Laying the Foundation for Healthier Futures

Be the Monthly Lifeline Families Depend On

Don José and his wife, Doña Rosa, are patients at Clínica Salud y Paz.

Don José suffered an accident that fractured his right arm. Although he received treatment, he did not fully recover and continues to experience pain, which has prevented him from working and generating income. After the accident, he was diagnosed with diabetes and needed medication to control his condition. Because of the expenses related to his injury, it became very difficult for him to afford his medicines. Months later, Doña Rosa was also diagnosed with diabetes and required ongoing treatment as her illness progressed.

With their two daughters living far away and no close family support to help cover medical expenses, they were facing serious difficulties. Through a friend, they learned about Clínica Salud y Paz, which provides care and follow-up for patients with chronic illnesses. After a socioeconomic assessment confirmed their need, they began receiving the medications and medical follow-up required to manage their condition.

Today, they are deeply grateful, and the medications they receive have helped them feel much better. Stories like theirs are possible because of faithful supporters.

Powerful Connections in Mission

This month we had the privilege of connecting with partners from Global Ministries and Volunteers in Mission across the region.

Early February we were honored to host Cristian Schlick at the Salud y Paz clinic and school. Cristian is the Area Liaison for Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean for the General Board of Global Ministries. We shared about our programs in Guatemala and our vision for the future.

After Cristian’s site visit, our Executive Director, Laura, traveled with Cristian to the National Assembly of the Iglesia Evangelica Nacional Metodista Primitiva de Guatemala. Laura was invited to speak to the Assembly of local pastors about Salud y Paz’s mission and also encouraged the pastors in their ministry. Together, we gave thanks for the faithful service of missionaries Lourdes and Richard Mroczka, who will be moving to a different post later this year.

Lourdes has been serving as the Volunteers in Mission representative in Guatemala for eight years and has been a key partner for Salud y Paz during her time. Lourdes supported the development of the monthly satellite clinic in Urbina that Salud y Paz runs in the church’s facility, providing hundreds of consultations a year to patients in need.

Later in the month we extended our connections even more broadly. Nancy Meredith, representative of the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church, hosted a presentation where Salud y Paz shared about the role Churches in the Conference have played in developing the organization Salud y Paz has grown to be today.  The presentation helped to expand our reach, making additional connections that will empower us to have an even greater impact in health and education in Guatemala.

Salud y Paz is the organization it is today because of ambassadors who have boldly shared about how this mission is important to them and to the people of Guatemala. These powerful connections have expanded our global community and our impact, touching the lives of more than one hundred thousand people over the years.

Can you make a connection today so we can expand our impact in Guatemala?

We are stronger when we work together.

Protecting Children’s Sight

As part of our commitment to preventive healthcare and early detection, our clinic recently carried out a vision screening initiative for 50 students between the ages of 5 and 8 at Colegio Susanna Wesley. The primary goal of this effort was to identify, in an early and preliminary way, any visual anomalies that could negatively affect the children’s academic performance and overall development. Clear vision plays a fundamental role in learning, and many vision problems can go unnoticed without proper screening.

The evaluations were conducted using the Vision Screener, a device generously donated by Lion’s Club, Anchorage, AK, to support our clinic’s preventive programs. To ensure accurate results, the screenings were performed in a room without external light. A light and sound system helped maintain the children’s attention, and within seconds the equipment provided a result indicating either “Normal” or “Refer.” It is important to note that this process is strictly a screening and does not diagnose eye diseases, but rather identifies children who may require further specialized evaluation.

The results revealed that 23 students—46% of those screened—were referred for a comprehensive ophthalmologic consultation with our trusted partners at Hospital El Buen Samaritano. Parents were informed that this was a preliminary assessment and were encouraged to follow up with the specialist to ensure proper diagnosis and care if needed. Our social worker facilitated this referral, providing financial and other resources.

This initiative highlights the importance of early detection and reinforces our mission to bring accessible healthcare services directly to the communities we serve. By identifying potential vision concerns early, we help create better opportunities for academic success and healthy development for every child.

Facilitating Care Pathways for Chronic Illness Patients in Mayan Communities

With the generous support of our partners Hands of Healing, Salud y Paz has strengthened care pathways for chronic illness patients in Mayan communities in the highlands of Guatemala.

This project marks an important shift in our model of care — from serving solely as a provider across the continuum of care to becoming a facilitator of coordinated care pathways. Our goal is to ensure that patients with chronic conditions receive consistent follow-up, improved monitoring and have information on health resources available to them.

Over the past year, we developed and implemented a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Plan and database tailored to our Chronic Patient Care Follow-up Program. This included documenting and refining follow-up processes, integrating chronic patient records from our EMR system, defining measurable success indicators and building dashboards to track outcomes.

The system has been fully tested, validated and launched with trained staff. We also strengthened coordination with partner health centers and established a plan to track missed appointments and analyze barriers to care, further improving patient follow-up.

Salud y Paz is now empowered with the tools and trained personnel to better monitor chronic patients, strengthening both care continuity and long-term health outcomes in the communities we serve.

We are deeply grateful to Hands of Healing for making this advancement possible.