Village Health Workers

Guatemala Village Health Workers. (GHM Project #20-D6015) Training village health workers to provide health education and local disease prevention assessments as part of the ministry of ILAG, the Lutheran Church in Guatemala, with its village congregations.  Goal: $2,500.

Village health worker training programs are being conducted at least once each year by the Saint Paul Area Synod’s (ELCA) Health Task Force with representatives of eight village congregations of their companion church, the Iglesia Luterana Agustina de Guatemala (ILAG). Based on the results of  surveys of church communities to identify health issues and care needs, the training seeks “to strengthen the capacity of local health promoters to provide care and services to their communities, and to lessen the burden of illness.” according to task force chairperson, Katherine Baumgartner, a faculty member of the Augsburg College Graduate School of Nursing.  “For the seventeen small faith communities of ILAG,” Baumgartner said, “most are rural with little of no health care services within hours of their village.”

     Village Health Workers at Training Session

The training included two days on reproductive health, and one day on nutrition and teaching skills. Earlier training included subjects such as public health concepts, primary prevention, treatment of infections and parasites, malaria prevention, and medicinal plants of Guatemala. Each participant completed the training by developing and presenting an educational program they would bring back to their village. Those completing the course received a first aid kit specially designed by the SPAS team and supplied by GHM for this training. Trainers accompanied the health promoters after the training to their villages to encourage and assess their application of new skills learned.

      Katherine Baumgartner (center), professor  at
 Augsburg College Graduate School of Nursing,
         with two health worker students

GHM is accustomed to shipping sea containers of medical supplies and equipment to mission hospitals overseas. The Spirit is now leading us to help establish church health care programs where no such facilities exist. In Jesus' careful listening and gracious, healing response to all he encountered, especially the poor, he taught us what the coming of the Kingdom means to us. We are pleased to commend the SPAS Health Task Force for their witness to Jesus in listening, watching and responding as they empower the people of the Guatemalan church to bring a greater measure of Christ’s healing and abundant life to their communities.