Children of the Americas

Twenty Years of COTA: Perspective and Memories from Warren Brandwine

2019-01-30T17:50:00.004-08:00

My first COTA mission to Peten was in January, 2000. We flew up to San Benito in a surplus C-130 with the door held on with duct tape. The medical team consisted of Dave Cunning and Tim Hulsey, doing lips and palates and me doing gyn. The director of that hospital was a surgeon named Eduardo Caseres. He and I have remained close friends to this day.

The next year several New Jersey OB nurses joined us at San Juan Sachatepecez, a tiny hospital consisting of a few cinder block buildings around an open area. Also joining us were my Bride (Beverly my scrub nurse) and our youngest son, Alex. This team was the first time I brought an OB resident. We ate outside, and many of us slept on the floor. Alex made huge pots of Ramen noodles to feed the patients.

We continued to grow and in 2005 we went to Huehuetenengo, one of the longest, most horrible bus rides in history. That year my friend Buzz Cortese came with us on his first of many COTA trips, a stand-up guy like none other. Also it was the first time I had 2 OB residents join us. One was Tori Myers and she brought her husband, Frank Bowen, a surgeon who has been a staunch COTA guy for 15 years and the current medical director. We stayed in freezing army barracks; The “bathrooms” were indescribable; the volume of surgery incredible.

Around 2007 we went to Tiquisate; hot, humid and bugs. The director of that hospital was a surgeon, Marco Bautista. He was a great help to COTA for years afterward.

Marco’s daughter Christy has lived with us in Cherry Hill every winter for the last 4 years.

Christy and Bev Brandwine

Ceele and her very tired mom. Ceele had extensive bowel surgery.

Ceele and Mama

Maria #1 Maria also had very extensive bowel surgery. She was 14 months old when she came to us and lived with us for 10 months.

Maria # 1

Maria#2 (below) also had bowel surgery, colostomy, rectal and vaginal repairs.

Maria #2

Jessica (below) 17 years later. Two trips to the US to repair her foot and leg.

Bev Brandwine and Jessica

So, 20 years of COTA.
19 medical missions, 15 scouting trips, 6 foster kids. 37 Ob-Gyn residents who are at least marginally better surgeons for having been here.
Its always a risk when you start naming people who have been important in your life because you always leave out someone. However, I want to mention Rosemary, Jody, Aida (yes, Aida), Henry, Roger, Bobby, Lisa, Anne, Diana and the many others I have had the honor to work with.
Don Cannon will carry on the Gyn program.

So many people come on a mission, say “Oh, thank you. This was really nice.” And are never heard from again. For others of us, it is a life-changing experience.
Thank you COTA.

Transitions in our COTA Family

2018-12-20T14:15:00.002-08:00

Bobby Edwards recently stepped down from our Children of the Americas board.
Leaving the board is not the equivalent of leaving the organization. Bobby and his wife Lisa will continue to do what they do best: making sure our small but significant medical nonprofit delivers humanitarian medical assistance to women and children in Guatemala. They will work tirelessly, communicate quietly but with intention and will demand more of themselves than from others. Because this unassuming couple prefers to remain in the background, I wanted to tell you more about Bobby, and why he, Lisa and our COTA volunteers feel like family.

The photo (below) was taken in 2001 as I was preparing to board this small Guatemalan government-owned cargo plane. Our destination was to be my first team site: the remote Guatemalan city of Flores. My hands were shaking so hard that Bobby is a bit out of focus! Our COTA team consisted of 36 volunteers, many of whom had traveled with COTA in past years. A few of us were new to the group, to Guatemala and to the fear that ate away at our gut.

Women have a gift called intuition. Everything in me at that moment told me that I should listen to this inner voice and not board this "air coffin." Not only were the hinges of the plane held on with tape, but as you can see, the tape, for what it was worth, wasn't adhering well. In the end, I left my intuition on the tarmac and followed Bobby into the belly of the plane. Leaving the Edwards behind was more terrifying than the thought of strapping myself into a jump seat of a cargo plane piloted by Guatemalan army members who seemed a bit unnerved themselves.

Having only met this lovely couple the night before, this sudden 'Velcro' attachment was out of the ordinary for me. I was struggling with separation anxiety (I left three young children at home in the states). The allure of going to Guatemala, which previously sounded mysteriously amazing, now felt like an impetuous decision, and my inept Spanish was crippling my ability to see to the most basic of my needs. In my mind, Bobby and Lisa were my thin but tenable lifeline. I would have followed them anywhere. And for many years I did.

In a few weeks the Edwards and I will be departing for our 19th COTA team together.

Bobby and Jody, 2018

I have left the board Vice-Presidency in very capable hands. The three of us have shed our board labels but not our hearts for COTA and all our organization represents.
Through our association with Children of the Americas we have had more adventures of the heart and body than anyone has a right to claim.
Fostering COTA stateside patients, attending to in-country patient care needs and forming solid friendships with COTA volunteers has molded us into the people we were meant to be.

None of this was on our minds when Bobby, Lisa and I stepped onto that plane 18 years ago. We were simply following our hearts, along with Joanne Curreton, Jeanne Shepherd and Warren Brandwine; team members who continue to travel with us to this day.

Jeanne, 2001

People often ask us how we found Guatemala, and thereafter decided to make this particular country our heart space. My answer is that Guatemala found me. As the saying goes: Your heart is where your home is. And home is where family resides. Friends are the family you create for yourself.

Our COTA "family" was forged the same way a birth family is. Sharing the joy of restoring health to a child; grieving with a Mayan mother while she accepts the inevitable death of her child; watching a team member struggle with a long-term illness....those events have shaped us into a group that feels as connected by birth as we do by happenstance. We know each other's strengths, weaknesses and breakdown points. Our new volunteers can join us knowing that we will be there to support them as they acclimate to a new way of providing healthcare in a culturally complex country.

Nineteen years later, Jeanne has still not convinced me that black beans should be considered a food product. I still don't know more than two words of Spanish and tummy trouble precedes every team trip. But for one week in January, Bobby, Lisa and I will be with 100+ Children of the Americas volunteers who will work out the complex and difficult issues of running a medical team for thousands of patients in Guatemala. It is what we do. Together. As a "family" of like-minded volunteers.

(The upcoming COTA medical/surgical team will be in Salama, Guatemala from January 19-25th. Donations toward our efforts can be made using the donation button on this page.)

