Tech, one dentist, and several volunteer Medical students, both foreigners and Guatemalans. In addition, the clinic receives several volunteers that work in other necessary areas of the clinic. One such portion is the Health Education Program, which targets both women and children making it a major component of the overall mission of Primeros Pasos.

By the continual support of volunteers that come from all over the world, Primeros Pasos reaches even the most remote areas. The clinic provides services such as free yearly medical exams to school children in the Valley, as well as health education classes on various topics throughout the year. As a children’s health educator specifically, volunteers teach classes both inside the clinic and around the surrounding communities ranging from Nutrition and Hygiene to Puberty and Sexual Education to provide the tools for children to learn about the basic methods of protecting themselves and living a healthier life in the midst of poverty and exclusion. It also provides medical and dental services to external patients that do not come as a part of the school. There is also a small pharmacy where patients may receive free medication with their consults, as well as psychological examinations, where mental health is often connected to the physical well-being of those suffering from poverty and oppression. In addition, the clinic also serves multiple daycare centers with children ages 2 months to 4 years through yearly mobile clinics. Teams of volunteer educators, doctors, and medical students transpose a smaller version of the clinic within the centers, with a mission to create a habit and environment of proper healthcare to children before they enter school so that they are able to carry these methods throughout their life.

In having the opportunity to actually live and work in a developing country, in areas that are often cut off to already limited access to healthcare, I saw how the clinic finds it important to not only treat those who come for immediate medical care, but also teach methods of preventing the onset of major illness, which are often caused by lack of resources. Within Guatemala, adults and especially children suffer from malnutrition on an intensily unnecessary scale.
Unfortunately, in Guatemala, healthcare as a whole is often viewed more as a lucrative business and not a basic human right. The government, often times, does not see the well-being of their citizens an important investment for the bettering of their homeland. Public hospitals, although having dedicated individuals to wanting to improve the situation of many of their patients, are severly understaffed, and therefore incapable of supporting the masses that come seeking attention. Private hospitals, although much better staffed, and with far more resources than the Public hospitals, are often too expensive for the majority of the population that are in dire need of assistance. Therefore, independent clinics, such as Primeros Pasos, are extremely necessary to providing not only curative care, but also preventive care for those who have limited access due to factors such as the insufficiency of time or money, and/or unaccessible by location.

Primeros Pasos, as mentioned, is located in a rural area in the developing country of Guatemala. Therefore, it needs much financial support and donations from friends and family around the world. As more come to trust in its mission, more resources are needed. As a former volunteer, I have seen the tremendous help that Primeros Pasos has been, and how focused and dedicated they are to creating a more accessible healthcare. However, because I have been there, I know the constant support that the clinic needs. The clinic runs off a yearly salary of just $30,000. This amount provides not only the small salary the staff receives, but also all the equipment, materials, and medications needed for all the patients that come, both children and adults. The clinic also receives supply donations from those who are in agreement with its vision, whether they be vitamins, toothbrushes, or medical and dental tools needed in everyday operations, but is in constant need of more.

In having read over the purpose of this community, I believe we can all agree that the need for international outreach has become an important topic in our generation. It is something that we can call our own; what we can be known for. Because of that, I present Primeros Pasos to you as a witness to what is being done around the world, by our generation, to see a change in the lives of those who are without. If you want to check out more information on the clinic or ways you can help or become involved, go to www.primerospasos.org or www.fivetimesfivehundred.org