Caring for the Caretakers in Guatemala

Mama and toddler: hopeful and hungry

 She looked like she hadn't eaten anything substantially nutritious in days, if not longer. She had stood in our clinic line in 98 degree heat for hours so that her son could be evaluated for donated cleft surgery and trying to make eye contact with her was unsuccessful. This hot, hungry and exhausted mama had retreated inward, to a place where the noise and chaos of our COTA medical clinic and the emotional distress of two little ones couldn't penetrate. She was, as we say, "over it."

The three month old

This mama was one of over 1,400 women that we saw in January on our medical team. They all came with histories of hardship and of lacking; with hope that they or their child would be on the Children of the Americas donated surgical list, or treated for a rotten tooth, medical malady or prosthetic need. 
Children of the Americas volunteers leave these annual medial teams humbled and awed by the caretakers of Guatemala. The women who go without basic needs but still find the ability to give of themselves, day after day... after day. They inspire us with their patience and humility in the face of a lifestyle that allows little in the way of self care, and nothing of luxury.

Hundreds of women in clinic line

Our COTA volunteers can only offer our talents and compassion- a physical healing that we hope brings emotional relief; caring for the Guatemala caretaker so that she is free of at least one concern. 
After the toddler (above) received his donated cleft surgery, his mother walked to the local bus stop. Her son was on her back, the baby in her arms and her waistline seemed even smaller than the day before. 
Professional fundraisers encourage COTA to promote our cost-basis donations. A cleft lip repair in the United States would cost this mama at least $6,000. For an indigenous mother in rural Guatemala, $6,000 is a sum that is beyond imagination. In reality, there is no figure that can be placed on the value of relieving Maria of the concern for her son's health. That relief is priceless.

Our COTA Cleft team