Mucho Gracias a Rotario Quetzaltenango

Not enough thanks can ever be given to the Rotarians of Quetzaltenango for their generous hospitality & support to the Iowa MOST medical mission. Without their extensive efforts, the medical mission could not have been accomplished. Since July of 2007, when the second oldest Rotary Club in Guatemala said, "Yes" to team leader Gary Pacha's proposal for local Rotarian partnership with the mission, members here in Quetzaltenango have worked arduously to prepare for and ensure the success of the cleft lip/palate medical mission.


Rotarians of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala pictured in this post are among the many local Rotarians who were instrumental in partnership with Iowa MOST in April 2008:

Dr. Fredy Barrios, Sofia de Barrios, Christina de Cifuentes, Miriam Richter, Dr. Raul Cordon, Jorge Cifuentes & John Diehl.

John Diehl, who served as the main contact in Guatemala for Iowa MOST, said from the beginning, the Rotary Club in Quetzaltenango worked to involve the hospital administration with the medical mission, so that it would be a cooperative effort. He noted that Rotarian Raul Corden worked diligently before and during the mission as a liaison with the administration and medical staff of Hospital Regional de Occidente San Juan de Dios. In the fall of 2007, Cordon was instrumental in arrnging for an Iowa delegation's tour of the hospital facilities, meetings with hospital officials and staff, and securing needed rooms, equipment and staffing assistance. Cordon also put the requested drug list from Iowa into Spanish and took responsibility for ordering the necessary drugs for the medical mission. He also secured the loan of critically needed medical equipment from Dr. Schele in Totonipican to enable more surgeries to be conducted. Jorge Fuentes, Rotario Quetzaltenango President, dealt with overall organizational support with Dr. Oscar Marroquin's guidance based on Marroquin's experience with previous Iowa MOST missions in Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Diehl said the biggest hurdle -- getting the impossible done -- that is, getting the shipment of Iowa medical supplies and equipment through customs in a matter of a few days, proved not to be a hurdle at all. He credited DHL's working with Caritas in Guatemala as making the vital difference. He noted that a Rotary committee led by Efrain Figueroa worked to ensure that temporary medical licenses were issued to enable the Iowa medical team to practice medicine in Guatemala. Diehl headed up the group that made passport and customs clearance of Iowa MOST members entering Guatemala run smoothly. Luis Lopez coordinated another Rotary committee's efforts to provide Iowa MOST mission patients and their families shelter and food during their stay in Quetzaltenango.

Fundraising efforts, including a play (Cavrona a Bruta), auctions, a raffle and donations from area Rotary Clubs, were undertaken by the entire membership of Rotario Quetzaltenango under the leadership of Salvador Aguirre. These funds were used to provide generous support for Iowa MOST, including noon meals, bottled water, transportation, countless supplies, logistical assistance, an excellent restaurant meal (with hosts Hans & Marina Vielman) and an evening farewell part at the Tennis Club in Quetzaltenango.

Fredy Barrios led a committee that did extensive publicity (news media, posters, contacts with priests, pastors and clinic personnel) to identify and get the word out to potential candidates and their families about the opportunity for cleft lip/palate surgery and dental work during the Iowa MOST 2008 mission in Quetzaltenango. Others helped with hotel arrangements, and all of these efforts wer ably and graciously assisted by the Women's Rotary Auxiliary, the Comite de Damas Rotarias.