Health Care: Teaching The People
I would rather teach someone about health, than give them a prescription.
- Dr. Francisco Mendez Puac, San Pedro la Laguna
Dr. Francisco grew up as an indigenous Tzutujil boy in the lakeside village of San Pedro la Laguna, and thanks to a scholarship, he was able to attend school. He worked his way through medical school, including a stint in the USA, and built a practice in Guatemala City.
With that foundation, he and his wife Carina opened a clinic back in his hometown, where he is the only doctor who speaks the Mayan language. See his vision here:
He now spends 20% of his time treating can-pay patients in Guatemala City, in order to volunteer 80% of his time treating can't-pay patients in San Pedro. In San Pedro, he has a surgical centre under construction, and offers surgeries to local people in a safe, hygienic environment, in the Tzutujil language they understand and trust.
Guatemala Conexions has backed Dr. Francisco's volunteer work for several years, investing in his efforts as a self-supporting doctor with a genuine vision for "health care."
Over the years, Guatemala Conexions has supported health care efforts in various places and ways in Guatemala, including other doctors and medical clinics, seniors' homes, AIDS hospices, mobile rural clinics, dental work, and bringing excess medical supply inventory from Canadian hospitals. As needs and opportunities arise, we adapt quickly.
WHere?
San Pedro
is a backpacker centre on Lake Atitlan, a world-famous volcano-ringed crater lake.