WINGS Reproductive Healthcare for Every Guatemalan

Sololá - December 2007 

This fall, Meira Neggaz, WINGS’ Executive Director, visited some of the 20 remote communities targeted by WINGS’ Sololá program, now one year old, to monitor progress: 

“It would be easy to simply write about the dire poverty, some of the worst I have seen in that area, because it is so apparent. It is everywhere you look. As you turn off the Pan-American Highway, you enter an almost forgotten land. The trip down the dirt road that leads to these communities is painstakingly slow, even in our four-wheel drive vehicle. It takes more than an hour by car to reach the middle communities. Most inhabitants and some of our staff must walk this route, as only three buses per day make the journey. During our visit, a man who looks 70, but is probably 50, starts out walking towards Nahuala, at least a four-hour walk away.

Most of these communities have some electricity, but many homes do not. While some latrines are apparent, many homes go without. Some of these communities simply have no running water and the population must gather water where they can find it. There is little to no health care and the population has been known to carry emergency patients on their backs, walking the four or more hours over the mountains to Xela to get help. Schools are basic at best and are mostly geared towards primary school students. Few students go on to the higher grades. There is little to no telephone service. There is little in the way of work in this area, so there is little income. Many eke out a meager living selling the few vegetables they can grow, although the dirt is not conducive to planting. The corn stalks here are half as high as they are just an hour away on the Pan-American Highway. Vivamos Mejor estimates that over 80% of the local men have serious alcohol problems, which lead to other problems including unwanted pregnancies, domestic violence, and more poverty.

It is easy to focus on this poverty, or the inhabitants as victims. But, I don’t want this to be about poverty, but rather about hope and courage, both of which I witnessed during my trip. In one community, we met with three community leaders. One man, perhaps in his mid-30s, is a member of the local health commission, formed to improve the health of the community. He tells me that he had been a health promoter of sorts and had always been interested in planning his family. But, his wife had been against the idea. They had five children. All the while, he would bring home pamphlets and discuss family planning options with his wife. When WINGS began working in this area, the man heard about the project and sought out the Educator to once again discuss family planning. Finally, after many years, the wife agreed to have a tubal ligation. The man wants to be a role model in his community. He discusses family planning with others and encourages people to see it as a benefit, not a sin. Slowly he is making inroads and he is steering the health committee towards supporting our project. He was grateful to WINGS for bringing information and access to services, and in turn he gave me hope.

And, Rebeca showed me courage. Rebeca, a 16-year-old who was trained by WINGS earlier in the year to become a youth peer educator, was giving a talk to a group of 17-22 year old’s from her community. These youth meet regularly to discuss self-esteem, prevention of unwanted pregnancies, family planning options and protection against sexually transmitted infections. After the talk, as we headed towards the car to leave, Rebeca came bounding out of the meeting, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if she could speak with me. As a crowd of interested children listened, Rebeca told me that her parents and her sister, who was in the crowd, did not support her, but that she wanted to continue her studies. She wants to study nursing, but has no way of doing so and no family support. In front of all those people, she insisted, asking if there was any way we could make her dream a reality. It took courage to do this and WINGS along with Vivamos Mejor will do everything possible to make sure this young woman with high hopes gets her wish.

Many challenges still face our project in this area. Some leaders are not yet entirely comfortable with family planning, but have been cautiously supportive. Lack of transport has been a real challenge and our staff have to be very well coordinated and activities very well planned in order to work. Despite the desire to use family planning by community members, gaining access to services is still challenging. The distance that divides these communities with the clinics that provide services, even WINGS-subsidized ones, is vast and temporary methods, although promised by the Ministry of Health, are often in short supply. WINGS and our partner for this project, Vivamos Mejor, continue to seek innovative solutions to these problems. My experience during this visit shows me it is worth it."

-Meira Neggaz, Executive Director