COTA + Caring = Diplomacy

The history of political strife in Guatemala is complex, and the ramifications remain embedded in the daily lives of most of the citizens of this beautiful country. As a medical relief organization, it is not our place to get involved in the  government or justice system of this tiny Central American country we love. COTA volunteers have a passion for justice of a different kind: the right to be treated respectfully as a human being, and to have basic daily needs met.

We would like to think that when a father meets us at the Guatemalan airport to receive his baby back following donated surgery in the United States,

Greeting his baby after a visit to the U.S. for donated cleft surgery

or a child gets a free consult from an American pediatric specialist who is traveling with our medical team, COTA volunteers are creating our own form of international diplomacy. Person-to-person, hand-to-heart, one patient at a time. 
When the patients we see in Guatemala observe our caring and competent volunteers offering free medical, dental, orthotics and surgical care, they feel the concern we have for those we help. 

Dr. David Hennessy, assisting Guatemalan pediatric patient

Our Executive Director, Rosemary 
Vance, meets with the embassy staff every year to continue fostering the excellent reputation we have in Guatemala. The hospital directors who host our teams are the beneficiaries of our donated medical equipment and supplies, so they have resources available to continue good medical care after we leave. Local vendors benefit from our 100+ volunteers who visit the towns in Guatemala where we work on our annual teams. Nurses teach us how bedside care is done in Guatemala, which offers our COTA nurses valuable insight into culturally appropriate medical care delivery. 
Diplomacy is not in our mission statement, but as with all good nonprofit organizations, it is sometimes the unintended benefits that are the most long-lasting and meaningful. 

Dr. Carol Cottrill, COTA Board President, with Guatemalan nurses