SALUD

PAZ

2015
ANNUAL REPORT

LETTER
from
LEADERSHIP
Pictured at a 2015 celebration for the outgoing director are Wayne Wiley, Executive Director from
2012 to 2015, Clarissa Fuentes, incoming Executive Director in 2015, and Phil Plunk, founder and first
Executive Director.

We knew it had been a busy year but when we

crunched the numbers, we realized just how
much had been accomplished through Project
Salud y Paz in 2015! More than 17,000 patients
from as far north as Cunen in northern Quiche, to
the far west of Quetzaltenango, received medical
and dental care through the staff and dedicated
volunteers of Salud y Paz. We graduated more
Amigas health promoters than ever before.
Colegio Susanna Wesley promoted 51 students
to the next grade, sending the first graders off
with great hopes for a future that includes a love
of learning and a mind-set to stay in school.
We bid farewell to the Executive Director of the
past three years and the School Director of the
past five. Transitions are always accompanied
by anxiety and grief, but we have persevered
and joined together to continue something
beautiful. We welcomed new staff and a new
leadership structure that makes us even more
efficient and effective.
The board and staff of International Hands in
Service/Project Salud y Paz could not have
promoted health, healing and education with
the people of three states in Guatemala without
the financial, physical and emotional support of
hundreds of donors and volunteers. Every dollar

makes a difference in the lives of a child, woman

or man in the highlands who is struggling to make
their way with just a minimal amount of resources.
We could not extend our reach into the rural areas
around our clinics if it were not for the tireless
efforts of volunteer teams. We would not have
the infrastructure, the facilities in which we offer
medical care and quality education were it not for
the countless persons who have poured sweat
and sometimes tears into building and expanding.
We could not claim to be a place where lives
were changed were it not for the surgeons and
teams that come and operate under challenging
circumstances and help patients reclaim their
lives when they are able to see and to walk and
to participate in daily activities again. And so we
thank you for helping us help them; our patients,
students, neighbors and friends. You are all
precious to us. In what follows, we offer you a look
at what 2015 was like for International Hands in
Service/Project Salud y Paz.
Wishing you health and peace,
Arlen Stauffer, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Clarissa Youngblood Fuentes, MDiv
Executive Director, IHS

AT A GLANCE
3,014

13,059

Dental visits

Medical visits

51

Longterm
volunteers
Number
of students who

6,967

completed the year at

Colegio Susanna Wesley

Laboratory exams

164
Surgeries

35
Amigas graduates
402
Mission volunteers
for a week
at a time

12

Short-term volunteers

Three

completed classes
of Amigas graduates

SUSANNA WESLEY
At Colegio Susanna Wesley, the year 2015 marked a shift in
leadership. At the end of March, the schools North American
Volunteer Director, Janet Chichester, passed the baton (keys) to the
schools first Guatemalan School Director, Paulina Ixcamparij. Prior
to taking on the role of School Director, Paulina had been a teacher
at the school since its inception in 2009.
During 2015, the school had 31 returning students entering
kindergarten and first grade, and admitted 18 new pre-kindergarten
students for a total enrollment of 49 students.
Our students came from five nearby
communities where Kiche is the primary
I n the educati onal s ys tem i n Guatem al a i t i s very diffic ult to
language spoken in the home; however,
g et parents i nvol ved i n thei r chi l drens educati on. Sometimes
the public education system only
th ey l eave thei r chi l dren al one, or they dont as k them ab out
provides instruction in Spanish. Under
th ei r teachers , and s o we want to i ns ti l l i n the parents a sense
the supervision of five highly qualified
of res pons i bi l i ty s o that they are al s o com m i tted to p rovid ing a
educators, our students worked really
q ual i ty educati on f or thei r chi l dren. Onl y through training the
hard to learn to speak, read, and write in
p arents as wel l [ as the chi l dren] , off eri ng them cl as ses or teachSpanish so that they are ready to enter
i n g them i m portant thi ngs s o that they can s upport as w ell, c an
second grade at the public school. Most of th is be achi eved.
all, they develop an appreciation and a love
for learning. In an effort to address the
five students needed eyeglasses, and the
whole student, Susanna Wesley serves a healthy breakfast, lunch and
school split the cost of the eyeglasses with
snack to its students because good nutrition is important for effective
the parents.
learning. The school also provides access to healthcare through the
Salud y Paz clinicoffering medical, dental, and vision care. In 2015,
While there is a nominal tuition to attend
Susanna Wesley, the school relies heavily on
child sponsorships. About 82% of parents
had some minimal means to contribute the
50 Q monthly fee (equivalent of $6.65) to
their childs education, while 18% of the
students came from extreme poverty and
are on scholarship. Parents of scholarship
students contribute to their childs education
by volunteering at the school. The bulk of
the resources needed to provide students
a quality education, however, come from
child sponsorshipsthe 2015 cost of which
is $600 per child. The 49 enrolled students
of Susanna Wesley were supported by 43
sponsors in the United States. Of the 43
sponsors, five supported more than one child
while nine co-sponsored four children.

