| | | | Dear Friend, Welcome to our Spring 2025 newsletter.
It has been a remarkably challenging few months with the radically shifting landscape in global health. In addition to seeing programs and funding decimated, we are watching and preparing for more deportations, which could further stress unemployment and bring a drop in remittances, the money that Guatemalans working in the US send home to their families. These payments account for nearly 20% of Guatemala’s GDP, or almost $20 billion. The impact could escalate health risks for communities across Guatemala, especially for malnutrition and other conditions closely linked to economic hardship. As always, we are staying focused on our strategic goals, making contingency plans, and doing everything possible to stretch our resources to maintain high-quality healthcare and best serve patients in the communities where we work.
Many of you have reached out to express your concern. I am tremendously grateful to have the support of so many generous partners like you who make it possible to continue our life-saving work.
Warm regards, Anne Kraemer, CEO |
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| CHECK OUT OUR AMAZING TEAM! |
| We continue to share what we’re learning and to learn from others near and far. Dr. Esteban Castro presented our work focused on improving newborns’ survival at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Conference in Atlanta in February. The initiative is an extension of our ongoing collaboration with midwives who attend home births in rural communities. In addition to using a phone app that helps assess and track the health of mothers and babies, we are providing training to help midwives support new mothers. Within the first days after birth, our neonatal technicians conduct a home visit. They weigh the newborns to determine if they have low birthweight, assess other risk factors, share information about breastfeeding and newborn care, and provide medical referrals with our care navigators if necessary. The spectacular Maternal & Infant Health Program also was the focus of this recent interview by the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley on The Weekly Rotarian podcast. The club hosted CEO Anne Kraemer, who described the evolution of the program in partnership with local midwives and Emory University and shared what’s next in our work focused on saving mothers’ and babies’ lives. |
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| Also in Feburary, Karyn Choy, our Manager for Community and Bioethics, presented in Guatemala City on the preservation of national languages as an invited speaker for the Secretary of Science and Technology and the Vice President. (That's her in red!) |
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| | | WELCOME, DAVID STERMAN! We are delighted to introduce our newest Board member and Treasurer, David Sterman! David has long been active in the non-profit community in the US and Guatemala. In addition to his position with Maya Health, he is currently the Board Treasurer of Women’s International Network for Guatemala Solutions (WINGS). He has previously served as Board President of the United Way of Ulster County, and as Board Treasurer for the Wallkill Valley Land Trust and Family of Woodstock, Inc. He also volunteers for groups such as the Restorative Justice and Community Empowerment Center of Ulster County and the Ulster Immigration Defense Network (UIDN). He is glad to support Maya Health and its work providing essential health services. |
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| | PROGRAM UPDATES Dr. Nora Flood, an obstetrician and gynecologist and longtime Maya Health collaborator, recently visited from Minnesota to provide new training for our Women’s Health team on cervical cancer treatment and testing. Our nurses learned how to do colposcopies and take samples for biopsies in the field. Five team members are now certified after completing this excellent training! In addition, thanks to the support of several generous donors, including Drs. Andy Dean & Consuelo Beck-Sagué, Rob Finnegan, and the Rotary Club of San Francisco Chinatown, we recently acquired two colposcope and five new thermo ablation machines to treat small cervical cancer lesions in the field. Our ability to offer these early-stage treatments in local communities and homes spares women expensive and stressful trips to major city hospitals |
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| Training is underway for 32 additional midwives who are joining the Mobile Maternal & Infant Health Program, which is doubling in size to support 2,000 births a year! Dr. Anahí Venzor-Strader from Boston Children’s Hospital arrived this month to deliver new supplies, only available from India, as well as training. We continue to refine and improve the training based on what we’re learning along the way, for example offering training in small groups to promote better engagement and understanding. |
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| | RISE TOGETHER! This spring, join us in bringing thousands of women in rural Guatemala the resources, information, and support they need to take control of their health and their futures. You can be a key part of this transformation. Join our Rise Together campaign—donate today to help us reach our $15,000 goal and double your impact with a 1:1 match! |
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| JOIN OUR NEXT INSIGHT TRIP! You are invited to our next Insight Trip from October 19-23, 2025. Participants meet the team at our Tecpán headquarters, visit patients’ homes in the rural communities where we work, and make a stop at stunning Lake Atitlán. “I was privileged to participate in one of the Maya Health Alliance Insight Trips. The many acts of kindness I experienced were a reflection of the generous spirit, compassion and passion that guides them in everything they do. Their work is truly impressive. I feel blessed that I was able to witness the health care work provided by the amazing Maya Health Alliance team.” – Spring 2024 Insight Trip Participant |
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| | TEAM BUILDING At our annual Leadership Retreat in January, we engaged key leaders in conversations around succession planning and sustaining Maya Health’s work and culture, particularly our commitment to fostering inclusive, equitable, and safe services for indigenous communities. Leaders explored “isms,” privilege, and other topics that often are taboo and unspoken. Together, we drafted a plan for inclusion that we will share with the team in the coming months. |
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| In February, we held our Research Retreat, where members of our Center for Indigenous Health Research presented their projects and shared progress and challenges. Harvard Medical School Epidemiologist Dr. Ann Miller, a regular Maya Health collaborator, led a workshop on data collection and dissemination, enabling participants to take their evaluation and publishing skills to the next level. The team wrapped up their time together with a bracing hike up Volcán Acatenango! |
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| | HELP US GET OUT THE WORD! We love to share our work so that potential supporters will join our community. Help us do that by providing a review on GreatNonProfits. To get started, click here! |
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| | DAILY BREAD This enterprising fellow hangs out just outside the door of our Tecpán office so he can accompany our team members to the neighborhood bakery, where he's sure to score a roll. |
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| | | | | | | | | Thank you so much for your ongoing support! |
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| | | | Maya Health Alliance | Wuqu' Kawoq
PO BOX 91 | Bethel, Vermont 05032-0091
513-393-9878 | development@wuqukawoq.org |
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