Battle of Poverty

Slightly smaller than the state of Tennessee, Guatemala is a land of volcanic mountains and stunning ocean views.

It is the extreme poverty and desperate needs, however, that drew a team of volunteers from the Carlisle Brethren in Christ Church to the Central American country for a week-long summer missions trip.

The 22-member team will take turns operating a traveling medical clinic in mountainous areas of the country and staffing construction projects in local villages, says Danielle Oakes, a nurse practitioner from Carlisle, who will be heading up the medical end of the trip.

“There is only one doctor for every 1,000 people in Guatemala” so care is hard to come by, Oakes explained. Additionally, education is not free and most Guatemalans only receive schooling equivalent to attending the fifth grade.

The combination of poverty and lack of care and education can create a great need, Oakes says.

“We anticipate seeing about 150 to 200 people each day and treating a lot of emergency room-type problems.” Women and children are often the most neglected, Oakes adds.

Personal connection

This is not Oakes’ first trip to Guatemala, though it is the first time she will be doing mission work there. In the past few years the Carlisle resident has adopted two Guatemalan children.

“The country is obviously already special to my family’s heart,” she said. “I appreciate how warm the people are and how they value family.”

Oakes says even though they are young, her children are starting to understand the work she is doing on this trip.

“The kids are watching us gather supplies and things for the trip. It is neat to see this idea instilled in them that even though the world is big, we are all part of a global community, “ she says. “And I’m excited to give back to a community that feels more like my extended family.”

Construction work

When team members aren’t working at the medical clinic, they will have the chance to do construction work in villages. Funds are being raised to build an addition onto a local school. The team also hopes to build some houses.

“A lot of the homes are 20-foot-by-20-foot rooms made out of whatever the people could find, with five to eight people living there,” Oakes says.

Dirt floors and open fire pits in the center of the room can create problems for the people living there. The team also hopes to address this by building stoves that vent smoke to the outside as part of their service.

“There are so many things that we take for granted here that they can’t get,” Oakes explains, “whether it be access to aspirin or better living standards.”

“We can’t change their environment and living conditions entirely, but we are making an impact on their lives. I think they will also make an impact on ours.”