Wednesday, January 31, 2007


AP Runs Story About Panabaj
The AP ran a story yesterday about the efforts to find the remains of those buried during the mudslides. Thanks to Jimmy Byun from Penn for the heads up!
Below are the first couple paragraphs and a link to the entire heart wrenching story.
PANABAJ, Guatemala (AP) -- Many were buried while they slept, covered when a mountainside gave way under heavy rain. Guatemala's president told their families the bodies would never be recovered.

But within the last two months, nearly 100 victims of a 2005 landslide from hurricane rains have been unearthed, and Jose Suasnavar, deputy director of the independent Forensic Anthropology Foundation, said he believes at least 50 more will be uncovered by the end of March.
The whole story can be found here.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007


A LIBRARY!!!
January 30th, was the grand opening of a new children’s library in Santiago Atitlán, the first of its kind. Thanks to the hardwork of retired school teacher Karen Hedrick of La Jolla, CA, Amanda Flayer de Chif, and Rebecca the new librarian, the teachers and children of Atitlán now have a new place to enjoy. Special thanks also to the volunteers of Christian Campus House of Springfield, MO who built the new shelving.


Last week, Connie Vanderhayden (center) brought 7 energetic students from the Madison area Wisconsin Sanctuary Alliance to Hospitalito Atitlán ready to work. Dra. Leah asked for help in sanitizing the operating room. It took several to remove the OR table, then the walls were scrubbed and everything was disinfected. When this work was done, they moved on to clean the Emergency Room and Labor and Delivery. Thank you all! You do great work in Wisconsin and Guatemala!

On January 4th, Hospitalito Atitlán welcomed the newest member of the family of Dr. David and Kris Collins. David and Kris loaded the car with their five children, and a friend, and arrived in Santiago Atitlán in midDecember, hoping not to have the baby in Mexico along the way. Elena Claire Collins is being held by her big sister. She makes it an even 3 boys and 3 girls for David and Kris. David volunteered for two months in 2006 and we were delighted to have them all return (see June 2006 newsletter). They now have an Aitlaneca in the family. ¡FELICITACIONES!

Thursday, January 25, 2007

The past weekend, Hospitalito Atitlán broke two records…. There were FIVE babies born on Sunday, and 13 inpatients Saturday night!

Both remarkable considering our temporary location has two double patient rooms and two beds for birthing. Dr. Juan Manuel Chuc, the new medical director, has his hands full in the new location and also serves on the construction commission for the new Hospitalito Atitlán.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007




















Long Term Hospitalito Atitlán Volunteer Positions Urgently Need to be Filled / Plazas para Voluntariado Medico a Largo Plazo en el Hospitalito Atitlán de Necesidad Urgente

Dear Friends,


The following is an announcement of two volunteer medical positions we urgently need filled. Thank you as ever for your help,...

Queridos amigos,

Lo siguiente es un anuncio de dos plazas de voluntariado medico a largo plazo que urgentemente necesitamos llenar. Muchas gracias, como siempre, por su ayuda,

-Violeta Luz Foregger Velasquez,

volunteer coordinator/coordinadora de voluntarios Hospitalito Atitlán

*******************************************

Hospitalito Atitlán would like to announce the following long term medical volunteer positions we urgently need to fill:

* Family Practice Physician

* Emergency Medicine Physician

For a minimum of 6 months.

For these two positions we offer:

A stipend of Q2,500 (about $333) a month Airfare to Guatemala
Interested persons should send an email with their resume to volunteer@puebloapueblo.com
brpage@yahoo.com (Dr. Bernadette Page, Medical Volunteer Coordinator) and jmcha7@yahoo.com (Dr. Juan Manuel Chuc, Director)

********************************************************************8


El Hospitalito Atitlán anuncia las siguientes plazas para voluntariado medico a largo plazo que urgentemente necesitamos llenar:


* Médico Familiar

* Médico de Urgencias

Por un minimo de 6 meses.

Para estos dos plazas ofrecemos:

Un estipendio de Q2500 (alrededor de $333) mensuales

Pasaje aereo a Guatemala

Personas interesadas deben mandar un correo electronico con el curriculum vitae a volunteer@puebloapueblo.org, brpage@yahoo.com (Dra. Bernadette Page, Coordinadora de Voluntarios Médicos) y jmcha7@yahoo.com (Dr.
Juan Manuel Chuc, Directór)

Monday, January 08, 2007

Solar Energy Conference to Benefit Hospitalito
(click image above to read flyer)
This Saturday, January 13, there is a solar energy conference at the Hotel Posada de Santiago, and the ticket price will go to the Hospitalito Atitlán. If you're in town, the tickets are 400Q. For more information check out the flyer above by clicking on it for a larger, readable image.
The co-presenter, local electrician Herny Mendoza, installed eight 115W Evergreen Solar panels on the roof of the temporary Hospitalito Atitlán, which can be moved to the new permanent facility when it's done. The solar panels are extremely cost effective, in addition to being a very healthy energy source. For more info check out this earlier post by clicking --> here.

Friday, January 05, 2007


This Christmas Don Matt and Judith Griffith of Eureka Springs decided to do something different. Instead of exchanging gifts, they decided to makea donation to Hospitalito Atitlán. They contacted their friend Lyn Dickey to ask what was needed, and before the end of the year this new digitalbaby scale arrived. The doctors at Hospitalito Atitlán had requested the scale because of the necessity for accuracy when weighing a malnourished baby. This healthy baby boy was born on January 5th . Merry Christmas, Hospitalito!