Promoting health in Guatemala

Teresa Hernandez Oxlaj teaches cooking and nutrition in the western highlands of Guatemala [Marcella Haddad]

Teresa Hernandez Oxlaj has been working for the Chiquimula Parish health team for one year training health promoters. Among other things she teaches cooking and nutrition

In the western highlands of Guatemala, the Parish of La Natividad in Santa Maria Chiquimula is busy training its population in basic health skills – so each of the communities dotted around the area can have help close at hand.

The region now enjoys a total of 40 health promoters, who attend courses every second Saturday, run by qualified nurses and a doctor.

Vital skills

They are learning a wide range of vital skills, such as natural medicines, basic cooking and nutrition. All the promoters are volunteers, and most are women as they look after the children during the day while the men are working.

Some walk for hours to get to their training workshops, and often spend a night in the parish house.

Teresa says: “We find the most economic way of feeding them. One meal for the whole group costs about 800 Quetzales (just over £50). They bring lots of children. We have a volunteer who looks after them while we’re giving the talks.”

Outside of the training workshops, each health promoter also has a small plot of land. The Parish health team teaches them to sow crops better, control pests and work without chemical fertilisers.

They also receive training about how to make natural medicines from the crops. This means they can feed their own families and even have some left over to sell.

Thanks to such support, the volunteer promoters are able to spread their new-found knowledge to other women in their communities.

Teresa says: “I’d like to thank CAFOD supporters for being interested in us. With their help we can overcome many problems and improve our standard of living.”