The COTA Blog Post That Never Was

2018-03-10T07:18:00.001-08:00

Children of the Americas volunteers are masters at multi-tasking, but as our core group of board members age, this method of keeping up with our responsibilities becomes less effective.
A perfect and recent example would be the thoughtfully written and informative blog post that was recently ready for launch with the gentle press of a "send" button. While distracted by the phone call from a distressed daughter, the "undo" button seemed to make sense to my overloaded brain.

Once undone, there is no turning back. Cyberspace is now the unique owner of all I was going to tell you about how Team 2018 and Maria (with toddler in tow) came together in a few short but critical days in January. That blog post is now the Post That Never Was, nor will it ever be.
Spared the numerous details of how this seventeen year old Mayan mother found the resources and gumption to travel many hours to help her son to receive the one chance at a cleft repair, our readers are now free to simply enjoy the before and after photos of what is truly an alignment of the stars of good fortune for mother and child.
The photos tell their own story. The words I used to describe Maria and her experience are reflected in her face. The missing story is present after all.


At the Hospital, Waiting for donated Cleft Surgery


Home, Six Weeks Post-Op Cleft Repair

Food Donations Delivered to Maria's House, March 3

The Other Side of The Story: A COTA Patient

2017-12-16T18:44:00.003-08:00

Our organization does our job remarkably well. So well that we have thousands of former clinic patients throughout Guatemala.
What we don't have the luxury of is learning the personal stories behind the women and children we assist. Getting a glimpse into their lives is both fascinating and inspiring. The women of Central America are resilient, and as you can see from Manuela's story, resourceful.
Our patients are sometimes referred to us from associates in Guatemala. Bernice is one of those long-term COTA friends and team volunteers. In a recent email to me, Bernice offers a glimpse of life on the other side of the clinic line; the home life of a woman who we were able to help medically and surgically in 2016. (Below, as written by COTA volunteer, Bernice Kita)

Manuela with Jacinta, 2013

Manuela was married legally decades ago. Her husband left her because she didn't give him sons, although she had at least one daughter, who is now an adult with her own child/ren. Manuela, who lives in the town of Chajul, says she was married in the church and didn't want a divorce, nor another man. She parents three children - none of whom are her own. I think the eldest, Clarita, is a grandchild. Pedro may be a relative, I'm not sure. The baby Jacinta was born a premie and left on Manuela's bed in her house when she was not there. She didn't know where the 2 1/2 lb. baby came from but she took it in as her own. While I was still living in Chajul, Manuela, who speaks some Spanish, came to me with a mother who only spoke Ixil, who needed help with her daughter's condition. After I interviewed the mother and they were leaving, Manuela asked me if I had any food for a tiny premie, then told me the child's story.

Jacinta, Age 5

I had some Ensure and boxes of powdered formula which I got from a COTA mission and I gave her some every few weeks. Manuela is a true mother at heart to these three children. When I suggested Clarita get the spot on her nose removed during a COTA mission, she and Clarita came, and Manuela brought Jacinta who was then about 5 years old. She captivated the folks in the Peds. ward! She is precocious but quite small and could use something to stimulate her growth.

I've not been in Chajul for a couple of years. Manuela recently called me to thank me for the help I gave her with Jacinta. She said Jacinta will go to first grade next year.

Manuela has been supporting herself for many years buying typical clothing and selling it in Antigua, etc. She also makes and sells a hot milk and rice drink in the plaza on market days. She may have other ways of earning a living that I don't know about, but I know she is dedicated to raising these children. I have been helping with Clarita's education. She just passed 2o Básico (8th grade)

COTA Volunteers At Home and Abroad

2017-07-13T07:27:00.002-07:00

Every January, Children of the Americas transports a team of compassionate, gifted and enthusiastic medical and support volunteers to Guatemala. Those of you who read this blog regularly know what we do and why we do it. What is less well-known is the individual identities in our lives back in the states. As a medical team in Guatemala we are cohesive, synergistic and dedicated to our mission purpose.
These personal and professional traits are no less evident in our work here in
the states.
The article links (below), recently published by the University of Kentucky Medical Center, offer great tributes to some of our outstanding COTA volunteers.

UK Employees Volunteer Abroad

Many of our COTA volunteers have received professional accolades and social media publication showcasing the work they do on our Guatemalan teams. Each and every time we read about "one of our own" we have a deeper understanding of why the Children of the Americas board is so proud of our volunteers.
Dr. James Liau is a pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgeon practicing at the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital here in Lexington, KY where COTA is based. His surgical skills have restored health and emotional well-being to hundreds of Guatemalan children during his years of traveling with us.
As is evident in this article, fear and uncertainty are common denominators that cross geographical and social boundaries when parents are faced with the challenges of negotiating medical care for a baby with a complex surgical need.
Cleft Article.
Dr.Liau and his COTA support team are adept at meeting the myriad of emotional and surgical needs of both the child and the parents when it comes to cleft reconstruction. His UKMC support staff do the same here in the states.
No matter what country our volunteer medical and support staff work in, the commonality of the human experience is the single most profound take-away we bring home with us.
In these times of increasing political and religious division, we think that is a valuable lesson indeed.

Behind the Scenes at COTA

2017-04-28T10:03:00.001-07:00

For the majority of Children of the Americas volunteer team members, our medical team starts the day they land in Guatemala. That initial day in January is an intense experience both physically and emotionally. The year between COTA medical teams melts away as we join up once again to provide donated medical care to rural Guatemalan women and children.

Our hotel rooms have been matched to each volunteer, the evening pre-team presentation has been carefully orchestrated and our team seems to miraculously meld into a group (originating from over 20 different cities) that comes together for a common purpose.

In other words, the mirage of of a smooth transition of 110 volunteers who synergistically play out their respective roles for a week in Guatemala would put any Broadway play to shame.

Frank Sheeder, COTA Board Member

Question any team member about what Strategic Planning Sessions for the COTA board looks like and you would get a puzzled look.

A strategic planning process identifies strategies so that a nonprofit will achieve its mission. Ideally, as staff and board engage in the process, they become committed to measurable goals, approve priorities for implementation, and also commit to revisiting the organization’s strategies on an ongoing basis as the organization's internal and external environments - See more at: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/strategic-planning-nonprofits#sthash.U9MPhLkc.dpuf

Discussions about Communications structure, Succession Planning and Operational structure are not topics that the majority of our COTA medical volunteers think about.

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A strategic planning process identifies strategies so that a nonprofit will achieve its mission. Ideally, as staff and board engage in the process, they become committed to measurable goals, approve priorities for implementation, and also commit to revisiting the organization’s strategies on an ongoing basis as the organization's internal and external environments change. Many nonprofits start the process by identifying the nonprofit’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, in what is commonly called a “SWOT” analysis.

