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Solidaridad:
News from Foundation Todos Juntos
and Pop Wuj     

Spring/Summer 2013
Family Support Center, Photo by Juan Burlew
Photo by Juan Burlew
 
Family Support Center Fundraiser a Success
 
Thanks to the support of generous donors, the Family Support Center (formerly La Guardería) was able to re-open in January 2013!  A total of 39 children and youth from 3-19 years of age are enrolled this year. 
 
In addition to individual donors, our supporters also included Timmy Global Health and an anonymous matching donation of $5,000 for new or lapsed donors.  
 
All additional donations to the Family Support Center will be saved to cover the 2014 budget.  Thank you for giving so generously to maintain this vital project in Llanos del Pinal.  To donate to the Family Support Center's 2014 budget, visit Foundation Todos Juntos.
Doña Margarita standing beside her old “stove,” an open fire. Photo by Juan Burlew
Photo by Juan Burlew
 
The Safe Stove Project
Makes a Difference,
One Family at a Time

The Safe Stove Project continues in Llanos del Pinal in 2013.  We built nine stoves from January to May, one of which was in the home of Doña Margarita. 

Doña Margarita is 68 years old and was widowed seven years ago when her husband was killed in an accident.  She has been working since her father passed away when she was just a child.  She never went to school and cannot read or write. 

Doña Margarita has been cooking over an open fire for years and years.  As such, the ceiling and the adobe and tile walls are covered in thick, black smoke residue and soot. 

With a new safe stove the smoke will be funneled out of the house and Doña Margarita will be breathing much cleaner air in her home! 

Upon completing the stove, Doña Margarita expressed her happiness and gratitude, “Gracias, nadie me había dado un regalo tan lindo como este. Ustedes son ángeles.”  “Thank you, nobody had ever given me such a beautiful gift. You are angels.” 

The Safe Stove Project will continue building stoves in Llanos del Pinal and La Victoria this summer.
Thank You, Interns!
 
In January Pop Wuj welcomed two new interns via the Entremundos Internship Program.  Anssel López was the Environmental Projects Coordinator and Julie Kirby-Hines was the General Projects Coordinator. 
 
Anssel is originally from Xela, but has been living and studying in the U.S. for several years.  He has completed a degree in Environmental Science and continues to study Geographic Information System (GIS).
 
Julie came to us from Colorado where she is completing a Masters of Public Health degree.  She was previously a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. 
 
We loved having such highly-qualified and energized interns joining us in the projects.  Thank you Anssel and Julie! 

This summer Pop Wuj will have two new interns, Grady Hart in General Projects and Adam Kinross  at the Family Support Center/Guardería.  Welcome Grady and Adam!

For more information on the internship program, please visit the Entremundos Internship page.  All internships require intermediate Spanish and at least a three-month commitment.
One of the Pop Wuj doctors, Carmen Rosa, explains the Nutrition Program and Nutributter to the new participant families. Photo by Wilder Bautista
Photo by Wilder Bautista
 
Nutrition Program Expansion
 
Sadly, Guatemala ranks first in chronic malnutrition in the Western Hemisphere.  To address this issue, Pop Wuj began expanding its nutrition program in Llanos del Pinal in June.
 
Although the Pop Wuj Nutrition Program previously existed in Llanos del Pinal, Buena Vista, and La Victoria, Pop Wuj is expanding the program to reach all eligible babies in Llanos del Pinal. 
 
On June 6, 2013 Pop Wuj Medical and Social Work Program students and staff conducted health assessments and intake interviews with the mothers of 43 babies. 
 
A total of 38 babies were found eligible and invited to participate in the Nutrition Program.  Of these thirty-eight, twenty-three babies were diagnosed with chronic malnutrition and 15 additional babies were found to be at risk.
 
The Nutrition Program includes monthly meetings with parents and children, aged 6-24 months.  The monthly meetings include educational talks, weighing and measuring the babies, and distribution of nutritional supplements.  
 
With the support of Timmy Global Health, Pop Wuj distributes Nutributter for the babies between 6-24 months of age as well as pre-natal vitamins for the mothers, and children’s vitamins for the other children in the family. 
 
Nutributter is a fortified peanut butter supplement intended for use by children suffering from or at risk of developing chronic malnutrition.  For more information about Nutributter, please visit Edesia.
 
In July Pop Wuj staff and volunteers will return to Llanos del Pinal to continue the expansion with another 30 families. 
 
