Pueblo a Pueblo, Inc. and the George Washington University Latin America and Hemispheric Studies Program Present the first stop of the October speaking tour
Tragedy and Road to Recovery in Panabaj, Guatemala: The Story of the Hospitalito
With
Dr. Irene Quiejú
on
Tuesday, October 3
6:00 - 7:30pm
The Lindner Family Commons
1957 E Street, N.W., Room 602
No RSVP Required, event is free and open to the public
October marks the anniversary of Hurricane Stan and the mudslides that buried the Guatemalan village of Panabaj. The Hospitalito Atitlán is currently the subject of a Harvard study examining how a rural Guatemalan facility in an impoverished indigenous community could reopen in just 15 days after being hit by a tragedy a powerful as the mudslide. The Hospitalito is now located in a temporary facility, but is in the process of building a new permanent structure. Dr. Irene Quiejú will deliver a short presentation about her experiences as the Medical Director of the Hospitalito Atitlan. Dr. Quiejú will also discuss her experiences during Guatemala’s bloody civil war and how she realized her dream of becoming one of the first T’zutujil Maya physicians in Guatemala. Dr. Quieju’s presentation will a short film shot by a British videographer during the mudslides. We will wrap up the presentation with a Q and A session for Dr. Quiejú to respond to specific audience interests such as war, women’s issues, education and her rural Maya highland background.
Doctora Irene Quiejú is the Medical Director of the Hospitalito Atitlán, which is now open in a temporary facility—a backpacker’s hotel that was converted during the immediate aftermath of the mudslide that devastated Santiago Atitlan. She was born in the T’zutujil Mayan capital, Santiago Atitlán, on the southern shore of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan Highlands. Her parents had 12 children, but only six survived infancy. She is the first female T’zutujil Mayan physician from this town of over 40,000 people.
For more information contact: joelinwood@puebloapueblo.org
