Villagers who are in need of medical attention are seen at our health clinic in the village of Guadelupe El Zapote and Ceylan. Here, we used to treat more than 2,600 patients ( now we see ~800 each year), which partially has been taken over by more governmental health centers in the area. Without our help, many of these patients would not have access to treatment, as the area in which they live (covering approximately 12,000 people) has no regular medical services. Our volunteer Guatemalan doctor and our volunteer dentist  treats all patients free of charge and Vamos Adelante provides them with free medication.

Patients requiring specialized treatment are accompanied to hospitals by their local health promotora, and Vamos Adelante pays for their transport costs and all medical bills if they cannot afford it themselves. On average, Vamos Adelante accompanies more than 50-60 patients to operations/treatments in different hospitals/special clinics per year and see at least 600 dental patients per year in our little dental clinic.

An example of the success of our work on hygiene and health care:
Nine-year old Lucia was born almost completely blind. Because both of her parents died in an accident when she was very young, Lucia was suffering not only from her illness but also from the isolation in which she lived with only her two elderly grandparents. In the rural Guatemala, a blind child like Lucia has almost no opportunity to go to school or play normally with other children. When Vamos Adelante heard about Lucia’s situation, we took her to a specialized eye surgeon in Antigua to find out if anything could be done about her sight. Two surgeries and years later, Lucia completed elementary school and is now a mother herself. Her life has changed completely through regaining her sight, as she is now able to live as an independent person and seek opportunities that would never have been available to her in the past. Lucia is one of MANY who Vamos Adelante helped to regain their sight through eye operations.

Volunteer Medical Professionals

We also host small teams of fluently Spanish-speaking visiting specialists (dentists, pediatricians, general medicine, etc.), who are willing to carry out routine treatments in the villages. See our Volunteers page to learn more.