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Unusual Cargo to Fire Dept, San Cristóbal, Guatemala

San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala-

AMEDICAusa volunteers arrived at the Fire Department here with an SUV filled with, by Firefighter standards, very unusual cargo.

AMEDICAusa bringing donated goods to the Fire Dept of San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala

AMEDICAusa bringing donations to the Fire Dept of San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala

Donated by the well-to-do of Guatemala City and others, the boxes, bags and cases contain not helmets, nozzles or other tools of the trade, but instead dresses, chic sportswear and other goods one might expect to find in a good downtown store.

 

Fire Departments in Guatemala receive little in the way of public funds. There are no property tax bases, government grants or city budgets to defray the costs of operation. Each department must find, or create, its own sources of funds, just to keep the doors open month to month. Some rent space in their fire station to small businesses, some sell potable bottled water, and some allow the creation of a marketplace in their parking lot.

In this case the donated goods will be sold in what amounts to a yard sale to raise money to help keep the lights on and the doors open.

Donated Fire Engine for delivery to San Cristóbal, Guatemala - AMEDICAusa

Donated Fire Engine for delivery to San Cristóbal

Part of AMEDICAusa‘s effort to train and equipment firefighters around this Central American country, this mission is a prelude to the delivery of a new used Fire Engine and equipment acquired and donated by a joint effort between The REDS Team, of North Carolina and AMEDICAusa .

 

 

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“The first line of defense in any disaster is the local Fire Service –  firefighters and paramedics.”  

– Neale Brown, retired Fire Department Officer and Paramedic, President of AMEDICAusa. 

 

The REDS Team with donated fire equipment bound for Guatemala - AMEDICAusa

REDS Team members packing donated fire equipment bound for Guatemala 

“By undertaking a proactive mission to equip and train these departments, we hope to make more of a difference in disaster situation in Guatemala,” Said Brown. “The first 72 hours after an incident begins are the most important, that’s when lives are saved and the most property salvaged. Unfortunately, that is also before international disaster relief teams can arrive.”

 

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

We are always looking for good, new or used Fire, Rescue and EMS equipment  to help in Guatemala.  Contact Us!

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

AMEDICAusa Brings Medicine to Guatemala Hospital

Hospital Nacional de Retalhuleu, Guatemala-

Unimpressive, overstuffed, black plastic bags, the kind usually reserved for yard debris, were delivered to the National Hospital of Retalhuleu, Guatemala today. Rather than being deposited with the trash, these bags were wholeheartedly welcomed by the Physicians and staff of the hospital.

The national health system of Guatemala is the primary source of medical care for the impoverished and indigenous people of this Central America nation.  It has been hard pressed to keep up with demand and shortages of medicine and supplies have been serious and widespread. The Hospital at Retalhuleu has been particularly hard hit by these shortages.

AMEDICAusa Volunteers Deliver Medicines and Supplies to Retalhuleu Hospital 5 In this case, the plastic bags are filled with medicine and supplies to help ease the shortage of necessities at the hospital.

 

AMEDICAusa volunteers arrived here in an SUV filled with these supplies.

 “Gathering donations from pharmacies, physicians and suppliers around Guatemala was hard work “said AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso. “but very much worth it. Every patient we help is important.”

Normally, AMEDICAusa’s focus is on the more rural areas of Guatemala. 90% of the country’s doctors are practicing in the major urban areas, leaving the rural, poor and indigenous chronically underserved.

“This was an important donation, and actually in line with our rural focus.” said Neale Brown, President of AMEDICAusa. 

“Seriously ill people from the rural villages must often be referred to the National Hospitals in the larger towns and cities. If they can make their way – and it is difficult and expensive for them to do so – to the hospital, it is obviously better if there is medicine and supplies to actually care for them.” Said Brown.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

We are always looking for volunteers who wish to help in Guatemala. Get the details here.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

 

Nuestro Diario, Guatemala – 5/18/2016

AMEDICAusa Volunteers Deliver Medicine and Supplies to Retalhuleu Hospital Diario Nuestro

Nuestro Diario, Guatemala -5/18/2016

HOSPITAL RECEIVES DONATION (translated from the Spanish)

The charity AMEDICAusa delivered a shipment of medicines for patients in the National Hospital in Retalhuleu.
The contribution was made by Silvana Ayuso, Vice President of the Organization, who explained that the drugs were donated by Guatemalan doctors.
The batch of medicines including antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic medicines, among others, said Ayuso.
For her part, Wendy Méndez, responsible for the pharmacy of the Medical Center, said that the donation will help to alleviate the crisis that affects all hospitals.
“It will be well used in the different units,” she said.
Some patients came to thank [the volunteers] for the help.

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AMEDICAusa Volunteers bring badly needed supplies.

