What do you do when you don't feel well? Do you stay home from school? Take medicine? Go to the doctor?
Now, imagine you're a kid in the mountain village of Nueva Candelaria. If you get sick or hurt, you're family probably doesn't have a car to take you to the health center. They might pay a Tuk Tuk, a little motorcycle taxi, or carry you over an hour while they walk through the forest. You should be drinking lots of water, but the water that comes out of the tap isn't clean and needs to be boiled or filtered to be safe. If you need medicine, your parents might have to walk over a mile to a pharmacy. If you are more seriously sick, you might have to go to the hospital in Quetzaltenango, an hour away by bus.
Because of all of these unique challenges, the healthcare system here is a little different than in the US. We rely on visiting people in their homes, pop-up clinics in community rooms and a high prioritization of vaccination, supplements and anti-worm treatments to prevent more serious illnesses.
In my year and a half here in the village of Nueva Candelaria, I have worked primarily in healthcare settings. I've learned about the needs and struggles of community members as they work, learn, play and grow up here.
