jensando

Wow, two months! That sure went fast. Although sometimes when I think about all that I have done and all of the places that I have been it seems like much, much longer. September was pretty busy with two groups coming to visit so it went by super quick. We only have local dental groups in October so I am afraid that it is going to go really slow. But it looks like I am going to have to take a quick side trip to Belize in October so that will break things up a bit. A lot of my time has been spent with groups coming in from the US. I have been meeting some really cool people from a variety of backgrounds and I think that over the next year I'll be making a ... read more

After our forth and final day of clinics we took a slightly different way back to Coban from the community. Along this route is the community of Rey Marcos. In 1998 after Hurricane Mitch swept through the region, a discovery was made in Rey Marcos. When we arrived we were given a pair of rubber boots and a hard hat with a headlamp. We walked up a few switchbacks along a small river of waterfalls cascading down the hill. Then the path seemed to just stop at the edge of one of the waterfalls. What we soon learned is that this was just the beginning of our adventure. Our guide took out a key, walked into the water, and unlocked the small door of medal bars that was set into the stone. One by one we ... read more

Guatemala, the district of Alta Verapaz, and specifically the Municipality of San Juan Chamelco have staggering statistics regarding childhood illness, infant mortality, and maternal mortality. The numbers are hard to comprehend laid out on a white sheet of paper. When you enter into the communities the statistics doesn’t slap you in the face. You don’t see children with tiny arms and legs, lethargic from malnutrition. The people of the community are very welcoming and on the surface the suffering isn’t glaringly apparent. It is obviously a difficult life but it is tricky sometimes to see the statistics. Looking around at the unpaved roads, and the lack of electricity and running water in some communities, it makes you wonder how we got to be so lucky. What exactly was it in the development of our country that ... read more

We had a great workweek with the team in Chitixl and then had an amazing despedida with the community. The leaders of the community, surrounded by many of the children, gathered at the school to give us a farewell. Members of community expressed their gratitude for the work that the team had done. They presented each member of the team with a locally made fabric as a token of their appreciation. It was a very touching moment that I am sure will not soon be forgotten. After saying out last goodbyes to the community we returned to the MTI office in Coban to have an additional farewell with the staff. Leaving Jorge in Coban to have a ‘relaxing’ weekend with his family, I left with the group up to the area of Flores. I had come ... read more

On Friday at the office Jorge and I finished all of the plans and gathered all of the supplies for the work team that is coming this week. We piled up all of our tools and stopped off at the market and double-checked the first aid kit. We are all ready to rock and roll. On Sunday Jorge and I will take the 4 to 5 hour bus ride into Guatemala City to meet the group at the airport. So on Saturday I decided to take some time getting to know Coban a little better. Let me preface this by saying that this is the week of La Feria in Coban something equivalent to that of the PNW Fair in Lynden. The town has really been a buzz all week because of this with fireworks, traditional ... read more