Helping out in Guatemala
In January in a mountainside village in Guatemala’s western highlands, 21 KC metro area residents worked to make life better for good. The group, representing Woodland Public Charity and the University of Kansas School of Nursing inspected and installed water filtration systems, built smokeless stoves, provided well-child checkups and visited seniors.
“It’s more than showing up, doing a job and leaving,” says Woodland executive director Jorge Coromac. “We are there to follow up with people who need care.”
The Kansas City-headquartered nonprofit employs a community approach to improve access to education, health and safe drinking water. Partnering with 56 U.S. organizations, Woodland engages local leaders and volunteers in the Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama communities it’s serving and their consuls here.
“I truly believe a community effort is the best way; it makes programs more sustainable and able to respond to the needs of the community,” says Coromac, a seasoned nonprofit professional and native Guatemalan.
Woodland has 12 trips scheduled through December for volunteers from U.S. partners that include churches, universities, schools, firefighters, service organizations and businesses. Each trip has differently-skilled volunteers from various professions and occupations.
Local residents must be the ones leading local initiatives and marshalling local volunteers, Coromac says. They share the same experiences, face the same problems. In getting involved and learning from Woodland’s volunteers, they’re able help establish sustainable programs and projects and discover better ways to prevent medical issues.
Woodland’s partnership with K.U. is seven years old, and for the past three years, has included K.U.’s School of Nursing, honored by Woodland as its 2018 Humanitarian Partner Organization.
“It’s become an amazing partnership,” Coromac says. “We’ve been able to deploy nurses from the university to Guatemala and bring a nurse from Guatemala (here to study).”
Last month, 18 seniors in K.U.’s bachelor of science nursing program and two nurse practitioners went to Patanatic, Sololá, Guatemala. The students were completing a global health rotation, part of a population health practicum course. They were learning that improving health also involves helping people create healthier living environments.
“It’s not how much medicine you can give but how each family can be healthier through prevention,” says Coromac who was on the trip.
The students visited homes with Woodland-supplied water filters to ensure proper maintenance and set up new systems. They provided in-home check-ups for seniors and with local nurses conducted health assessments and well-child checks. They inspected woodstoves for improper installation, a source of potentially toxic fumes and built smokeless stoves.
The population health practicum course “enables students to apply the knowledge and skills learned” in class, according to KUMC. Students can also apply to go to Belgium, India, New Zealand, Scotland, Uganda or Zambia.
“Our overall goal is for students to look beyond … the walls of the clinic. It’s where people live, learn, work, play and worship that has the greatest impact on health outcomes,” K.U. clinical assistant professor of nursing, Gina Johnson said.
Woodland also uses the community approach to disaster response. It’s worked here with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and recently in Mexico and Puerto Rico, where it’s preparing to open permanent programs.
“In natural disasters, we always send water filters and wheelchairs,” Coromac says. “We’ve been able to provide walkers, crutches or wheelchairs to 433 people in Guatemala, 100 in Panama and 150 in Ecuador. It really benefits the whole family. When you provide a wheelchair it empowers people to become self-sufficient.”
