Join Us at Our Graduation Ceremony!

Join Us at Our Graduation Ceremony!

The Guatemalan school year has concluded and we are proud to share the incredible results of our 2025 school year:

• 100% of our primary-level (first grade) students became proficient in writing, reading and basic mathematical concepts and operations.
• 100% of our preschool-level (preschool and kindergarten) students advanced their education this year.

Now, our students at Colegio Susanna Wesley are ready to celebrate their graduation ceremony! The event will be streamed live on our Facebook on October 29th at 9 AM (Mountain Time) for everyone to join and share this special moment with our students, families and teachers.

Thank you to all our sponsors who have given the gift of education this year. We couldn’t have done it without you. As we look ahead to 2026, we hope we can continue counting on your partnership so that, together, we can offer pathways out of poverty through education for indigenous Mayan children.

We are always looking for more people who believe in the power of education. If you know someone who is as passionate as you, please send them our way. We would love to welcome them to Salud y Paz and show them how they can make a difference.

Future Educators at Colegio Susanna Wesley

In Guatemala’s national education system, all public schools are designated as “practice schools,” meaning they must host student teachers completing their practicum. While private schools are not required to do so, Colegio Susanna Wesley proudly serves as a practice school by choice.

This year, the Anunciata Educational Center entrusted our school with the professional development of four student teachers, recognizing the quality and academic excellence that define our work.

Throughout the school year, the student teachers completed their practicum stages: classroom observation, assistantship, isolated lessons and direct teaching. These experiences are essential for gaining the skills, techniques, and methodologies needed to become certified Early Childhood Education Teachers.

Our school’s role was to create the technical and administrative conditions to ensure effective pedagogical support and guidance in the care and education of preschool children.

The contribution of these student teachers was deeply appreciated. Their presence brought joy to the children—who even asked them to join them for lunch, something they did with great enthusiasm. Teaching, after all, is learned through practice, through connecting with children, understanding their emotions and becoming part of their world.

This year, we feel proud and grateful to have been a practice school, contributing to the professional growth of these future Bilingual Intercultural Early Childhood Teachers. Two of them will graduate soon, while the remaining two will complete their practicum next year.

Our doors will always remain open to all students who wish to learn, grow and enrich their teaching experience at Colegio Susanna Wesley.

A Journey of Service

This month, a dedicated volunteer team from Paradise Valley UMC, serving alongside Salud y Paz, completed another impactful week of service in the remote Mayan highlands of Guatemala. Continuing a mission built on gratitude, compassion and faith, the group delivered essential medical care and supplies to communities often difficult to reach.

The week began in Chichicastenango, where the team unpacked and organized 18 bags of supplies, including medications, glasses, and school materials for Colegio Susanna Wesley. Traveling across steep, winding mountain roads, they reached high-altitude villages like Camanibal, Sacpulup, Chumanzana, and Tzucubal, ranging from 7,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level.

In these villages, the medical team treated a wide variety of patients, many struggling with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, along with infections and chronic pain. The importance of the medical outreach was clear: in Sacpulup, one man who only came for glasses was found to have dangerously high blood pressure, while another with uncontrolled diabetes was sent directly to the hospital for treatment. Local collaboration was key, with community leaders assisting and staff ensuring the clinics ran smoothly.

The week of service concluded on Friday with a half-day clinic at the central Salud y Paz project site in Camanchaj. This was followed by a celebratory pizza lunch to honor and thank the interpreters, staff and local collaborators. This simple act of appreciation recognizing the essential contributions of the entire team that makes the mission possible.

Team Leader Beth Troxler, a retired school nurse, shared “the organization’s growth has brought its operations to a wonderful, professional level.” Beth also highlighted the core principle of Salud y Paz’s philosophy: “the connection between health and education is 100% spot on.” By addressing the fundamental needs of children and their families—working with the parents of the children at the Suzanna Wesley School—Salud y Paz helps remove the barriers to learning, ensuring a healthier and brighter future for the community.

Reflecting on the week, Team Leader Keith Troxler shared, “I tear up with thanks for the chance to serve with all these people.”

As the team headed home, they carried with them the thanks of the communities and the profound satisfaction of transforming lives, one patient at a time.

Friday Always Comes

One of Phil Plunk’s favorite sayings was “Friday always comes.” When I was first working at Salud y Paz in the Camanchaj clinic and later on rural medical teams, I took that to mean that no matter how hard-working and tired we were, Friday would come and we could look forward to a weekend relaxing in Panajachel or Antigua. It’s no different than how we look at our work week as we prepare for a weekend of fun and relaxation.
 
During the month of August, as I worked with the Coronado Community UMC rural medical team, I realized that Phil probably had a different meaning when he was talking about the value of short-term medical teams. No matter how much we accomplish for the people we have come to serve, Friday always comes and there is still work to be done. There are still people who need medical care — people who need to know that we value them for who they are, not just as workers in a field somebody else owns.
 
In the years since Jan and I started working with Salud y Paz the care model has evolved. With our medical and dental staff at the Camanchaj clinic we now know that even when Friday comes, our patients can continue to get the care they need through the Salud y Paz clinic. Salud y Paz is building a new medical-dental clinic that will provide more space for more providers and more opportunities for patients in the Camanchaj region to get care that continues on beyond Friday.
 
Friday always comes, but as I head back to the United States and clean, running water and unlimited medical care, I know that Salud y Paz will continue to provide for the people who I saw this past week and for all of their surrounding community.

– Frank Andersen, MD

Healthy Habits, Brighter Futures

At Salud y Paz, we believe that caring for children’s health goes beyond the classroom—it starts at home and grows through community.

This year, during our regular medical checkups at Colegio Susanna Wesley, our team identified several students showing signs of malnutrition. In response, we began supporting their families with nutritious food baskets and education on healthy eating, helping parents understand how small changes can make a big difference in their children’s growth and well-being.

At the same time, we’ve worked to promote good dental hygiene among our students. Through hands-on workshops led by Salud y Paz Dentist Dr. Luis, parents are learning how to guide and reinforce healthy brushing habits at home. Because strong habits begin with example, these sessions empower families to take an active role in their children’s oral health.

At Salud y Paz, we know that when families are involved, children have the best chance to grow healthy, confident, and ready for the future.