We arrived in Guatemala City last night at 7:20 pm, where we were met by Viviana from Faith in Practice. After all trunks and supplies were through customs, we departed for the city of Antigua, 45 minutes west of the capital and home to FIP’s Guatemala headquarters. A UNESCO world heritage site, Antigua was the Spanish capital from Chiapas, Mexico all the way down to Costa Rica from the mid 1500s until 1773 when it was devastated by an earthquake. Around every corner you will find the crumbling ruins of a baroque style churches and monasteries, and these views are magnified by the three volcanoes that ring the city: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Here in Antigua, Faith in Practice’s offices strategize how to meet crucial health needs of economically impoverished individuals from across the country through trainings and health initiatives, Village Teams, and Surgical Teams like our own. For us, Antigua is a brief pit stop on our way to Reu in the southwest, where we will serve at the Hilario Galindo hospital. Orientation this morning at FIP’s Casa de Fe in Antigua will be led by Hilario Galindo Surgery Program Director Rachel Kitch of Faith in Practice as well as other members of the organization’s Guatemala based staff. After orientation we will visit Hospital Las Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro before making our way roughly 3 hours southwest by bus to Reu. There we hope to conduct a brief tour of the hospital before meeting to discuss triage plans for tomorrow. Our multiple flights, bus rides, and the travel still to come do not compare with the arduous journey of the Sisters of Providence, who traveled on horseback from Montreal to the Pacific Northwest nearly 160 years ago. And yet, we follow in their footsteps, responding to health needs beyond our borders. We are weary from travel, but anxious and excited to do our small part in creating healthier communities, together—in Guatemala.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 14:20:11 +0000