[Aztlan] Vollunteer Opportunity: Building Hurricane Shelters and Medical Clinics

[David Hixson]

Estimados Listeros,

For those wishing to contribute their time and labor
to a Maya village, building a hurricane shelter, or
providing translation, medical, dental or other
health-related services, may I suggest the following
non-governmental relief organization:

Intercambio Cultural Maya
http://www.prairienet.org/maya/

As a participant, you would spend your winter vacation
(immediately after Christmas) in a Maya village in
Quintana Roo, living with a host family in their home
for 1 to 2 weeks.

During the work day, you would provide whatever
services you feel you can offer to the project (from
"grunt" labor building a hurricane shelter [no
experience needed, but you must be relatively fit to
move concrete blocks and hand-mix cement], to
translator [Spanish, English and/or Maya], doctor,
nurse, dentist, dental technician, or pharmacist in
the FREE clinic provided by the organization for one
week.

The construction project is always selected by the
ejido government of the village.  For the winter 2007
project, the elders of San Pedro, Q. Roo, have decided
they need a hurricane shelter (which will also serve
as a general multi-purpose building for the
community).

However, you may have more specialized medical,
dental, or translation skills.  Intercambio offers a
free medical/dental/eyeglass clinic for everyone in
the immediate region.

While one week of medical/dental treatment may sound
like a modest effort, medical specialists have shown
that treating everyone in a village in a short period
will quickly break cycles of illness (such as
parasites or viruses), and the pharmacy also includes
free supplies of over-the-counter medicines that the
Maya cannot afford at their nearest pharmacies
(vitamins, analgesics, etc.).

Meanwhile, the dental clinic will perform fillings,
extractions, etc. that are not available locally
(again, for free).

Finally, the project also accepts donated eyeglasses,
which are arranged on a series of tables by
prescription.  Maya villagers can come in and try on
various pairs of glasses, with an eye chart, and are
asked "better or worse" until a proper prescription
can be found.

But if you don't speak Spanish (or Maya) and are not a
health educator or health practitioner, you can still
participate building a hurricane shelter for a Maya
community.  You'd be amazed at the structures that can
be built in a week or two (working on a multicultural
team of Maya, Mexican and U.S. volunteers).

PLEASE NOTE:  The winter trip (called "Intercambio
Cultural Maya") is NOT a religious project.  They are
sponsored in-part by various churches (including the
Presbyterian church), but it is absolutely forbidden
on this project to proselytize or otherwise preach any
brand of Christianity.  You are there to learn from
the Maya, and help their community.  Not to "teach" or
"preach".  If I may put it this way -- I volunteered
with this project over many years, and it was always
composed of volunteers from MANY religions (as well as
those who do not believe in organized religion).  All
are welcome, so long as no one preaches or
proselytizes to the community.

If you have any questions, please contact me directly.

Again, for more info, see:

http://www.prairienet.org/maya/

-Dave


       
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