Medical Aid matching gift!

Hello Everyone,

As you know we have had 3 terrific volunteers for the past few months at Mayan Families who have done an outstanding job working on the Mayan Families Elderly Care and Family Aid Programs.

Ronnie has been working hard with the Elderly Program and Stephanie and Jessica have been working hard with the Family Aid Program.

While they have been working with these Mayan Families Programs, they realized first hand how important it is to have money in the Medical Aid Program for many medical emergencies that come up daily.
Stephanie Ronnie, and Jessica, will be leaving soon but before they leave they want to make a donation to get even more support for Mayan Families General Medical Fund by offering to match any donations to the Mayan Families General Medical Fund, up to $1000.

If you would like to help match the $1000, please go to the Donate Now page, and enter the donation in the "Other" box--be sure to specify that it is for the General Medical Fund under 'details'.

Thank you to all who donate to this very important MF Medical Fund. It helps save lives!

I would like to THANK Stephanie, Ronnie and Jessica for all their dedicated work they have done to help so many people while they have volunteered for Mayan Families and for their very generous $1000 matching fund to the Mayan Families Medical Fund.
Below are a few reasons they wrote about why the Mayan Families Medical Fund is so important.

Bonnie

Mayan Families performs many vital functions for the people of Panajachel and the surrounding towns, and all of these activities have made the foundation a trusted part of these communities, and earned it the reputation of being a safe place to turn in a crisis.
As a result, families often come to us when they are faced with medical emergencies, and medical funds are always stretched thin by the almost daily arrival of people in urgent need of treatment.

Often, people come to Mayan Families after being brushed aside by doctors at the free health clinic or the public hospital, and we are their only chance for finding the care that they need. That's exactly what happened with 2-month-old Miguel Sajuin. He was having trouble breathing when his mother took him to the public clinic, but the doctor he saw dismissed the case, sending Miguel home with nothing but Diclofenaco (a pain reliever on the order of Tylenol). That was on a Friday afternoon. By Sunday, Miguel was on the brink of death, but his mother simply didn't have the money to take him to another doctor. She came to Mayan Families, desperate. We rushed Miguel to a trusted private doctor, who worked around the clock for days to bring the baby safely through his illness (it was bronchopneumonia). Against the odds, Miguel made a full recovery, and today he is completely healthy.
While Mayan Families' generous donors would probably have supported Miguel's treatment had it been possible to contact them in time, it is the nature of medical emergencies to require immediate action, and in cases like Miguel's, we rely on the General Medical Fund to make decisive, life-saving action possible.

Stories like Miguel's are not uncommon. Doctors at the overburdened public clinics and hospitals routinely brush patients aside without thoroughly investigating their condition, and discrimination against poor or indigenous patients is a problem. Even when they are thoroughly examined, many of our clients are unable to purchase the medicines prescribed, or pay for necessary surgeries. Mayan Families is often the only line of defense for vulnerable patients, and we want to ensure that the people who depend on us don't have to suffer through a medical crisis without the help of a trustworthy doctor.

Thank you, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!