Colonia Santa Elena, El Asintal, Guatemala-

 

With clapboard walls, dirt floors and some classes forced outside by the lack of space, The “Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta” (Official Co-ed Rural School) of this small village is typical of the elementary schools of rural Guatemala. Rain and insects enter the class rooms with equal alacrity, light streams in only from the roughed-in, uncovered windows and the spaces between the wall boards and tables are largely makeshift affairs, fashioned from cinderblock and unfinished boards.

The people here are “campesinos”, subsistence farmers or field hands of Maya decent, who, on those rare days that they actually get folding money, must make their living on around $1.50 a day…. The children wear second or third hand clothing, washed in the nearby creek beds by their mothers, rubbed against a rock to remove the worst of the stains. The diet is beans, rice and corn tortillas…the diversion a pickup game of soccer played on a field shared with cows and the odd horse.

Even elementary school here is a luxury that many families cannot really afford.  The school uniforms meant to muddy the difference between the “haves” and the “have-nots” are beyond the reach of families in a village that has no “haves”, and basic school supplies are much too expensive for most.

The drop out rate is extreme, with less than 18% of the children going on to high school, and even fewer graduating and going on to any sort of trade school or college programs.

AMEDICAusa Volunteers with students in Colonia Santa Elena, Guatemala

AMEDICAusa Volunteers with students in Colonia Santa Elena, Guatemala

AMEDICAusa volunteers arrived today bringing boxes of notebooks, pencils, pens, crayons and other basic educational supplies for delivery directly into the student’s hands. It is the tenth such mission to Guatemalan schools this year.

“By easing the burden on the families and assisting the teachers with basic educational supplies and equipment, we help the kids to stay in school.” said AMEDICAusa President Neale Brown. “Every kid who goes on to high school and beyond is a victory for us, and more importantly, a victory for his or her village.”

AMEDICAusa, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland, brings more than supplies to these educational missions. Dovetailing with their medical programs, these visits also bring basic health and dental education to the students and provide an opportunity to assess the health needs of the community, as well as identifying health concerns for particular students.

“We’ve seen everything from eye infections to broken bones and other traumatic injuries on these missions.”  said Brown, a retired Fire Officer and Paramedic.  “It’s a rare occasion when we don’t find at least one child or village resident who is in need of medical care, and whom we either refer to a clinic or, in the more severe cases transport ourselves.”

Anyone interested in volunteering on a school mission can get the details here. Those kind enough to donate to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs may do so here.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is a I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity.

 

 

 

 

A Busy week for AMEDICAusa and VP Silvana Ayuso in Guatemala City

AMEDICAusa‘s Vice President Silvana Ayuso is always up to something good…this week it’s a series of meetings with the new Guatemalan Minister of Health Dr. Alfonso Cabrera, Minister of Agriculture Mario Méndez, Minister of Rural Development Jose Moreno and the US Embassy Civil Affairs team to see how our programs might best help in Guatemala.  Next on her agenda is the Defense Ministry to co-ordinate arrangements for our Fire and Rescue training mission in October with the REDS Team.

AMEDICAusa's Silvana Ayuso with Minister of Health, Dr. Alfonso Cabrera, and US Embassy Civil Affairs team

AMEDICAusa’s Silvana Ayuso with Minister of Health, Dr. Alfonso Cabrera, and the US Embassy Civil Affairs team

AMEDICAusa's Silvana Ayuso with Minister of Agriculture, Mario Méndez, and US Embassy Civil Affairs team

AMEDICAusa’s Silvana Ayuso with Minister of Agriculture, Mario Méndez, and the US Embassy Civil Affairs team

AMEDICAusa's Silvana Ayuso, Guatemala Minister of Rural Development, Jose Moreno, and the US Embassy Civil Affairs Team

AMEDICAusa’s Silvana Ayuso, Guatemala Minister of Rural Development, Jose Moreno, and the US Embassy Civil Affairs Team

A Sad Week for Guatemala’s Firefighters

Four Guatemalan Firefighters Gave Their Lives this week The Result of Three Tragic Incidents

Major

José Antonio Porras

Engineer

Rene Sanchez

Firefighter

Miriam Ramos Luna

Firefighter

Erick Limatuj

 Their Final Roll Call. Major Porras Engineer Sanchez Firefighter Luna Firefighter Limatuj

A tragic week has ended with the final salutes for four of Guatemala’s Bravest.



Firefighter Erick Limatuj

Firefighter Erick Limatuj

First, it was the passing of Firefighter Erick Castillo Limatuj, 20, a firefighter for the Santa Isabel Municipal Fire Department, Villa Nueva, Guatemala.  Firefighter Limatju was struck by an alleged drunk taxi driver while on his way to work in the early morning hours of March 23. After emergency treatment for extensive head injuries that lasted a week, he was pronounced dead on last Thursday.  Though he served only three years, he was remembered as being a dedicated firefighter, who helped thousands of people in his short time.