- See more at: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/strategic-planning-nonprofits#sthash.jvWIAAs5.dpuf

Instead, ask a team member how to smoothly transition 2,000 Guatemalan women and children through a five day clinic and they can eloquently describe the process. Start discussing Strategic outcomes for a long-term viable nonprofit organization, and eyes gloss over. The question then becomes; which is the most important?
The answer depends on who you ask.

Club Foot Patient

At the end of the hardest-week-you-will-ever-love, COTA volunteers gather for our annual team photo. Smiles are broad, hearts are happy and we all leave knowing that we gave quality medical, dental and surgical care to thousands of rural Guatemalans. But in that team photo, there are a few dedicated souls who are already thinking ahead to how the next COTA team can be more efficient, professional and viable.
Executive board members and key team administrators are brain storming about post-team surveys and vital statistics to utilize for fundraising. We are deep in thought about how to best communicate our accomplishments to our donors. Our team coordinators are making notes for future discussions on how to facilitate a smoother patient care experience on future teams. Our board is planning for the inevitable replacement of key administrative leaders, team coordinators and medical volunteers. Bundle these individual thought processes together and you have an end product that keeps COTA focused on the future mission focus and viability of our program.

In other words, without strategic planning, what happens on the front end of a Guatemalan medical team would never be possible. Maria (above left) would not begin to understand the logistical aspects of board governance, planning and progressive movement. She wishes only for a foot repair that for twelve years has been out of the reach of her farming family's meager income. With the dedicated strategy planning guidance of COTA board members Frank Sheeder and Nancy Vastro, our organization will be in Guatemala once again.
And Maria will walk normally for the first time in her life.

For Andy, It Took A Village

2017-03-14T08:52:00.003-07:00

Editors Note: When compassionate people from three different countries combine their efforts and resources, the results are nothing short of life-changing. The following blog post was written by Lesley, a Canadian tourist who happened to run into a COTA voluteer at just the right moment. A circumstance or a miracle? You decide.
Jody

When we first arrived in the first town Nueva Santa Lucia we stopped in the center of the village. Within a few minutes many people had gathered around Juniper as I think it would have been a first to see a white baby for many of them. One of the women asked if she could hold Juniper. I handed her over and Juniper was happy to visit with a new happy face. It seemed like seconds before I turned around and Juniper was nowhere to be seen. I had a little fright and told Vicente (our Guatemalan guide) what had happened. He laughed and said that they had probably taken her to show their families. He quickly told me that we would go and find her. It only took about 5 minutes and a walk down a series of footpaths through gardens and backyards to find her surrounded by about 20 kids.

One of the kids was a four-year-old boy named Andy. Andy was sitting by himself a little bit removed from the other kids. We stayed there for about an hour talking to the family and playing with the children. While we were there we found out that Andy had been born with both of his feet fixed into a point position and sharply turned in. Colin (my husband) asked the mother where her husband was and she told him that he had died. He also asked what the condition was that Andy had and she said that she didn't know. Colin couldn't believe that a mother couldn't even understand her son's physical disability.

Andy had never walked and he was 4 years old. The mother showed Colin that he couldn't walk by picking him up and moving his legs. His feet were crooked and absolutely stiff. The mother said she tried to contact a doctor but he wouldn't talk to her because she had no money. One of Colin's feet were turned in when he was born and they just put his leg in a cast for a couple of weeks and said it was no problem. People in Guatemala aren't usually born in the hospital though and there was no doctor in the village.

We told Vicente about this in the morning as he was out negotiating a room for dinner and us to stay in. The next day at breakfast he acknowledged that he knew about that little boy and had a hard time seeing him because it was so sad for him to see those kinds of problems in the poor villages. He said he was thinking about it last night and he wanted to take a picture of the boy and put it on social media to try and get enough money just so the mother could get the transport to a hospital and be able to pay for the doctor. When they found him we took some pictures and Vicente was very persistent in telling Andy's mother that he didn't know what would come of it, he did not want to give her false hope. We left the town that morning and continued our journey.

A few days later I was walking through the streets of San Pedro and a lady stopped me and asked me if I knew where she could get a good cup of coffee. I was just walking around with Juniper waiting for Colin while he was in school so I told her that I would walk with her to a good Italian place. When we got there she asked me if she could buy me a coffee. I said sure and we sat and chatted. She told me that she was a doctor on a surgical mission trip with a group of doctors from the US. I connected Andy with her in my mind but was a little shy and thought it would be way too much to organize and coincidental for a connection to be made. I left the coffee shop to get Colin but the possibility of this little boy getting help was weighing heavy. I quickly returned because I thought at least I could get the name of her organization and pass it on to Vicente. When we got there Vicente was actually sitting in the same coffee shop a few tables away. I talked to the doctor, her name is Kaye, and she was actually really excited to see if she could help this boy. We brought Vicente over to the table and I did my best to try and translate, thank goodness for the few weeks of Spanish school. Kaye said that she would email me after she spoke with her supervisor and we would do our best to see if an operation or at least an examination would be possible.

It was Wednesday and COTA was going to be doing operations starting the next Monday for a week. The good thing was that the hospital that they were doing these operations in, Retalhuleu was relatively close to the town where Andy lives. Relatively meaning that it was a 2-3 hour hike and two different camionetta rides (a pickup truck with a bar down the middle of the back that people can stand up and hold onto). Vicente said that if he got the word that the doctors could see Andy he would go to the village from San Pedro (where we were) about a 2 hour hike and a 1 hour camionetta ride, to carry Andy to the hospital from his village.

The next day I was walking around San Pedro and I ran into Kaye again; she was out of breath. She said that she had been looking for me for an hour because she had some urgent info. She said that not only could her group examine Andy they also had 1000 Quetzales about $200 for Andy to pay for the journey and food and hotel for Andy and his Mom while they were in Retalhuleu. I was buzzing, this was great news. I was also a little in disbelief and not wanting to get too hopeful because so much had to come together for this to work. We quickly went to find Vicente to give him the good news. This wasn't easy as I had no idea how to find him but after asking a few people we found out where he lived and walked there.

He was overjoyed. We made arrangements while Vicente's nephew watched Juniper. Kaye also gave Vicente the phone number of a translator that he could call as soon as they arrived at the hospital. She said they would need to call, as there are usually line-ups of people waiting outside of the hospital when their group is there and he would be able to come right in if they called first. Kaye was in a rush so she took off right away after that. I said good-bye to her and quickly went to find Colin to tell him the good news. I was buzzing.

