GUATEMALA SANA

Guatemala SANA is a private Project of Dr. Rafael Espada, Vice President of Guatemala.

Vision: Improve the quality of life for the millions of rural children in Guatemala who do not have clean water, food to eat or the opportunity to get an education.

SANA stands for:
S is for salud (health),
A for ambiente (the environment factors),
N for nutrition (nutrition) and
A for acceso escolar (access to education).

The concept is to integrate primary healthcare, nutrition and primary school education in a centralized location within the town; and provide clean water and sanitation. In effect, our schools become small community centers where both children and parents receive healthcare, nutrition and education.

We are working in the Department of Sacatepéquez. The towns were selected based on need, interviews with mayors and civic leaders, and evaluation of the current schools. In each of the selected Guatemala SANA schools we are:

 Performing basic repairs (painting, fixing ceiling leaks and bathrooms, etc.)
 Providing clean water supplies & water filters
 Providing sanitation drains
 Providing new stoves & refrigerators
 Setting up a 2-bed primary healthcare clinic
 Hiring a nurse to work in each clinic

We also provide these services for the children in each SANA school:

 Physical and nutrition assessments
 Ophthalmology exams (we have 700 pairs of eyeglasses donated to us for use)

Since Guatemala SANA is a 10 year project, each year we add something of value to our program. Next year, we will conduct dental and hearing exams for all of our children.

A major concern is the malnutrition of these children. Guatemala has one of the worst malnutrition rates in this Continent affecting the physical and mental development of our children.

It is impossible for them to learn if they are not well nourished, therefore, Guatemala SANA provides supplemental food for these children.

By end of 2009 we will have enrolled over 12,000 students into the SANA program.

For more information on Guatemala SANA please visit our website at http://www.guatemalasana.org