Shadowing in a rural community, Santa Rita

This morning, Rachel (another student in the Somos Hermanos group) and I visited the health center in Santa Rita, a small, rural community located about 30 minutes by bus from Xela. The people of this community were very warm, and we learned so much. I may go back there again depending on my other opportunities for shadowing.

We visited a small "Puesto de Salud" where they have medicines for the community and the doctor, Jose Manuel, comes in to do consults every Tuesday morning. He also works the rest of the week in another community, called Esperanza. There, he works in the public clinic in the morning and his private clinic in the afternoons.

Rachel and I both got the opportunity to sit in on some of his consults. Jose was so wonderful, because after each consult, he sat with us individually for a bit to answer our questions. The first consult I observed was with a women and her five year old son. The son had a flu and the women had inflammation in her stomach/intestines. I learned a lot of useful vocabulary simply by listening. It was also interesting hearing the doctor´s advice to the woman - she needed to avoid acidic foods like coffee, beans, and acidic fruits and focus more on oatmeal (a common breakfast here in Guatemala nicknamed ¨mosh.¨) For me, hearing simple advice like this is so informative, because lifestyle has profound effects on health, and the diet of a Latino is very different from other diets around the world. By living here I am learning a lot about the culture and lifestyle of Guatemalans and other Latinos.

The second consult I observed was with a 34 year old woman with similar stomach problems. However, the origin of her sickness was more serious. Half way through the consult, she started to cry, talking about the abuse she suffered from her father as a child. The doctor was very patient, listening to her, and confirming her thoughts that the trauma she still suffers in her mind may be related to her painful stomach problems. After the consult, Jose Manuel talked with me privately about how, unfortunately, problems with abuse (especially of women) are common in Guatemala, and often, it´s a big part of health problems for the people here.

Throughout the morning, Rachel and I also talked with the health promoter , named Sarinda,(she´s the one who manages the health center all week) along with her two daughters. Later in the morning, we went to visit the school down the road to watch the kids celebrate "Carnival" (the beginning of Lent) with a costume contest and confetti-filled eggs. The whole morning was a wonderful experience, and I´m glad I got the chance to visit this little community.