I thought that was really nice of her to spend her few days of vacation before some intense work to find me and help us make this happen for Andy. Colin got really excited and said that he was going to round up a few people to accompany Vicente to help him carry Andy on the 5 hour hike to the village to find Andy and then on to the hospital. Colin got a few friends together and they made a plan to go on Sunday.

There was so much excitement and energy around this where we were. In the past I have travelled to many countries where I have seen so much sorrow and illness and felt helpless amongst it all. Now it felt like such a blessing to us to have seen something that pulled at our hearts and been able to do something about it. Maybe, just maybe, this could work and Andy just may be able to walk and play with his friends. The funny thing was that Andy and his family had no idea what we were up to and that his life was about to change.

Sunday came and Vicente, Colin and 3 others packed up at 5:30am to start the journey. Vicente had gotten a hold of Andy's family and told them to be ready for the journey. Vicente had an old metal-framed backpack and he built a wooden seat on it to carry Andy. Vicente told Colin that he was so excited and thrilled the night before that he hadn't slept all night. They jumped into a cameoneta and headed out to a remote village about an hour away. When they arrived they jumped off the truck and walked through the village and out the other side dropping out of civilization into the jungle paths of the western highland mountains. When they arrived at Andy's house Vicente was very clear that they were just going for an examination and that there was no guarantee that they would be able to do surgery. They strapped Andy up into the carrier and made the journey in good time. When they got to the hospital Vicente made a phone call and they passed the big line up and went on in. Colin and crew found the bus back to San Pedro, as they wanted to get back the same day and Vicente stayed with Andy and his mother.

At that point Andy was scheduled for an examination on Monday, the next day. Vicente came back on Tuesday and said that the examination showed that surgery was possible and that they would do it on Wednesday.

Andy got his operation to fix his legs and is now wearing braces for the next 6 months and when he takes them off he can begin to learn how to walk.

Vicente returned the weekend after that to carry Andy back to his village. He said he didn't need help and actually did the 2-hour hike in 3 hours with Andy on his back by himself. The crazy thing is that that hike is mostly up hill in that direction. I hope that I have that much energy at 61. We heard from Vicente that his mother was really happy because the morning after the operation she saw him sit up for the first time by himself.

It was such a joy to be a part of this adventure. I am hoping to hear about the progress of Andy but our only connection is through Vicente who doesn't use the Internet so I guess we will just have to go back and visit.

*With special thanks to Kay Beatty, for her passion and persistence in connecting Andy with the Children of the Americas 2017 Team

Written by:

Lesley from Canada

Reflections From a First-Time COTA Volunteer

2017-01-29T20:42:00.003-08:00

I first heard of COTA a year ago (January, 2016) from Mike McNevin, and I learned a little bit about his experiences. While I enjoy helping and serving people, it was difficult to imagine me going to Guatemala and facing similar circumstances.
Over six months went by and I felt a strange desire to look into going to Guatemala on the next trip. I learned more details and discussed my concerns with Mike, and even though he relieved some of the concerns, committing 100% to going was a leap of faith.
From the day the COTA team was aware that I had interest in going, I received lots of support through E-mails to get me prepared to go. I was also excited to hear that other people from Colorado that I knew were going, including Valesca Bybee, Brady Avery, and Andy Ashby.
Although the overall experience wasn't exactly easy, I am grateful for the adversity I faced and the opportunity to work hard as an interpreter and other roles for these amazing people. They still inspire me with their patience, love, gratitude and friendliness. They are a great example for all of us, and it was a pleasure to help them.

Jacqueline, Tanner and Heidi

In the days leading up to the first day of work, I had heard that everything would be pretty chaotic, so I set my expectations low. Thankfully to the team's great organization, things went smoother than I thought. I was able to get help and answers quickly, and I felt that the different components of the team were able to collaborate successfully.
To close, part of what made the experience so great was the peculiar challenge of adjusting back to being home. I felt like I was completely charged and ready to jump back into daily life and be more effective at work and other aspects of my life. However, less than a day after getting home and being welcomed by family members, I felt out of place for over a week! There's just so little that can compare with the great things that this team has done and will continue to do for the needy.
I am so grateful for all of those that took time to welcome me, get to know me, and guide me. I can't name everyone that made this trip great, but SO many people were influential to me, and I want many of them to know: Jody, Rosemary, Jackie, Heidy, Gerry, Tim, Jennifer, Diana, ALL THE COOKS, etc. (Obviously the folks from Colorado know who they are). Keep being great everyone! ¡Muchas Gracias!

When I first got to Guatemala, people from COTA had so much joy seeing each other again. Some described it as a "family reunion." Now I can totally understand how they felt, and can't wait to go again.

More Than a Volunteer; Also A Teacher

2016-11-06T07:18:00.001-08:00

It is no secret that Children of the Americas volunteers are a tightly knit group. The return rate of 80% of applicants to our Guatemalan teams speaks volumes about the overall experience and quality of our medical team members. Working in a challenging environment with each other creates a familiarity and kinship that carries us through the year until we see each other again.

Rarely do we return from our week in Guatemala unchanged. Rosemary will carry home her thoughts on how the team functioned; our pediatric nurses bring a certain few children home in their hearts; COTA doctors think back on the challenging and life-changing cases that they were meant to be in Guatemala for. Our patients usually are the source of our inspiration. But there is one particular group of volunteers who are our teachers. Bernice Kita falls into that category. As part of the Maryknoll order, a Catholic non-profit mission movement working in overseas mission work, Bernice and fellow sister Jude Noone have been dedicated COTA volunteers for many years.

Beginning in 1977, Maryknoll Sister Bernice lived and worked among the indigenous Mayans of remote Guatemala mountains. Sharing meals, stories, heart aches and joyful moments, Bernice documented her experiences in letters written home to her family. The publication of her book, What Prize Awaits Us, is a physical entity of lives that were not meant to be diminished by fading into obscurity.

Our faithful Children of the Americas volunteers who have worked with Bernice would be surprised to hear that their dutiful interpreter is a published author. Bernice spends her week on a COTA team sitting quietly with our pediatric nursing staff and their patients, using her language skills to soothe the nerves of parents and children alike. The post-operative process is made kinder and more culturally sensitive thanks to her willingness to share her time with our organization. By association with her we have learned to respect the holistic needs of the Mayan patients who trust us with their health.

Mother of cleft patient

Our Children of the Americas patients come into our clinics in Guatemala with a poor understanding of health care issues.
They are scared, confused and and overwhelmed. Assisting our physician and nursing volunteers in crossing the long bridge of cultural divide that exists between ourselves and our patients is a ministry within itself. We are looking forward to seeing Bernice and Jude work their magic once again in January during Team 2017.

