Medical Mission: San Lucas, Guatemala

I had the opportunity to travel to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala with Marywood University. The trip allowed me to engage in direct clinical and health/nutritional education experiences as well as gain exposure to the social and cultural factors of health and the provision of medical care in a resource-poor area of the world.

A typical day involved our group traveling to the surrounding communities of San Lucas and working in those communities by doing home visits for malnourished individuals who may also suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Our group also provided adolescent-focused assistance in height and weight clinics and elementary schools.

Our group would split up every day and some would do home visits, while the other group did community work such as working in a health clinic or in a school. Our team made recommendations based on the growth status of the children in the height and weight clinic. They were evaluated by weight and height and these measurements were plotted on a growth chart to determine the percentile the child fell under.

The home visits focused mainly on adults with diabetes, and I had the chance to educate on nutrition for diabetics. Most of these individuals were unaware of common practices such as consuming more protein, less sugar, and eating smaller, more frequent meals. There was plenty of opportunity for nutrition education throughout the trip, and the communities were eager to learn.

We had the opportunity to educate the health promoters of San Lucas as well. The health promoters work in the communities by doing home visits and counseling, as well as working in health clinics to manage malnutrition and disease. Our presentation was intended to answer their questions about nutrition, and bust any myths they may have heard about nutrition throughout their service efforts. We educated on eating balanced meals, recreated a MyPlate to fit their food availability and cultural preferences, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and diets for diabetic patients.

One of the activities we did during our presentation was the recreation of the MyPlate. We asked the health promoters to draw a plate that would be commonly found in their communities. We then educated on proper portion sizes and balance of macronutrients.

We went to a local market and purchased a few of the popular drink options which included Coca Cola, iced tea, limeade, and filtered water. We poured the amount of sugar that each drink contained into their respective bottles and used these as a tool to educate the health promoters. They loved this demonstration so much that they asked to keep the bottles for future educational purposes.

During a community visit, we had the chance to work with local women and educate them on how to prepare a balanced plate for their families. We chopped fresh vegetables with them, then watched one of the health promoters cook the ingredients.

When we weren't providing medical service or education, we had the opportunity to play with the children in each community. They loved to chase bubbles and color with us!

This is an experience that I hold very close to my heart. I've learned a great deal about the Guatemalan culture, and I've also learned a lot about myself. I feel that this was an opportunity of a lifetime and I hope to get the chance to go back in the future.