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Partner for Surgery was founded in 2001:
- To serve as a bridge between patients in need of surgical care in remote communities and the international volunteer triage and surgical teams that come to Guatemala to help the impoverished;
- To educate and empower rural Guatemalans to initiate and advocate for vital health care services on their own behalf.
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Partner for Surgery originated from Todd Peterson’s Peace Corps experience in Guatemala. Todd, a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paquip, Chimaltenango from 1997-1999, realized the need for surgical care in rural (mostly Mayan) communities but found that many people from these rural communities:
- don’t have experience with major medical care;
- are afraid of health centers & hospitals;
- are discriminated against because they are indigenous and poor;
- don’t know about opportunities available to them;
- don’t have the financial resources to pay medical bills;
- don’t have access to transportation and often had never left their community before;
- only speak their Mayan language and don’t understand the Spanish spoken in hospitals.
Affected by the amount of disabled villagers, Todd investigated several local hospitals that would provide surgical care to poor Guatemalans and came across Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro (OSHP) in Antigua. A handful of patients received surgical care at OSHP and were freed from their former disabilities.
In January 2001 his father, Frank Peterson, visited his son. Frank quickly realized that there was no infrastructure between Guatemala’s rural communities and the volunteer international surgical teams that come down to reach out to the most impoverished. Motivated by Todd’s experience, Frank took an early retirement from the U.S Department of Navy to co-found Partner for Surgery, on the premise that good health is a prerequisite for equitable economic development.
In May 2001, Partner for Surgery was incorporated in Mclean Virginia, USA. The Internal Revenue Service has designated Partner for Surgery a 501(c)(3) non profit.
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With our activities we aim to:
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Improve Health
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Empower Communities
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Reduce Poverty
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Overcome Barriers
To that end:
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We develop sustainable health programs for rural Guatemalan communities;
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We provide a sustainable infrastructure that enables impoverished Guatemalans to access quality medical and surgical care;
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We provide screening and treatment for cervical cancer prevention;
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We work to build trust in the health care community among rural Mayans;
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We promote community participation in health care activities.
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We support communities with trained local leaders;
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We empower youth to help their communities through rural radio programs;
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We break down barriers by showing testimonials, videos, etc. and empowering people to make decisions about their own health.
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We collaborate with different social and economic layers of the Guatemalan society, as well as the Public and Private sectors and international organizations:
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We help rural communities to help themselves. To that end, we have trained a network of “local community managers”: local leaders who help us with all our activities on a volunteer basis. Also, we have developed additional projects to involve rural youth in our health care activities. In addition, our requirement that most patients make at least a small, symbolic contribution to their surgery can be seen as a first step towards a reality where Mayans, who have a long history of oppression, take responsibility for their own life and health;
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We support local organizational development. To that end, we have stimulated the founding of two independent Guatemalan non profits.
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We seek collaboration with existing Guatemalan private foundations to foster a culture of philanthropy and volunteerism and to make Guatemala less dependent on foreign funds;
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We seek collaboration with the Guatemalan government, local as well as national level;
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We collaborate with international volunteer surgical teams and with foreign organizations such as the US Peace Corps
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