Work Report

After having a skype date the other day with my family, I realized that I haven't updated on my job lately. It been a work in progress and is slowly growing and I am taking on more. One of the objectives of my program, Health Homes, is to create health promoter groups. These are groups of individuals that have a desire to work in preventative health in their communities. PC volunteers giving training to these groups of individuals in order to help prepare them for their jobs. I am currently working with my five groups from two different communities. I started the training for health promoters at the beginning of January and will be meeting with them twice a month for 6 months. I will be giving talks on different sicknessess and other means of prevention. Here is a list of the topics that I plan to give talks on:

• Basic Hygiene and Dental Hygiene
• Parasites and Diarrhea
  
• HIV/AIDS and STD's
• Respiratory Infections
• Use of Water (Methods of purification and the importance of it)
• Trash and the Environment
• Domestic Violence
• First Response and Committee of Emergency (importance of having plan and who will be a part of it)
• Vaccinations
• Medicinal Plants (Natural Medicines)
• Family Planning

My groups consist mostly of women in the community. A few men have showed up but none of them have been very consistent in their attendance. I have about 10-15 people in each one of my groups, we started bigger but people have since left when they don't get a handout right away. It's been a challenge to get past that thought process, that they are just going to get by in life without having to do much but just take the handouts that come from the US or European countries. Those that have stuck with me in my groups really seem to have a desire to learn although I am sure there are some that are still around, waiting for the projects to come (not sure if I am going to do projects yet. I want to make sure the people that receive them will be dedicated the taking on healthy habits and maintaining their project. I don't want to give out projects only to find that they don't want to come to health talks and have no desire to change) but I think that most of them have a genuine desire to learn about preventative health and how they can help better the health status of their community.

Most of the women in my groups don't speak much Spanish, but Quiche (the Mayan language of my area) so this requires me to bring someone along who can translate for me. Almost all of the staff in the health center speak both Quiche and Spanish so I am well equipped there. There are three educators that work in the health center and one of them usually goes out to the communities with me. This helps in making my work sustainable as I have an excuse for someone.

More details to come :)