Goodbye Huehue

Day 13. Todos Santos.

Fog over Todos Santos

Group discussion with the Comadronas

It doesn’t feel like a trip to Guatemala without going to Todos Santos Cuchumatan, a truly amazing village with an unforgettable visual impression due to the local dress of the people and the landscape of the deep valley cut between towering cloud covered mountains at close to 10,000 feet. No less stunning is the outgoing friendly curiosity exhibited by the overwhelmingly indigenous population, which is not the norm in Guatemala, where indigenous people tend to be quite shy and reserved. Last year, El Loro Verde was so impressed with the warmth, welcome, capacity and indicators of success in reducing maternal mortality of the comadronas in this town that he left one of his teaching models with their organization so they would have an additional tool for their ongoing monthly classes.  Once again, after being welcomed back to their village as if we were all prodigal sons and daughters, we got into groups and reviewed the same themes as we did with the midwives in San Antonio Huista. These sessions were a bit more complicated by the fact that many of the woman did not speak Spanish and we had to have those that did help us translate to the local mayan language to be understood. However, the woman were still very interactive and we learned from them as they learned from us. 

Demonstration with the Pelvis Model

After we led groups with the themes we had prepared, we had requested a presentation from the comadronas on how they are using the model we left with them in their teachings. Once our classes were finished, it was showtime! A woven mat was set up on the stage area and and the pelvis was set in the middle with baby inside. A couple of the midwives got into their roles of scrubbing their hands, drying off, boiling water, cleaning and receiving the newborn in a carefully orchestrated drama with all kinds of props. At the end we were asked to rate their performance, and of course gave them a 10 – it was pretty darn good! They scored some extra points when we asked them to review the steps for what to do with a shoulder dystocia, which they did with some prompting about last year’s talk. At that point Doctora Ana joined in as well as a more dynamic model, pretending to be in labor and delivering her baby with a shoulder dystocia. 

Next came a fairly hilarious portion of our day called “Fun with slap bracelets”. Gallo Blanco had sent us with a honkin stack o slap bracelets to give out to the children and we had a lot left still. Alexis pulled them out, and the midwives went nuts for them. They stuck out their wrists so we could “SLAP” the bracelet on. As the bracelet curled around their wrist they would get startled, then laugh and giggle and sometimes even dance with glee. All in all, it was a fun morning of learning and cultural interchange. 

Mamut buys a purse

In the afternoon we headed out do a little last minute shopping in Todos Santos, known for it's amazing textiles. Unfortunately, Santiaga’s shop of textiles was closed this time, but we found another shop with beautiful (and very affordable) bags and embroidered cloths. We then made our way back down the twisting, winding road to Huehue, stopping briefly at the Mirador which overlooks the city. It was peeking at us throught the cloud cover, welcoming us back for our final night in Huehue.  We had a nice dinner with our host family of Pollo Jocon, a sauce made from tomatillos. YUM!  Then played some fun games with the family before going upstairs to pack it all up for the next mornings journey.

Day 14.  Bye bye Huehue.  

Happy mammas at the baby shower

First stop this morning was Casa Materna, where we had a little baby shower for the patients there. We gave them baby clothes donated by many Portland friends, as well as a Spanish children’s book for each of them. Then we were invited to a lovely goodbye breakfast where everyone said wonderful things about us in typical Guatemalan fashion that we have become accustomed to of giving formal speeches of, in this case, gratitude. Our work for PCI was apparently truly appreciated. Since we have also gotten some experience of the public speech on this trip, we also took the opportunity to share our thanks to the staff for their support of us in our goals of giving our residents some good experiences and the chance to enter in to their lives and the work which they do every day in an area where there is such rampant poverty, malnutrition, and lack of access to services.

Our amazing PCI Guatemala team

Next we found ourselves on a pullman bus to Guatemala City for the 5 hour trip back.  Upon arrival we were miraculously able to fit all 4 of us, the taxi driver, and all the suitcases, many between our legs or on our laps, in the equivalent of a Honda Accord to get to the hotel. We had a final euchre game at the hotel, which Alexis and Suzy won, before Alexis went off to meet with some relatives living in Guatemala city and the rest of us went to dinner.

Day 15.  WHAT NEXT?   

Writing this blog entry on the Houston to Portland leg of the flight home. Reflecting back on a few things learned during this trip:

1. We were not able to do the misoprostol project we had originally been asked to do; the local health ministry changed hands, and the health care system went into chaos, so now was not the time, but we are hopeful that with new connections forged on this trip we may still be able to include that as a future project.

2. With the helpful feedback of our critically thinking team, we were able to come up with a rough proposal for our next trip, a more coordinated approach focusing on one area or village at a time, with preliminary assessments and information gathering, followed by a multi-pronged intervention including coordinating with the health department to do ultrasound training with local staff (they have the ultrasounds in a warehouse with no personnel to teach and have asked for our help on this), as well as ongoing work with comadronas, perhaps including more useful birth kits or advocating for increasing their access to life-saving meds such as misoprostol, and possible trainings of local health promoters as well. 

3. We have done 2 trips so far; each team has a different personality, experience and gifts to offer. It all comes together somehow to create a meaningful experience for all involved. PCI/Casa Materna has given us the open door for our doctors to return at any time; they welcome our expertise and compassionate quality providers of care. This is Suzy writing: I feel proud of the Providence Family Residence Program and the great people I have had the opportunity to work along side of, ride chickenbuses with, play cards with, risk my life along steep mountainous roads with, parasail with, share delicious food and drink with, and take the time to unplug from the usual routine with to reflect on something new together. Something that hopefully benefits not only us and our desire to learn and grow in new ways but also benefits the humble and beautiful people of Guatemala who have welcomed and embraced us over and over. Sorry to go all Guatemala on you and give a little speech; but I have learned from them that sometimes it’s just nice to express your gratitude.