Based out of a rural clinic in Tierra Colorada Baja, a primary Mayan Quiche community in the outskirts of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The program focus was to provide free medical service, medication and basic health education to the children of Tierra Colorada and neighboring communities through the public school system.
As the project progressed, we were able to identify trends in both the medical results and areas of interest for the children and the mothers, as well as the need to have a more integrated program to address the needs of different communities.
Today the project is known as Primeros Pasos and has become the only clinic in the area to see both adults and children. Our Healthy Schools Program has expanded to include all the schools in the Valley, the daycares, after school programs in Xela and of course the population from the Valley that do not attend a school or daycare and/or are older than 17 years of age.
Primeros Pasos believes access to basic health care should be available to all children. Working in communities where families would otherwise not be able to afford doctor visits and medical care, Primeros Pasos provides preventative and primary care through direct medical services and health education.
Primeros Pasos aims to improve the quality of life of the rural communities of the Palajunoj valley of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, through integrated health education programs and access to medical services.