Night Shift On A COTA Team

2016-10-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

It is 2 am and I'm sitting next to a mug of hot coffee that Lauren just made- we are sharing it with the other nurses that work at the hospital. We bought the ground coffee at the market today and will definitely be needing it these next 4 nights! Our patients tonight are very gracious and kind. They don't ask for much. They either had hysterectomies, cholesystecomies, hernia repairs, or bladder repairs. Their husbands are not allowed to visit for long and only one member of the female family is allowed to stay with the patient. There are 2 women staying with 2 patients who don't speak Spanish but rather Quiche. Those family members are translating to Spanish for us. They are dressed in typical Guatemalan flare and are about 4 feet tall!
The pediatrics side is different. They can have any family member stay with them and some of the mothers sleep in the crib with the patient. One little girl named Siría had her left club foot released and told me she has no pain- she simply said "I'm bored but not tired." She is probably 6 years old and is just smiling. She keeps waving from her bed when I walk by. The other patients have had club foot repairs, cleft lip/palate surgeries, and one amputation. And everyone is successfully asleep right now!
I started writing this while sitting outside of our patients' rooms (there are 2 with a total of 8 patients), and found myself staring into their rooms with not a thought on my mind. Maybe it is because I am already exhausted and it is only 2 am on the first night shift. Maybe it is because I am at peace or perhaps it is because I'm living in the present. I'm not completely sure. What I do realize is that these moments make me reset, reflect, and start over again. It is a nice pause that I wish happened more often. Now I've gotten to thinking how lucky I am to meet these sweet women and children. While they think I'm helping them, they are helping me more. They make me appreciate life and family. These patients are simply happy to be here, as am I. One woman continues to thank us and hopes that she will see us again. She keeps rattling off a thousand words a minute while just squeezing my hand- I'm attempting to understand her Spanish but I am overwhelmed by how thankful she is. There is a patient next to her who asked me my name and she said she remembered me from 2 years ago- I met her with her son who wanted his leg amputated due to a congenital abnormality. The mother was very skeptical but the son was 16 at the time and was allowed to choose- my dad performed the surgery on the 3rd day that week. He came to visit the clinic on Sunday for a minute and looked great- I had no idea I would be taking care of his mother next!
I am learning from all of these women how to be strong and gracious. I am also learning from my other night shift coworkers. It's nice to spend time with people and genuinely get to know them in such a special environment. I've also been reading a book this trip and have found a quote that I will end tonight with:
"The power of giving is so strong that the excitement and the good feelings are often greater for the giver than for the receiver. Which is why, when you find your calling and you design your life in such a way that you can share your gifts with the world on a consistent basis, you feel like a rock star."

Written by Jenna Quill,RN
COTA Medical Volunteer

Team 2017: A Work in Progress

2016-07-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

Traditional Sawdust Painting

The applications for Team 2017 have been sent. Six months in advance of departure, board members and COTA volunteers have already gathered, inventoried, sorted and packed a semi truck full of medical supplies. On September 10th we will finalize the job with a group packing event.
Hours of meetings to troubleshoot the logistics of Team 2017 have taken place. Forms have been reworked, board members voted in and the hospital where we will be working in Retalhuleu, Guatemala has been visited, vetted and buttoned up. What then, is left to do?

Here is the short list:

Hotels for over 100 Children of the Americas volunteers need to be secured financially, while beds in each room will be carefully planned to accommodate roommate requests.
COTA's application committee needs to meet, review each application and approve the individual qualifications for participating in Team 2017.
Medical CV's need to be copied and compiled, placed in a binder and hand delivered to the Ministry of Health in Guatemala City for approval.
The packing list of every items on the shipping container needs to be typed in Excel format, and translated into Spanish for Guatemalan agents.
The semi container must arrive in Guatemalan customs in time for inspection, and authorization of the contents.
Vans must be reserved for shuttling team members to and from the hotels to the hospitals to cover our 24 hour nursing shifts.
Two large buses have to be secured financially with a solid contract to assure their readiness for the team in January.
The final scouting team will need to travel and obtain contracts with the Guatemalan hospital director, so all expectations of both parties are clear.
Hospital areas must be secured for each COTA provider, our pharmacy, our OR's, prosthetics clinic, post-operative wards and our PACU.
Team members, once approved, will need to be assigned, oriented, delivered and supervised once on site in Guatemala.
Funds to pay for all of the above will need to be raised. $40,000 has to be raised (hint: see donate button on this page!)
The Guatemalan media has to be informed, banners need to be printed and local radio stations vetted, so that potential patients in the community know we are coming and what medical services COTA offers.
Tents need to be set up, hundreds of chairs gathered and arranged and gate keepers oriented to how to humanely control thousands of anxious patients who are trying to access our providers.
Food to feed 120 volunteers breakfast and lunch will need to be purchased, meals planned and logistics arranged with the Guatemalan hospital kitchen staff.
Medicine to donate to 150 post-operative patients and thousands of clinic patients will need to be ordered, purchased, shipped, unpacked, inventoried and shelved for the on-site COTA pharmacy.
Passports, flight arrangements and travel waivers have to be gathered, placed on a spreadsheet, copied and sent to all team members.
Team T-shirts need to be designed, ordered, sized and shipped.
A team volunteer spreadsheet has to be formatted, printed and sent to all volunteers.
Badges need to be printed, laminated and delivered to each member.
Translators need to be vetted and assessed for adequate language skills.
Our physical plant volunteers will assess the hospital for proper electrical load and adequate lighting, and will arrive several days early to do repairs.
The Pre-Team trip needs to be arranged, hotels secured and plans made for unpacking and arranging thousands of medical supplies.
Medical supplies have to be unpacked from our Guatemalan storehouse and trucked to the Guatemalan hospital.
Medical forms, order sheets and pharmacy requisition forms have to be approved, changed as needed, printed and packed.
Each Guatemalan hospital room borrowed by COTA has to be approved by the Guatemalan director, set up for our providers and labeled.

As mentioned, this is the brief list of the multitude of tasks that will take place in the six short months before Team 2017 launches on January 14th. The hours, personal finances, and time away from family will be done without question when we see these faces (below) the first day we launch the team.
Guatemala's healthcare system is shattered. The reasons for this are complex, and the history behind the issue is lengthy. The lines of patients awaiting us annually do not diminish in number, in fact they grow longer each year. Our next Children of the Americas team is a work in progress. But we will be ready, we have to be. The patients will be waiting.

