Nestled between the Guatemalan Highlands and the Pacific beaches, the city of Solola, Guatemala, lies along an ancient Mayan trade route.
Each Friday, traders come from all over and pack the central plaza with vending stalls that contain everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to homemade tortillas and brightly colored woven textiles for sale. Many of the merchants and residents still wear traditional Mayan clothing, even in 2014.
As picturesque as the scene is, it’s also a stark reminder of the extreme poverty in Guatemala, which ranks 131 out of 187 on the United Nations Development Program’s 2011 Human Development Index.
To help the people of Solola, and give back with their own set of specialized skills, a group of Chattanooga volunteers will visit the city this spring to provide medical assistance to those in need.
“We had the first one last year to Guatemala and it was a very successful medical mission,” said Miriam Lemon, organizer of the trip. “All of the volunteers said they want to go back.”
Lemon, who is from Guatemala and works at East Brainerd internist Dr. Pablo Perez’ office, said she originally started organizing medical mission trips in 2009 for Perez and some of his staff. Since then, the trips have expanded and she helped start a nonprofit called Love in Action Mission to facilitate the trips. The missions aren’t tied to any religious affiliation and both medical and non-medical volunteers are encouraged to participate. Specifically, Lemon said she’s hoping to recruit more specialty doctors who can perform surgery during the trip.
“We’re hoping that this mission is going to have a lot more people than last year,” Lemon said, explaining that she’d love to see as many as 30 people make the trip May 16-25.
While in Solola, the group will partner with a local nonprofit hospital to do operations, offer dentistry services and meet other medical needs of people in the area. Last year, volunteers helped as many as 600 patients and Lemon said she’d love to double that number.
Northwest Dentistry’s Dr. Anthony Henry has donated three dental chairs to the mission, that will be shipped ahead of time and ready to use when volunteers arrive.
“It is always an amazing opportunity,” said Lemon. “Every single volunteer who has gone said it was an amazing experience because the conditions are completely different in a Third World country. People always come back with a different appreciation for what this country has.”
For more information about participating in the medical mission, contact email Lemon at mvlemon@gmail.com.