Arrival in Guatemala

We have arrived! The entire team came together in Huehuetenango on Thursday, February 13th, another beautiful day in Guatemala. The Club Rotario de Huehuetenango hosted a wonderful luncheon at the home of Dr. Oscar Marroquin. The Rotarians and their families have provided us with a grand welcome and are true partners in this effort to help the children of Guatemala.

Similarly the Hospital Nacional has worked hand in hand with us. The advance team members received incredible assistance from the staff of the hospital as two sturdy lads manually lifted the skids filled with our supplies onto a cart to move them into the hospital area which serves as our “headquarters”. Our shipment of seven skids

arrived with no problems, thanks to the hard

work of our friends at DHL in the States and

in Guatemala.

On Saturday, translators from our Rotary friends helped us with screening of patients, reassuring parents and children, and reassuring us that our Spanglish was understood. Screening progressed extraordinarily smoothly; of over 76 people screened we scheduled 40 for one or more procedures including repairs of cleft lips and cleft palates, dental work and ear tubes. Our hope is always to make the lives of these children easier. Pictured here are (left to right) Patricia Minera, Emilio Mayen Roldan, Orquidea de Marroquin, Dr. Oscar Marroquin, Sofio Moto Garcia, and Julia Maria Arias de Velasquez--some of the many wonderful people we have met in Guatemala.