My Nonprofit Reviews

I committed to work as the Complex Care Coordinator for 1 year with Maya Health Alliance | Wuqu' Kawoq starting in April 2015 .

Before beginning with MHA | WK, I thought I understood the limits of what medical organizations are capable of achieving in a rural setting in Guatemala. I had worked with several NGOs within Guatemala previously, and believed that some barriers to accessing healthcare are too extensive to overcome.

How wrong I was. Nothing could have prepared me for how impressed I am and how proud I feel to be a part of the MHA | WK team. This organization goes above and beyond in terms of patient care. They GO to their patients - via (a combo of) car, bus, boat, on foot - sometimes taking hours just to arrive at one patient's house. Why? Because they understand that the hardest patients to get to, are those most in need of care. Why else? Because in these communities there is no way to understand the fundamental reasons behind a patient's condition and be able to effectively treat that condition, without seeing where and how the patient lives. MHA strives to deliver quality care that exceeds not just Guatemalan standards, but US standards. They work within and alongside the government healthcare system to fill the holes that usually block the indigenous population from receiving care. To this NGO, patient care is more than just a consult and follow-up at a clinic. It is about facilitating trust and partnership with the patients. Cultural sensitivity is an integrated peice of their model, and all employees - both local and extranjero - learn to speak the indigenous Mayan language of the patients. MHA strives to build capacity and empower the local communities to take control of their health and of their lives.

Furthermore, they publish! MHA | WK has run many empirical investigations and has shared their results with the global health community. Even though their focus is in Guatemala, they understand that conditions and diseases present here are examples of larger global health issues.

There has never been a dull moment in my 6 months of working for this NGO. I recommend anyone and everyone to take a look at this organization, because they are truly the most cutting-edge NGO offering healthcare services in Guatemala.