Timmy Global Health

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Asociación Pop-Wuj

Asociación Pop-Wuj is a collectively owned non-profit Spanish language school that promotes community care through a versatile collection of programs. Founded in 1992 as a Spanish-language school, Pop-Wuj took an innovative approach to language education by pairing instruction with immersion service opportunities that meet the needs of impoverished rural communities near Quetzaltenango. Today, Pop Wuj is a self-described “social program with language instruction.” Their current projects include a daycare center, “safe stove” building projects, reforestation and ecological education, a student scholarship program, and most recently a health program. The health program incorporates a full time primary care medical clinic based out of Pop Wuj in Quetzaltenango, mobile medical teams that travel to rural villages, and public health education projects.

For more information about Pop-Wuj, please visit their website.

Timmy’s medical brigades complement the mobile teams that Pop Wuj sends on a regular basis to impoverished, rural villages near Quetzaltenango. Working with Pop Wuj, Timmy has adopted four rural communities to which it provides basic primary care services on each medical brigade, roughly every  two-to-three months. These communities include: Buena Vista, Xeabaj, Chiriquiac and Pujijil.

Patients in need of care beyond the capacity of the medical brigades are referred to Pop Wuj’s social service worker, who then assists the patient in finding a local health institution from which to seek more comprehensive care. Timmy subsidizes the costs referred patients incur.

Timmy also sends its high school volunteers to Guatemala to assist Pop Wuj’s “safe stove” building projects. Smoke inhalation from the use of indoor, open-flame stoves is the second leading cause of death among children and one of the largest public health concerns among adults in Guatemala. Alongside our partner, Pop Wuj, Timmy sends high school volunteers to support the construction of safe stoves in its adopted communities in Guatemala.

Upgrade of the Pop Wuj Medical Clinic

In late April of 2010, Asociación Pop Wuj, Timmy’s partner in Guatemala, renovated its downstairs clinic space with a $500 grant from Timmy Global Health. Formerly a large open space, the clinic now boasts two private consultation rooms, a private room for dental examinations, and an enclosed, secure pharmacy. The renovation, carried out by Pop Wuj students, will greatly enhance the clinic’s efficiency, allow for more patients to be seen, and provide patients with much needed privacy.

Pop Wuj’s downstairs clinic space has been used on an ad-hoc basis for the past two years, largely due to difficulties paying rent for the space. In January of 2010, Timmy Global Health provided Pop Wuj with a $2,000 grant to stabilize and secure the downstairs space for the coming year. With the renovations, Pop Wuj plans to have regular Tuesday and Friday clinics.

Beyond the Medical Clinic: Malnutrition Programming

In Guatemala, where malnutrition rates are the highest in the Western Hemisphere, Timmy is complementing its primary care clinics and institutional support of Pop-Wuj with behind the scenes malnutrition programming. The malnutrition programming has placed a focus on Timmy’s pediatric patients, particularly under the age of five, who currently suffer from or are at risk of malnutrition.  To identify these patients, brigade volunteers accurately measure the height and weight of all the children and compare each patient’s measurements to the growth charts used to classify each child’s nutritional status. Once the children that suffer from or are at risk of chronic malnutrition or stunting are identified in Timmy’s partner communities, three methods are being implemented to address the children’s needs.

The first method involves using existing government programs and resources in Guatemala to provide nutrition programs and referrals for these pediatric patients. The second method involves patient education, particularly with regard to choosing nutritional foods that are readily available and accessible in the communities to address the issues of stunting, underweight, iron deficiency, and calcium deficiency that affect the children.  Working with a Boston University student (and former Timmy volunteer) who was completing her Master’s thesis, Timmy’s on the ground Medical Director helped develop pictorial nutritional guides that are cultural appropriate and easy to understand.  The third method involves providing nutritional supplements, specifically PlumpyNut and Nutributter to be able to address severe wasting and chronic malnutrition in both an immediate and long-term manner.  Patients identified by Timmy receive a combination of services, depending on specific conditions.

Timmy’s malnutrition programming is a prime example of how short term brigades and volunteer teams are integrated with long term health development programming to improve health outcomes.  Addressing chronic malnutrition is an essential component to improving overall health outcomes in target communities.