The therapy program has regained all of the momentum lost during the pandemic. New children are arriving to the centers in San Miguel Ixtahuacan and San Jose Ojetenam every week. We continue to support the therapy center of Padre Angel Esposito in Tacana, and his hospital de Los Angelitos. Your support has made it possible to hire a new therapist, Emily Gabriel, who is a native Mam speaker from Comitancillo, a purely indigenous, poor and isolated municipality that borders San Miguel. Emily’s father died when she was 7, and her family has struggled financially, but through great sacrifice and dedication she has attained a five year degree in physical therapy, and will soon begin her thesis. As of now, Emily is working in San Miguel, but at some point she would begin a program in her home town, with the support of MHI.
The center in San Miguel, Bitol has 4 physical therapists with advanced degrees who speak Mam. As such, the center is San Miguel has become a site where universities are sending their students to receive clinical training. MHI supports them with housing and subsidize their meals. They in turn allow us to accept more patients.
In May the therapy center in San Jose Ojotenam, changed location, and moved out of the parroquial building to a larger space in the downtown center. The center there is name “Juan Pablo II” in honor of the late pope. The space allows us to continue offering physical, speech, occupational and special education.
Another exciting news for our therapy program is the addition of a therapy dog, a brown lab called Akira. She works in the center Bitol in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, and brings lots of joy to the families, particularly the little ones that attend the center.
MHI continues to support the medical needs of the children that attend our therapy program and work with the pediatric heart center in the capital, and the Moore center for specialized orthopedic surgical care services.