For over 35 years, Proyecto Aldea Global (PAG) implements a comprehensive community health program to strengthen access to primary health services, health education, disease prevention, and medicines to the rural population residing in remote and neglected communities in western and central Honduras.
Through different activities and strategies, our community health programs are having a positive and lasting impact in the lives of many Honduran families. We invite you to read the following short stories of some of these families!
“I am Yarleni Licona the administrator of the community owned pharmacy in Ceibita. I am happy to carry out this volunteer work to serve my community by caring for people with basic health services and medicines.
It’s an effort that I’m making with great dedication since many responsibilities and challenges are assumed in managing a pharmacy from the transportation of medications from the warehouse to my community for example.
For three consecutive years I have been managing the community owned pharmacy to give guidance to sick people. I receive ongoing training in diagnosing and treating common diseases. We as a community are grateful that PAG established a community owned pharmacy in our community. I also thank God and my community for choosing me as the administrator. It is not an easy job, one has to attend training events, study, and have an attitude to serve others. I started this community owned pharmacy by investing L3,000 ($125) in medicines and supplies and after three years I have approximately L8,000 ($333) from the small percentage of profit I obtain from the sale of medicines and supplies. I will continue to manage this pharmacy as long as God permits it.”
Community owned pharmacies: A total of 444 community owned pharmacies spread across different municipalities and counties are run by local community leaders who receive thorough, ongoing training in diagnosing and treating common diseases, the proper use and dosage of medicines, and the skills and knowledge necessary to properly manage a pharmacy.
Pharmacies are located at the community leader's house to benefit 4 to 5 nearby communities with access to medicines and basic health services.
Every year, an estimated population of 162,000 people are serviced through these pharmacies.
My name is Maria Catalina Tabora Membreño from the community of Quebrachal in Minas de Oro municipality of Comayagua County. This is a remote community where people rarely travel to the urban city unless for emergencies. We know having good health is important but as a poor community with limited economic opportunities we must wait for help to come our way.
A medical brigade came to our community offering cervical cancer screening examinations where I attended. I had been feeling all kinds of weaknesses, but I never imagined It was an illness. I was diagnosed with grade I cervical cancer. Our reality is that in order to treat an illness or to improve our health we must travel to a hospital in the urban area, which is not easy for many of us because of limited income and distance. When I was examined by PAG, I was offered a free examination, counseling and education was also provided in a language I could understand since I never finished primary school. They referred me to a hospital to get treated and supported me with money to pay for transportation to the city. I am recovering after having gone through a procedure to remove the cancer. They have provided me with creams and other medicines I require. I have been blessed! Today I am feeling much better, with more strength and the yearly cervical examinations are coming out with no more abnormal cells. Thank you to everyone who is a part of this program that helps low-income people like me have access to health services and treatment.
Women's Comprehensive Health: In developing countries like Honduras, rural families have limited access to health information, health services, and disease prevention education. Sexually transmitted infections and cervical cancers are often detected at advanced stages. PAG carries out community medical brigades to provide rural women with direct access to PAP smears (cervical examination) for the early detection and on-time treatment of sexually transmitted infections and cervical cancer.
Women receive education related to sexual and reproductive health prior to a cervical examination and what this examination entails for those women who have never had a PAP smear done before.
In the past eight years, over 15,000 rural women have been examined and treated through PAG's medical brigades in western and central Honduras.
After the initial cervical examination, women receive the results within 2 or 3 weeks, followed by individual counseling and treatment with medicines for infections, and referrals to a higher level of care when cancer is suspected.
Glenda Vásquez is a 24-year-old mother of two boys who lives with her children and husband in the community of Los Llanos in San Jose de Comayagua municipality. She shares the following words about the help she received during one of the monthly AIN-C meetings she attended with her son:
I am a mother of two children and although I only have two boys my life is not easy because of the economic difficulties we face continually. We live off my husband's wages who sometimes finds work as a farmer.
We have learned to take care of our children and to use herbs and leafy vegetables to prepare nutritious food for our children. Things I learn at the monthly AIN-C meetings where I take my children to be evaluated every month. The younger one got sick not too long ago with diarrhea which lasted several days. Thankfully, at one of these meetings, I had received a small health kit which included medicines to treat diarrhea in children. In addition, the health volunteer educated us on measures to prevent diarrhea; we were also provided with a bottle of children’s vitamins. Since then, my boy has shown significant improvement in his appetite, his mood, and the diarrhea has stopped. Thanks to God for sending help when we needed it and thank you to the health volunteers for teaching us how to care for our children. These medicines and vitamins were sent by God!
Children's Health: Childhood malnutrition continues to be one of the problems that most affect children under 2 years of age, particularly those who live in rural and remote communities where families have no or little formal education including general health education about basic hygiene practices, nutritional education, and the prevention of diseases and limited access to food and its availability.
PAG with the support of trained community health volunteers, carry out monthly community sessions to weigh and evaluate children's nutrition and growth in order to treat acute malnutrition in time. An essential component of this activity involves educating mothers on how to care for their newborn, including nutrition and hygiene practices, the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of the newborn, and complementary feeding.
The AIN-C (Comprehensive Child Care in the Community) activities are carried out in western and central Honduras where approximately 737 children under 2 years of age are evaluated each month. Mothers with underweight children receive individual counseling, education on how to improve their child's nutrition and weight, and follow-up home visits to continue to monitor the child's health until appropriate weight is reached for their age.
Additionally, mothers are taught to prepare nutritious recipes using locally available vegetables and products to enhance their children's nutrition, for example adding beets or green leafy vegetables to a commonly eaten food such as corn tortillas.
Friends, we hope you are encouraged by these short testimonies of families whose physical, mental, and social well-being are improving because of access to basic health services within walking distance from their homes. Ongoing comprehensive health support continues to be a priority to alleviate the adversity experienced by low-income families in vulnerable situations. Become a part of this lifesaving and life-changing program!
Thank you, and may God bless you richly!
Blessings,
Chester Thomas
PAG - Executive Director