Guatemalan patients awaiting entry to COTA Clinic

Saying Goodbye

2016-06-30T21:05:00.001-07:00

They did their duty well, these three little ones. Standing resolutely as a representation of our organization for over thirty years, this Children of the Americas logo was stamped, printed and used in public relations presentations for decades. At the time of Children of the Americas inception, the symbols that these children held represented our mission purpose well. Our founding board members believed strongly in justice for Guatemalan people, caring for Central America's sick and in educating the children who were part of our long-term care stateside program.
Under the watchful eye of this logo thousands of medical miracles took place for men, women and children in Guatemala.
As board leadership and members changed, so did the focus and innovative thinking that accompanied them. Strong and insightful new organizational leaders brought fresh ways of thinking to our nonprofit.

These COTA board and volunteer legal advisors have been working diligently to refresh our organizational development. Bylaws have been rewritten; policies polished; legal issues refreshed. Elevating our nonprofit to a new level of professionalism is a commitment to a solid future of continuing to create positive change for the sick and injured citizens of Guatemala. Among the many changes is the focus on projecting a fresh image to our supporters, both with a innovative logo and our newly produced documentary.

As documents that reflect our updated vision are created, former now-outdated files needed to be purged. Files that reflect the lost hopes of children we could not help, the hours of drafting and implementing state rules on foster care management, and the inspirations we all had for our little nonprofit that dreamed big. Each folder of an unresolved medical case that hit the recycle bin felt like the end of a parent's dream for their child. Every stack of formerly used forms represented a time when too few board members carried the emotional weight and time heavy burdens that would someday be shared by a more competent board. Nine file cabinets full of x-rays, charts and files are being purged as we move forward into a stronger more competent, broad-thinking international nonprofit.

The tools may change but the character will not. Children of the Americas will continue to be the little organization full of compassionate medical and support crew volunteers who are as dedicated to our patients as they have always been. Our new logo projects that thinking. It is global, maternal and medical all in one sharp new image.

After three decades of service, the three children are now grown.

niños adiós. Trabajo bien hecho.

(Goodbye children. Job well done.)

One Determined Mother in Guatemala

2016-05-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Angel undergoing exam in U.S.

Angel with mother

He was shot through the face as he rode in the bed of a pickup truck, while winding through the mountains of rural Guatemala. The unresolved crime left Angel with a shattered jaw and teeth that were of no use. For two years he ate only soft foods or liquids, until his mother heard of Children of the Americas and our ability to bring medically fragile children to the states for donated care. Networking with Mayan Families created the opportunity for the surgical care that rebuilt Angel's jaw with a bone graft and skilled orthodontics gifts of care. His little Mayan mama never stopped working and worrying about her son. While he lived in Kentucky, graced with southern TLC and excellent medical care, his mother prayed and trusted and loved. When Angel returned home, she gifted some beautiful woven textiles to the COTA volunteers who had helped her son.

When this beautiful Guatemalan baby was born with a severe cleft palate defect, his young mother realized that her only option for adequate surgical correction was to send her baby to the states...per embassy regulations, without her. Faced with this decision, trust in Children of the Americas and devotion to the well-being of her son took on a whole new meaning. While he was in foster care in Kentucky, she worried, prayed and sought support from her family. Her days were long and her nights were longer but the trust this mama showed was rewarded with a baby who was surgically corrected and nutritionally sound.

Delmy and Ever, 2015

These short stories are part of a long history of Guatemalan mothers who have trusted COTA with the very thing they treasure the most; the life of their child. We have met strong mothers, emotional mothers and fiercely protective mothers.
But we have not ever known a more determined mother than Delmy.
This seventeen year old young mother knew from the moment her son was born with an abdominal birth defect that he would need an advocate. Without a husband to stand at her side, this role fell to her and she embraced it well.
In January of 2015 Delmy was told that COTA would try our best to find a surgical donation of care for her son, and that she should call our Guatemalan volunteer every two weeks for an update.

Arriving in U.S.

Which she did.
Every two weeks.
For a year.

It took twelve COTA volunteers, fifteen months of effort, two nonprofit organizations and hundreds of hours of effort but Delmy's determination and faith came to fruition on April of this year when this tiny family landed in St. Louis for their medical miracle our partner organization, World Pediatric Project. (http://www.worldpediatricproject.org/)

Delmy and her son are already scheduled for their return to Guatemala; the surgery went beautifully and Ever's future quality of life has increased beyond description. He will no longer need colostomy bags and that fact alone is life-changing.

Delmy and Ever, post surgery, May 2016

Guatemala has many more mothers who need medical miracles for their children than we have resources for. It is expensive, both financially and in volunteer hours, to bring a child to the states for donated care. Is it worth the relentless effort, child after child after child?
Ask Delmy.

Ever, free from medical concerns

Preventing a Future of Disability, One Child at A Time

2016-03-20T13:32:00.004-07:00

We see them every year.
Older children, young adults and sometimes the elderly who are physically challenged from walking on congenitally clubbed feet. The options available to children born with this birth disability are scarce in rural Guatemala and non-existent for the population we serve on our annual team trips to this Central American country. Living in a country where ambulation, rather than automation, is the more common way of travel, walking is a critical skill.

Toddlers are adventurous beings. They crawl, pull up and eventually discover the joy of being ambulatory. When tiny feet are incorrectly aligned orthopedically, weight bearing becomes problematic. Callouses form on the ankle bone, hips are thrown out of alignment, calf muscles atrophy and ulcers sometimes develop on ankles that were never meant to act as feet. Older children who have not received care often have to be carried into our clinics on their parent's backs. A street beggar in Guatemala with a disability is most likely an adult who can no longer walk due to an non-repaired club foot.

When we see an infant with this common (an estimated 1 out of 1,000 children) congenital issue on our Children of the Americas teams, we are thrilled to have our volunteer orthopedic medical volunteers. Our surgeon, Dr. George Quill (https://www.louortho.com/doctor-quill.asp) corrects each case with precision. COTA pediatric nurses care for each patient post-operatively and teach the parents how to tend to the casts. Our pharmacists donate pain medication and antibiotics, and COTA translators make sure parents understand the directions. Six weeks later, stitches and casts are removed and temporary bracing applied by Julio Fuentes, (http://ortopediacentroamericana.com), our Guatemalan orthotics and prosthetics professional. It is an amazing network of skilled volunteers who come together with the intention of helping the children in rural Guatemala with a critical skill for future self-sufficiency. The cost of this surgery, were it available to them, would cost many thousands of dollars. The average annual salary of an indigenous Guatemalan father trying to provide for his family in the areas we serve is less than $2,000. We donated fifteen club foot surgeries on our recent trip to Salama, Guatemala, making our in-kind donation of orthopedic clubfoot care valued at over $90,000.