Pop Wuj will measure the success and make adjustments to the expanded program in Llanos del Pinal before continuing the expansion in Buena Vista and La Victoria.
Foundation Todos Juntos
Board of Directors
Amy Scheuren, President
Anna Le Mon, Vice President
Claudia Hindo, Secretary
Jane Rake, Treasurer
Lara Hendy Quinlivan
David Smith
Grace White

Newsletter Editor
Amy Scheuren

Newsletter Contributors
Nicole Araneta
Wilder Bautista
Juan Burlew
Caitlin McKelway
Allison Smith
Facebook
Foundation Todos Juntos
Pop Wuj
Projects Blog
Tug of war with the Family Support Center kids, Photo by Caitlin McKelway
Photo by Caitlin McKelway
 
Volunteer Spotlight:
Nicki Araneta

 
Nicole Araneta came to Pop Wuj in August of 2012 to participate in the Medical Spanish Program. 
 
Having just completed her third year of med school, Nicki decided to take a year off to learn Spanish and volunteer in Guatemala. 
 
She worked in the Pop Wuj clinic and participated in a range of Pop Wuj’s community projects. 
 
In addition to volunteering in the clinic, Nicki worked directly with chronic patients as a de facto health advocate, taking them to doctors’ appointments and for lab work.
 
She also volunteered at the Family Support Center (FSC), even teaching one of the FSC English classes last fall!
 
Thank you Nicki for your commitment to all of the Pop Wuj projects and the communities we serve.
Suceli rests on her mother's back
Photo and Text By Nicole Araneta
 
Pop Wuj Expands Patient Care

With the generous support of Timmy Global Health, Pop Wuj staff and volunteers have been able to provide follow-up care to chronic and referral patients. 
 
One such patient is Suceli.  She is four years old and lives near Chirijkiak, a K’iche’ Maya village where Pop Wuj offers mobile clinics and scholarships. 
 
During a mobile clinic in 2012, a Pop Wuj physician noted a murmur in Suceli’s heart.  He referred Suceli to a cardiologist who diagnosed a congenital heart condition and recommended surgery. 
 
Pop Wuj and Suceli’s mother scheduled the surgery at UNICAR, the cardiovascular hospital in Guatemala City. 
 
Surgeries at UNICAR are free for those who cannot afford to pay.  Despite this, there are still a lot of expenses involved.  Before admitting patients for scheduled surgeries, hospitals expect them to bring the results of a panel of tests.  Pop Wuj assisted the family in obtaining these tests.
 
The chronic patient fund from Timmy Global Health paid for the tests, and later for the family’s transportation to Guatemala City. 
 
Suceli had her surgery in the fall of 2012 and is doing well.  She had a follow-up EKG in June and the family returned to the Pop Wuj mobile clinic with the results.  Pop Wuj will continue to monitor Suceli's health.
 
Suceli’s mother was so appreciative of Pop Wuj’s assistance that she volunteered to work as a K’iche’-Spanish translator during a large Pop Wuj mobile clinic in a rural community outside her own. 
 
The partnership with Timmy Global Health has expanded Pop Wuj’s chronic and referral patient care, allowing Pop Wuj to serve more patients and provide better follow-up care to those in need.
Foundation Todos Juntos, a 501(c)3 non profit, was founded in 2001 by former students of the Pop Wuj Spanish School to facilitate ongoing collaboration with various development projects in and around Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala.

Today the Foundation supports educational, medical, social, and public health projects in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Please visit our blog for more information on the projects.
****
The Foundation Todos Juntos Board of Directors continues to search for interested and qualified board members. Specifically, we are looking for candidates who live in California and have accounting or bookkeeping experience.

Please contact Claudia Hindo, Board secretary, at info@todos-juntos.org for more information.
Lesly and Norma at the Family Support Center.  Photo by Allison Smith
Photo by Allison Smith
 
Projects Supported by
Foundation Todos Juntos

 
In this issue we highlighted the Safe Stove Project and various health programs at Pop Wuj.  Foundation Todos Juntos also supports the Pop Wuj Scholarship Program, the Family Support Center, the Pop Wuj Medical Clinic, various environmental projects, and Voces de Cambio.  To learn more about all our projects, please visit:
www.todos-juntos.org
www.foundationtodosjuntos.blogspot.com/
 
Tax-deductible donations may be sent via check to:
Foundation Todos Juntos
3142 NE 45th Avenue
Portland, OR 97213

Online donations are accepted via PayPal at www.todos-juntos.org/donate.html.

Please specify which project(s) you wish your donation to benefit.  Thank you!
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