Get to Know Our Guatemalan Staff

Meet Manuel, Dental Assistant. Manuel has been with Project Salud y Paz since it’s start in 2001. At the time, he was a bombero (local fireman) in Camanchaj. So Dr. Phil Plunk, founder, enlisted Manuel’s help to spread the word about the low-cost dental services available. Manuel remembers that in the beginning, there were not very many patients. “Phil told me, ‘Do me a favor and go out and look for people and tell them that we do teeth and general consults and you don’t have to pay a lot,’” Manuel remembers. “I said, ‘Ok I’ll do it.’ And I took the volunteer fire department car and I passed through little villages and said that there was an American project and they gave medicine for free. And thanks to God there are now a lot of people.”

Manuel did not complete his basic education and had no dental training. But Phil enlisted his help and taught Manuel how to clean and extract teeth and to perform fillings. Manuel was educated on-the-job, and alongside our dentist, Dr. Luis, is able to assist with the dental procedures today.

Dr. Phil changed Manuel’s life. “I will never forget dr. Phil’s name. It’s he who began the project from the beginning,” he says. “When I come to work I don’t come with mixed feelings. I come because I want to work. And I feel very happy and thank God there have never been complications. I always remember to thank God for Dr. Phil.”

Manuel has been able to watch the project grow over the last 13 years. He says he appreciates that Salud y Paz is for everyone – family, friends, and strangers. “I like a lot that there is no exception to the people we serve,” Manuel says. “[Patients] come from Solola, Quiche, everywhere. We don’t ask you what church you’re from, what group you’re from.” Salud y Paz serves everyone.

Salud y Paz budgets about $125,000 per year to pay staff salaries. Part of our mission is to empower our Guatemalan staff to serve their own people. Support this important mission. Give today.