Parents should never have to make a choice to use scarce financial resources so their child either eats today or becomes self-sufficient in the future. Children of the Americas strives to take this difficult choice off of the collective shoulders of over a dozen families each year through the donation of orthopedic surgery. Some children return the following year for surgery on the other foot, others need further bracing from Julio.
There is nothing a child dislikes more than being different from their peers. When a disability is combined with immobility, the burden of a difficult future not only rests on the child, but also his caretakers. In-kind donations only reflect the dollar value of the medical care that was delivered. It is impossible to place value on the improved quality of life that repairing impaired feet offers.
We think each child who was the beneficiary of this gift would say it was priceless.

Both Sides of the COTA Fence

2016-02-24T08:33:00.001-08:00

The Children of the Americas volunteers and patients have all returned to their respective homes, are settled into our routines and have tucked the memories of our Team 2016 experiences into the place where we mentally wander during quiet times. COTA board members and long-term volunteers sometimes find ourselves blending the different team trips into snatches of experiences that meld into memories which are difficult to differentiate:

Which team out of the last fifteen was the year we were treated to the Mayan dancing ceremony?
What hospital was it that didn't allow parents to stay with their post-operative babies, which made for a chaotic ward of upset children and tired nurses?
What team consistently ranks as a favorite? (hint: we slept in army barracks)
And who remembers the team site where the number of bug bites on COTA volunteer's legs outnumbered the clinic patients?

The years blend, the patient's faces blur, the preparation for yet another team comes sooner than we thought it could possibly be time for.

So it is always refreshing to hear from those new volunteers and patients who bring a fresh perspective to what we have long known as a special experience spent with extraordinary people.

Here are the personal experiences of two people new to COTA in 2016. Hearing the stories of both women help us remember that years of team trips may seem ordinary to us, but are extraordinary for completely different reasons, to them.

"I remember that I said it a few times when we were at Salamá, but I wanted to make sure you really understand how deep I mean it, and how great this experience was for me. I sincerely tell you I loved everything about this trip: the nights at different restaurants to try different kinds of food, your "everything is going to be fine" hugs that really comforted me at night when we were all tired and gave me the strength for a fresh start in the mornings; the different clinics that we worked in; all the patients' stories that we shared; all the amazing people and team that we got to know and the incredible experience to go for my first time in the OR. So dear sister Bernice thank you for making all this possible, this experience truly changed and enlarged my vision of medicine and the real meaning of becoming a good doctor.
I hope that we made you feel proud of our work last week, because when we talked with the girls believe me it was great to know that the COTA Staff appreciated what we were doing."
Paula Galán Sancé
4th year Guatemalan medical student

"I was told years ago by local doctors that I needed a complicated surgery but I have been scared. My family and friends in my village were nervous for me to have an operation in our local hospital; the supplies are scarce and if I had complications my family could not afford the cost of the blood donations or the medications. I had a friend in my village who told me about COTA doctors and how they had helped her mother and sisters and had operated on members of her family with good results. They are all healthy so I decided to trust her words. Early this morning I got a bus and traveled for six hours to get here and I got scared when I saw the long line outside of the hospital gate. I was worried that I had put my trust in a situation that would not work out for me. I am so grateful to God for this opportunity and although I am nervous, I have trust that the COTA surgeon has the skills to help me return to health. Please tell the Children of the Americas volunteers that I feel blessed to be one of the thousands of clinic patients who was allowed the gift of a surgery."
Ana, Team 2016 Surgery patient.

Our Wish for 2016

2016-02-08T22:53:00.001-08:00

If there were one thing that Children of the Americas volunteers could wish for in this brand new year, it would be this: We wish we no longer had work awaiting us in Guatemala.
Don't be mistaken: we love our adopted country. Some of us are so fond of it that we winter there, or have moved there full-time. Others find ourselves dreaming of the "Land of Eternal Spring" during our dreary stateside winters. When our feet are not firmly planted on "terra Guatemala", we miss the warmth of the climate and of the people. Wouldn't it be nice, we sometimes think, to just be able to go to Guatemala to soak in the culture, to visit with long-time friends and former foster children and to relax on black beaches or on verandas overlooking ancient volcanoes.

The reality is that the need for donated medical care in Central America is just as pervasive as it was in 1986 when Children of the Americas was founded. Maternal and pediatric statistical parameters for longevity and all that encompasses a life of full capacity are improving thanks to concerted efforts and focus from organizations like ours. But the stark reality is that access to healthcare, no matter what developing country one lives in, is more difficult when financial means are meager. The poor are marginalized in all aspects of life, but the inability to acquire quality medical care is life hampering.

This is where we shine.
We receive, pack, organize and categorize supplies throughout the year. Our board meets, plans, communicates and strategizes weekly. COTA volunteers tweak budgets, work schedules and plan flights months ahead of time. All of this so that once a year, we can bring donated medical,surgical,dental and pharmaceutical care to our Guatemalan patients.
Our methodology and the need for it speaks for itself. Last month we operated on 131 Guatemala women and children, saw 2,364 clinic patients and over 200 dental patients. Seventy-four Guatemalan citizens needed the expertise of our orthotics and prosthetics volunteers and our ultrasound specialist performed 226 scans for diagnostic workups. Prescriptions? The need was seemingly endless: 5,375 packets of medication donated.
Until the basic human need of health and well-being is available to all rural Guatemalans, Children of the Americas will continue do what we have done for thirty years:improving access to healthcare.

Dear Anonymous

2015-12-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Anonymous Donor,

I am writing to thank you for the donation you made to Children of the Americas. As you must have known, we are in the midst of our annual fundraiser, and while the days of 2015 wind down, so does the empathy for the medical needs of indigenous women and children in rural Guatemala. Somehow, and I have no idea how, you knew of the existing medical care crisis in Guatemala; the extreme lack of medical supplies, medication, operating room equipment and even simple bandages.

Fundraiser link here

What you could not have guessed was our lagging stamina for convincing people that COTA is a worthwhile and life-changing organization that consists of an all-volunteer staff with big hearts. We fund raise all year long, but the holidays are especially demanding of our time. Competing for the donated dollar during this era of unprecedented worldwide humanitarian concerns is challenging, and emotionally draining. Many donors don't realize that the first quarter of a new year brings in very few donations for organizations like ours....holiday bills hit mailboxes and wallets tighten. Meanwhile, our medical team arrives in Guatemala on January 17th and our expenses will be at the highest level of 2016.
So thank you. Not only for the donation, but for boosting our spirits by showing that Children of the Americas is worthy of your hard-earned dollars. To do so anonymously is a testimony of your humble generosity.
I hope, whoever you are, that you read this and understand that your gift was more than money to be used to help meet the health care needs of our Guatemalan patients. It was a validation of our credibility, as well as a boost of energy for continuing our efforts as we move into 2016.

