The real Guatemala

On Wednesday I had a very powerful and moving experience. I went with Miriam, the clinic director, to parts of San Marcos I hadn't visited. I finally went beyond the hippie, mystical, touristy main part of town to where the Guatemala of the harsh statistics of poverty, malnutrition and misfortune endures the spotlight of reality.

We were checking in on the single moms that the clinic helps out. San Marcos la Laguna has three barrios. I live in barrio 3 which is near the main part of the town. I had no idea where barrios 1 and 2 were; they aren't visible from the main part of town. The barrios are up the mountain on either side of barrio 3. And when I say up the mountain, I mean up the mountain. There are narrow stone paths that literally go straight up. It takes a good, harrowing 30 minutes to walk up to either barrio, and your calves and lungs protest nearly the whole way.

The vistas in these barrios are postcard beautiful, but the poverty is unrelenting. These women and their children generally live in one room, some also have a very rudimentary, semi-open air kitchen where they cook on a wood stove. The clinic provides mattresses (really foam rubber pads but before they got these they slept on boards), propane and small camping stoves, and tries to help with other necessities.

There are no social services at all in Guatemala. No food stamps, no school lunch, no social security. Without services of organizations like the clinic (which I have found out is funded by an eccentric Swiss guy) or the many church missions that visit the country, these people would have no hope at all.

The women we visited were eager to talk to Miriam. She is clearly someone who is an advocate, someone on their side. She is a Guatemalan woman who can speak to them in Kachikel, the local indigenous language. She helped one woman sort through a problem her son was having in school. She checked to make sure the kids were clean and had enough to eat. It was real social work, and it was very valuable.

This experience has solidified my belief in the work the clinic does. I always embraced the idea of honoring the Mayan traditions while trying to meet the many needs this group of people has. In exploring the herbal approach to medicine, however, I had some real concerns that it was a little too witchy-poo, hocus-pocus and not science-based enough for me to get completely behind. I have since learned that the clinic's holistic approach helps address the roots of the problems the people face. By improving their quality of life through nutrition, education, hygiene and preventive care, the clinic is a vital part of this community. They also provide a first, free access to healthcare and will refer patients with more serious concerns to other doctors, or take them to the hospital.

xoxo
kf