NEARLY 1,000 DENTAL TREATMENTS PERFORMED AT PATZICIA SCHOOL

THE FOUNDATION SCHOOL IN PATZICIA WAS THE PLACE.......

AYUDA INTERNATIONAL'S TEAM, LED BY DR. HARRIS DONE, DID THE INCREDIBLE WORK

The Guatemalan Foundation's Regional Director, Humberto Xicay, seen above with Dr. Done and other leaders of their dental team, prepared the way for the large group of 72 from Southern California.  Humberto and his staff, with Foundation financing publicized the activity starting a week before the April 15-18 clinic. Some of the team arrived on the weekend before and began making preparations, like covering the patio, acquiring compressors, and getting everything organized.

Time out for a little fun.....

....and for lunch

AYUDA thanking Humberto, the school staff and the Foundation for helping to make possible their wonderful service, and Humerto on behalf of the School and the Foundation thanking this spectacular dental group for their generous and loving humanitarian service.

Humberto reports that  during the 4 days of the clinic 985 patients were attended to performing everything from cleaning, extractions, and fillings .  He reports that in keeping with our philosophy of working with  those of all ethnic and religious groups most of them were Cachiquel/ Mayans, but as you see above many were Ladinos.  Approximatley 350 were Mormons.  On the final day there was such an outpouring of needy coming from near and far that the group worked overtime, but finally it was not possible to attend to the last 175.

Dr. Harris and his the AYUDA INTERNATIONAL team were pleased to have such a well organized institution, such as the Guatemalan foundation, and its school and building  making possible a highly effective and productive project.  

All of us from the Foundation send our heartfelt thanks to Harris and his wonderful group.  Harris  came to our Center for Indian Development at Valparaiso, Alta Verapaz nearly 40 years ago, trained one of our students, and set up a dental clinic there in the isolated Poqomchi mountains.  A few years later, in 1981 due to the Guerrilla War, we kept alive AYUDA's projects in Cunen for the next 10 years.  Now the partnership is gratefully renewed.  Thanks, Harris, and all of you great people from AYUDA INTERNATIONAL.

We hope and pray that such will be the case well into the future, with the hope of another such cooperative project next year--hopefully in the Alta Verapaz area such as at the Valparaiso School  and Community in Santa Cruz Verapaz. 

PLEASE HELP US KEEP THIS GOOD WORK GOING WITH YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE PREVIOUS REPORT ON THE WORK IN ALTA VERAPAZ and THE NEW FOUNDATION MOBILE OFFICE.