During a health workshop in our Guatemalan project site in March of 2008, Curamericas Global Volunteers met a local Mayan woman who lost four children in childbirth simply because they were in the wrong position. She, herself, was lucky to be alive. This courageous woman, wrapped in colorful indigenous clothing, was excited, and relieved, to tell us that her fifth child was finally born head-first, healthy and safe.

Her story is not uncommon in an area where almost all births take place in the home, attended only by traditional midwives, and the nearest hospital is over five hours away.

Our Guatemalan Program Director, Dr. Mario Valdez, explains that most families can't afford to go to the hospital for labor complications, even if they can find a means of transportation.

Dr. Mario once told volunteers, "Our goal is to go a whole year without losing one mother in childbirth."

Thanks to our Curamericas Global Volunteers and the community of Calhuitz, local mothers now have a safe place to go for birthing and pre-natal care.

Teams of Curamericas Global Volunteers have been traveling to Guatemala for the past two years to build the Center in the small Mayan village of Calhuitz in partnership with the local community. Students from Emory University launched the project in 2007, and more volunteers returned during the January 2008 Service-Learning Trip to work on the second building. The monetary donation provided by our March 2008 Health Education Volunteers helped to aid more progress by local workers, and, later that year, high school students from the July 2008 FUMC-Cary Youth Mission Team built a retaining wall to protect the Center from flood damage and provided funds to complete construction.

The Center was first used as headquarters for the Calhuitz Health Committee and the local Curamericas-Guatemala health team. (Members of the health team live in Calhuitz during the week and travel home to see their families in the city on the weekends.)

However, during the January 2009 Elon University Service-Learning Program, students started the next phase of the project by laying the foundation for a community training center beside the Maternity Center. The first floor of the structure was completed during our March 2009 Volunteer Trip, and, with this new facility available for use by the health committee and team, the Calhuitz Maternity Center is now ready to function as a center for childbirth, pre-natal care, and women's health.

In keeping with Curamericas Global's community-based, culturally-sensitive approach to health care, our local team is working with the traditional birth attendants (called comadronas) throughout the area to spread the word about the Center and to encourage mothers to utilize the facility. The comadronas will attend the births at the Center under the supervision of a medical professional, and both mothers and comadronas will have access to education and support.

Our Guatemalan team was excited to report that the Center received its first woman in labor in May. On behalf of his team and the community, Dr. Mario wishes to thank all of the hardworking volunteers and generous donors who helped to bring this project to fruition.

Next, our Guatemala team and volunteers will be focusing on the construction of a much-needed hospital and on the acquisition of an ambulance to transport patients to the city hospital when emergency C-sections are needed.