MEDICIAL CLINICS
Our locations in 2015:

Camanchaj, Quiche; Cunen, Quiche; Quetzaltenango,

Quetzaltenango; San Antonio, Suchitepequez
In 2015 Salud y Paz operated two weekly
clinics and one monthly clinic. The clinics
are staffed by Guatemalan professionals:
two medical doctors, one dentist, one
dental assistant, two pharmacists, two nurses, one lab technician and a
host of support staff. Together they saw over 12,000 patients in 2015.
All clinics offer primary medical and dental care as well as lab work
and prescribed medication, for a very small fee. Patient donations
toward their own care not only promotes autonomy, but encourages
them to follow medical advice, use prescribed medications, and
consider lifestyle changes that may positively affect their health. The
patient IMG_0074contribution does not exceed Q50 (about $6) and
is waved if the patient cannot afford it.
Our patients come from miles around and even other states. They
begin to line up early in the morning and some who travel longer

distances spend the night at the campus so

as not to travel in the dark before or after an
appointment.
We also receive international medical
and/or dental teams who offer mobile
clinics within a one hour distance of the
established clinics. Visiting providers saw
over 4700 patients in 2015 and helped
us extend health and well-being much
further into the communities. Some
common illnesses treated at the SyP
clinics are diabetes, hypertension, bacterial
vaginosis, respiratory infections, peptic
acid disorders including those caused by
H. pylori, arthritis, back pain, gastritis,
parasites, and allergies.

AMIGAS

The Las Amigas program, which trains and prepares

indigenous Mayans to be health promoters in their
communities, had a very successful year. In January of
2015 we were rewarded a grant from the United

Methodist Committee on Relief, focused on training

new Amigas, and educating small communities about
diabetes, hypertension and family planning. We
graduated a record number of Amigas with three
complete training classes and concentrated our efforts

primarily on diabetes education since it is one of the

leading causes of death in Guatemala. At one meeting,
a 22 year old Amiga revealed through tears that she
had recently been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. It was an
example to her peers that the disease
knows no boundaries, but prevention is possible with
community education. Since that time the Amigas have
taken even more initiative and developed a passion that
motivates their participation.

TEAMS

In 2015, Salud y Paz hosted 27 mission teams from the United States. Of those teams,
ten were construction teams, one was a Vacation Bible School team, 13 were medical/
dental teams, and three were surgical teams and together 402 volunteers joined us for
short-term service. Twelve other volunteers throughout the year joined us for a period
longer than two weeks, most for at least a month.
Through the work of volunteers we treated 4746 medical and dental patients in
mobile rural clinics. We constructed a new playground for students of Colegio Susanna Wesley, complete with excellent drainage to keep the water off the playground
during the rainy season. Volunteers also taught Bible School to hundreds of children
in a number of communities, played with our students, gave workshops at the public
school, built office additions, painted the clinic and lifted our spirits.

SURGERIES/
Through the surgical program, Salud y Paz extends its capacity to provide critical and affordable healthcare to marginalized Mayans in need of minor surgeries to improve their health and quality of life.
The surgical program, which hosts teams for a week of surgeries, began almost
as soon as Salud y Paz opened its doors. We continue to host two to six teams
a year, which is nowhere near the community need nor our capacity.
Countless communities rely on Salud y Paz for healthcare, and many will wait
months or even years to fit into the surgery schedule. They are willing to wait
for necessary procedures that they otherwise would not be able to afford,
because of the healthy reputation that Salud y Paz has in the community.
In 2015, 164 surgical procedures were completed, (Katie will give me
percentages of what kind of procedures), and patients paid $$$ for
minor surgery procedureshaving traveled from far distances to receive
care during our surgery weeks. It is not uncommon for clinic patients to
comment that a relative, friend or neighbor had surgery at the clinic and they
were treated well and had a good outcome.