 

Firefighter Miriam Ramos Luna

Firefighter Miriam Ramos Luna

Then, on  Tuesday came the news that Firefighter Miriam Ramos Luna, 49, a 19 year veteran firefighter and medic of Company 55, San Juan Alotenango, Guatemala had succumbed to complications resulting from being struck by a hit and run driver while responding to her station on her motorcycle for a medical call last January 2oth. Though she suffered severe pelvic fractures in the incident, the injuries were thought to be healing after extensive surgery.  Over the course of the last few weeks, infections had set in and a nationwide appeal for donations was made to cover the cost of the advanced antibiotics needed to treat her condition. She is survived by her husband, Marco Antonio Cruz Rivas a firefighter of Company 21, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, who led the effort to save his wife’s life.

 

Accident near Guatemala City claims the lives of two firefighters

Accident near Guatemala City claims the lives of two firefighters

Engineer Rene Sanchez

Engineer Rene Sanchez

Major José Antonio Porras

Major José Antonio Porras

Later Tuesday afternoon, Major José Antonio Porras, 65, and Engineer Rene Sanchez, 45, were responding to a report of a wildland fire near Guatemala City.  Their Water Tender was struck by a pick-up truck on the Salvador Highway, rolled and struck a jersey barrier on the side of the road. Both members of Company 10, Guatemala City, were killed in the accident, pronounced dead by fellow firefighters on the scene.  Major Porras had just marked his 50th year as a firefighter and Engineer Sanchez had served for 25 years.

 

 

 

“These sad incidents remind us that the dangers firefighters face are universal, not limited to any one country,  place or department.” said AMEDICAusa President and retired fire officer, Neale Brown.

” When a firefighter is lost anywhere, it is a loss for firefighters everywhere.”

Guatemalan Firefighters render final salutes to fallen comrades - AMEDICAusa

Guatemalan Firefighters render final salutes to fallen comrades

 

 

 

My future is so bright… AMEDICAusa volunteer mission to El Xab

My Future is so Bright, I've got to wear shades - El Xab, Guatemala - AMEDICAusa

My Future is so Bright, I’ve got to wear shades

AMEDICAusa volunteers arrived at the small village of El Xab (el shab), Guatemala to deliver educational supplies to the children of the School Around the Mango, teach the kids how to wear AMEDICA hand goggles, and to make preliminary surveys of the site to determine what the construction needs of the school are. The school, which was previously featured on Guatemalan TV and in past AMEDICAusa posts, is a rough hewn structure of bamboo, plastic sheeting, and tin roofing which serves some 256 students.

 

Big day for AMEDICAusa and Tzununá

Guatemala President Jimmy Morales and AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso meet in Tzununá

Guatemala President Jimmy Morales and AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso meet in Tzununá

It was a big day today in the village of Tzununá. Newly elected Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales visited the small mountain town while AMEDICAusa was on hand to deliver medical supplies and medications to the local health clinic. Tzununá is one of several areas in which AMEDICAusa operates and discussions between AMEDICAusa’s Silvana Ayuso and President Morales were very helpful.

AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso with the Maya children of Tzununá

Silvana with children of Tzununá

Tzununá is located on the shores of Lake Atitlán in the Department of Sololá, near the center of the country. The villagers are the indigenous Kaqchikel Maya who live in extremely impoverished conditions in one of the most beautiful parts of Central America.

 

 

Sometimes you just have to do something.

The School Around the Mango – La Escuela Vuelta El Mango

 

 

The village of El Xab, Guatemala- Sandwiched between plastic sheets and amid dust, mud, improvised tables and cement blocks, the children of El Xab are trying to learn.

256 elementary school students, from kindergarten through 6th grade, are being taught in 12 makeshift classrooms built with bamboo and  the donated labor of the people of the community and the 15 teachers who work at the school.

The people of Aldea El Xab are campesinos, extremely poor subsistence farmers who must eek out an existence on less than $1.50 a day  toiling in the fields, dawn to dusk, six days a week. That they found the time and energy to construct this small school out of available materials on their rare days off speaks to how much they care about their children and their education.

Escuela Vuelta El Mango has no electricity or running water, and inadequate sanitation facilities. The floor is dirt – mud when it is raining and dust when it is not. The metal roof is so hot in the sun that you can’t touch it, and the air inside becomes stagnant and superheated during the school day. The walls are porous, leaking rain and insects with equal alacrity- including disease carrying mosquitos, putting the children at risk for Dengue Fever, Chikungunya and Zika.

AMEDICAusa is in El Xab.  As soon as we saw this video on Guatemalan TV, we knew we had to do something.  Within a week we began delivering educational supplies, clothing and shoes to the school.  But we can do so much more. Simple things, like chalkboards, books, backpacks … and more difficult ones like potable water, floors, walls with windows and screens to keep the insects and the rain out, and electricity for fans and lights.

With your help, we can give these kids and their parents the hope of a good education, in a safe, clean and nurturing environment. Join us in giving a helping hand up to our neighbors in Guatemala by donating, volunteering and sharing this with your friends and family.