| By Dave McClure The peaceful hour-long ride to Panimatzalam, the first of I Care International’s two clinic sites in Guatemala this year, told us a lot about the village we had never before served. From our hotel in San Lucas Toliman, on the shore of Lake Atitlan, it was way up the mountain in the neighboring Solola district. As we made the steep and winding climb, our caravan of three small buses passed through smaller and smaller villages: Aguas Escondido, Godinez, Las Conoas. Along the way we drove by the very full local landfill. In contrast, the views below of Lake Atitlan were spectacular. Read Full Newsletter Here! But most striking to us were the steep fields of corn, fava beans, mangoes, and avocado trees. Those fields could not be farmed with tractors and conventional farm implements. As evidence, field workers with heavy hoes walked along the road to begin their day of manual labor tending the fields with hand tools. Word has it that in some fields the campesinos tie themselves to trees with rope to cultivate and harvest the most dangerous inclines. We didn’t see that, but most of the corn had been harvested, the stalks left standing, indicating the ears were shucked by hand and carried out on the backs of campesinos. When we turned off the main road into Panimatzalam, we climbed even higher. It felt as if we were on the very top of the volcano. The town was small. I can’t find a population count, but a tour guide with a commercial web site estimates 150 to 200 families live in the village. It is described as a Kaqchikel community that few outsiders visit. Kaqchikel refers to the shared pre-Columbian language spoken in Panimatzalam, one of 21 pre-Columbian languages still in existence in Guatemala that were spoken before the conquistador’s introduction of Spanish in the 1500’s. I Care International gained entry to this community by receiving an invitation from local leaders. We can’t do this work without such contacts. Over the years we have partnered with national, state, and local governments, health departments, Rotary clubs, hospitals and clinics. I may have left some partners out. But our community partner in Panimatzalam was new; a committee representing the Mayan Ancestral Authority of the Solola region, pictured on page 2, with their leader Tata Domingo Quino. Only through connections such as these can I Care International accomplish our mission of serving those in greatest need of vision care. |
2025 Clinic to Guatemala – Wrap Up
