Archbishop Blesses Aguacate Clinic Amidst National Healthcare Crisis / Православие.Ru

November 17, 2015

His Eminence, Metropolitan Athenagoras, stands in the pharmacy of the Aguacate Clinic

The outside of the medical clinic

On November 8, Archbishop Athenagoras arrived in Aguacate, Guatemala to bless the newly completed Father Andres Giron medical/dental clinic, his gift to the long-suffering Mayan people of that region. Why is this outreach so important to them? Why were the faithful so happy to receive this blessing? With half of its population below the poverty line, and 16 percent in extreme poverty, Guatemala faces a healthcare crisis of monumental proportions. Right now the country has 8 million people in its public healthcare system, with a medical budget of about $55/person, compared to $3,500/person spent in the United States. Sadly, this paltry sum is only spent in Guatemala’s major cities, resulting in a near total lack of medical care in the rural regions. In the village of Aguacate, I asked about this problem, and they showed me an abandoned one-room health post that sporadically offers injections, but no other services. Recently, I read an article in Prensa Libre, decrying the healthcare crisis in the public sector. Workers in a number of the national hospitals have not been paid in four months, and 10 basic medicines are not available to treat the people. Surgeries are either postponed or denied for lack of anesthesia. This has become a national scandal. This past August, for example, a 35 yr. old mother of seven from the village of Aguacate needed surgery for a large abdominal tumor. She waited patiently for a month and a half at a city hospital, at great expense to her family. She needed blood, and in such cases willing donors have to be found. Unfortunately, her blood type was rare, and so the village had to take up a collection to cover the cost. On the day of the surgery, the doctor informed her that there was no anesthesia. She would have to come back another day. This was too much for her to bear. She wanted to go home and die with her own people.

The crowds carry a sign that says “Thank you for giving physic[al] and spiritual health.”

For reasons like this, the coming of the clinic was greeted with great joy. The need is so great. In just four days an OCMC medical team was able to treat 434 people, but many others were sent home when the outreach hastily came to an end. Peaceful demonstrations in the country against government corruption were blocking the major roads to the airport. It’s important to note that many thousands of our Mayan Orthodox brethren live in such remote areas and must rely on trusted, but unskilled health workers from the village, who can perform a few basic medical functions. Apart from these volunteers, all other professional services in private clinics or hospitals require payment up front for consultations and medical tests. Then there is the matter of buying medicine, if prescribed, which is usually out of reach for most people. Medicines that are purchased come in small quantities, a few pills at a time. More often than not, they are nothing more than placebos.

Gathered in prayer for the Divine Liturgy

Right now, the clinic is depending on volunteer doctors, nurses, mission teams, and translators to meet the need. Hopefully, in the near future we will be able to staff the clinic with full-time medical personnel. Funds are being collected to pay for nursing scholarships to properly train the local people to run their own clinic. Once again, we thank the Archbishop and the One World, One Community Foundation for initiating the project. Since then, many other dedicated individuals and aid organizations have stepped forward with vital medicines, diagnostic equipment, building designs, dental chairs, computers and building materials. Working together with all of you, we hope to make a difference in the lives of thousands. Improving the health of the Mayan people, one village at a time is something to celebrate. We pray for many more blessings to come in the name of Christ.

Gazing out on the crowd of thousands

Blessing the rooms of the clinic

Standing in the dental room, which features two fully operational dental chairs