TOMASA
Tomasa and her five sons found an announcement for the new school year at Colegio Susanna
Wesley outside their front door in 2009. Since that time, four of the boys have been educated
at the school, Tomasa has found meaning in volunteering at the clinic, they receive their primary care from the Salud y Paz physicians and last fall, Tomasa had underwent surgery when a
visiting team was with us. She tells her story like this:
My husband died when my oldest son
Kevin was just five years old. Six years
ago their father was killed and at that
time when my husband passed away, I
was pregnant with my youngest son. It
was a very difficult time in my life. Ive
had to overcome a lot of really trying

situations. Sometimes, life is very

difficult. And so my sons were very
young and I was seeking some kind of
relief when I found a note under the
door and I immediately picked it up
and since I didnt know how to read I
took it to my pastor at the church to
explain it to me. And the pastor told
me it was from the Salud y Paz clinic.
Later, I walked to the clinic to find out
more information, and I spoke with
some of the staff members, and they
told me they wanted to help me and
give scholarships to my sons, because
they knew that I was all alone.
After my last pregnancy, I had some
complications, and I didnt have

the money to be able to go to the

hospital, so I came to the clinic to
have an operation. It turned out
to be a hernia. The clinic provided
me support to have the surgery I
needed. Im so grateful for Project
Salud y Paz for all the help and
support theyve provided my
family, through the clinic and the
school, especially for my sons. It
has been of great support.
There are many families like
Tomasas in the communities
that surround the Salud y
Paz clinics. You can help
us make a difference, one
family at a time.

OF M I NI S T RY
Not only is it exciting to arrive
at 15 years of mission and
ministry, it is statistically
significant. This January
we have had time to
reflect on our anniversary
and truly realize the
power of 15.
For $15 Project
Salud y Paz can:

* Provide a well child

check, vitamins and
dental cleaning for one child
* Provide a healthy meal and snack
a day for a student at Colegio
Susanna Wesley for a month
* Manage one adults diabetes
for a month glucose
monitoring, medical consult,
medication
* Train one health promoter in strategies for disease
prevention to improve health information in rural
communities
* Provide access to specialty care not offered in our region,
through our patient assistance fund, for three patients
* Provide one month of after school reading enrichment
for second graders
* Offer a continuing education opportunity to public
school teachers in Camanchaj
* Provide needed medication for five patients in our
most remote clinic in Cunen
* Purchase supplies for one classs art projects for the
month at Colegio Susanna Wesley
* Help provide a scholarship for part of our medical
staff to continue their education
* Take five children from Colegio Susanna Wesley, many
whom have never been further than a half hour away, on a
field trip.

There are over 75,000 children

under the age of 15 in the
municipality of Santo Tomas
Chichicastenango, the
county where our main clinic
is located in Camanchaj.
They make up nearly
50% of the population
and suffer from inadequate
education and access to
government healthcare. Because of
its remote location and other factors,
83% of households live in poverty while
20% of those are in severe poverty.[1]
The employees, volunteers and board of
directors of Salud y Paz dream of
a day when every child is able
to attend school and none
die from preventable illnesses
linked to their lack of financial
resources. We work every day to change this reality for
our neighbors. Will you help us by contributing to our
Power of 15 anniversary fund? The action steps are
listed below:
**Please consider donating $15 for each healthy child
you know or $15 a month in our anniversary year. If
you want to provide the name of the children we will
publish them at the end of the campaign.
**Create your own fundraising page to help find new
friends in our 15th year. Everyone who reaches the
goal of $1500 will receive a special anniversary t-shirt.
The top fundraiser over $1500 will receive a three night
stay for two in Antigua, Guatemala.
[1] TANYA SAMANTHA VSQUEZ AVENDAO, DIAGNSTICO SOCIOECONMICO,
POTENCIALIDADES PRODUCTIVAS Y PROPUESTAS DE INVERSIN found on
biblioteca.usac.edu.gt on 30 of January 2016, originally published in 2010

EXPENSES

INCOME

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

IN THE MISSION OF SALUD Y PAZ

operated through International Hands in Service Dallas, TX

Give through our anniversary campaign: www.saludypaz.causevox.com
Send a check sent to: Project Salud y Paz, PO Box 796624, Dallas, TX 75379
Set up a recurring gift through our website: www.saludypaz.org
Sponsor a child in Colegio Susanna Wesley three opportunities: education and language, nutrition and hygiene, medical/dental/vision
Plan a mission trip for your family, church, or civic group. We love making new friends and contacts
and have opportunities available for persons with all levels of skills. We currently accept teams for
medical, dental, surgical, Vacation Bible School, construction, and cultural immersion.
For more information or inquiries about us, please contact our Executive Director,
Clarissa Fuentes, at executivedirector@saludypaz.org