Sincerely, Children of the Americas Board

Do You Wonder?

2015-12-17T14:47:00.004-08:00

It is one month until the Children of the Americas medical team volunteers drive to their respective airports in the early morning hours and board their flights for Guatemala. The weeks before departure will be spent planning, packing and preparing for one of the most intense seven days any of us will experience for the rest of the year following a COTA team. In-between the "three P's" we will celebrate school festivals, American holidays and all of the transitions that come with the end of one season and the beginning of a new year.
Those of us, and there are many, who have one foot in each country find ourselves already mentally in Guatemala, but we realize that many of our donors have never traveled to the Central American country that we work in. They may wonder about some of the things that make COTA special.
If we had a wish list of things our board would like our supporters to know, it would look something like this:
We have amazing surgeons and OR support staff. Truly.

Our surgeons, operating room nurses, anesthesiologists and techs come from all over the United States. They are highly trained, skilled and compassionate medical professionals who give no less to our Guatemalan patients than they do to their American patients. And they do so at their own expense for no financial compensation while still meeting the needs of their practices in the states.
Our pharmacy is fully stocked and funded by a specific anonymous donor and by COTA funds. No patient in Guatemala pays for medicine, because doing so would mean that they would go without. From antibiotics to vitamins, each prescription is prepared and every patient is individually educated in their own language. Doing this for over five thousand prescriptions in one week is logistically challenging and takes a dedicated team of translators and four pharmacists.

Children of the Americas medical supplies are carefully selected, donated and purchased so that each of our patients has what they need. These medications are already packaged and have been shipped to Guatemala. Packing all of the above came together in a big way, cheerfully and carefully, one a rainy day in September that would have dampened the spirits of a less resilient group.
Our volunteers are amazing. No question about it. Some are retired, most still work at their respective professions, and a few are in school; but for one week in Guatemala we are a unit of over 100 people who come together for a common cause.

Children of the Americas supporters are working miracles with their donations.
Our donors are loyal, compassionate and altruistic. Most of them will never see the women and children that they will benefit in rural Guatemala. Our supporters trust us to use their donated dollars wisely, for the purpose that they are intended, and we do. We do so faithfully, thoroughly and professionally.
Now that you no longer wonder how and what we do, supporting us financially is an easier decision to make, and so simply done by clicking here:

GoodGiving Challenge Fundraiser for COTA

Making the world a healthier place is a great way to celebrate the holidays.

The Number Five

2015-12-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

Five dollars doesn't buy much. If you remember a time when it did, you are showing your age. Fifty dollars will get a steak dinner for two, with wine, or a night out at the movies with pizza. Five hundred dollars finishes up most people's Christmas list, with a little to spare. Five thousand dollars? It is hard to imagine what our readers could do with that amount of green paper rectangles. With five thousand dollars, you are halfway to a new car, or better yet, departing for a cruise.
At Children of the Americas, we look at money a little differently. We view financial donations through the eyes of our Guatemalan patients and the possibilities that exist for them if we have available funding. Patients like Angel, who came to the states through Children of the Americas and left healthier and happier than he had been in years.

This is what Angel's dental x-rays looked like when we first encountered him as a patient in our dental clinic. The victim of a robbery in Central America, Angel had been shot in the face and the bullet penetrated his lower jaw, exiting via his cheek. Without funds for medical care, Angel suffered for years, and was only able to find a Guatemalan dentist who agreed to wire his teeth into his jaw. For two years Angel subsisted on liquids and hope that access to surgery to rebuild his jaw would somehow become available. By the time he found his way to a Children of the Americas team in Guatemala, Angel's teeth were floating in his gums, held in place by wires that were embedded in his mouth.

Getting this fourteen year old to KY for donated surgery, finding him a foster home (thank you Teresa and Ed Tackett!) and arranging donated OR time, oral surgery and dental bridges took funds we had to raise, hope we had to muster and bravery on the part of a homesick but determined teenager. The team of professionals who donated their time and compassion to restore Angel to health didn't think about financial compensation. Angel's Mayan mother in Guatemala had no money to thank us, but she used her gift of textile weaving to send us some hand woven "thank you cards."

With five thousand dollars, we could fund the travel costs of twenty more children like Angel; children from Guatemala who have no hope of finding surgical intervention in their own country and who have COTA professionals waiting here to help.
We are halfway there.
Giving the gift of health this holiday season has never been easier. The GoodGiving campaign runs for a few more weeks. Clicking on the link below allows you to be part of a future miracle.

COTA Fundraiser

Why We Do What We Do

2015-11-30T20:51:00.000-08:00

Special thanks are in order to COTA volunteer Nate Whipple from Colorado. Nate is an active and enthusiastic member of our fundraising committee. Those of you who do not know Nate can be reassured that if Nate puts his trust in an organization, you can also. By creating the power point above, he was able to explain what we do and why we do it. The timing for explaining Children of the Americas to prospective donors is perfect. Our annual fundraiser continues until the end of December.

Donations made during this important period will be used for our upcoming medical/surgical/dental team in Salama, Guatemala. This child was helped by COTA because donors understood that a life lived with chronic health issues is a life lived with missing potential. Our donation portal can be found here: GoodGiving Challenge. After watching the powerpoint, and visiting our donation portal, if you still need some inspiration, you will want to remember that Guatemala has the highest rate of pediatric malnutrition in all of Central America.

Children of the Americas Power Point

The vitamins and formula we donate on our medial team are life-saving. The infant on the left did not survive her health issues, which were exacerbated by malnutrition. With your help, we can help get 2016 off to a better start for other Guatemalan children.

Transparency: Statistics and Smiles

2015-11-22T14:54:00.001-08:00

The world of the internet creates instant connections, fast information and compelling press coverage. Those are the positive components of this wonderful and crazy time we live in where people expect and can obtain service faster than I can write these words. Want a document translated? Google Translate will do it for you in sixty seconds or less. Can't find your favorite restaurant in the behemoth geographic area known as New York City? Click your favorite directional app and the information is in the palm of your hand.
In this new age that is lived in nanoseconds of gratification, we as a nonprofit can't afford (literally) to delay in getting information to prospective donors. Philanthropically minded people want to know who, where, why and when their money will/could/should be spent.
In the interest of time, we won't give you graphs, lists and lectures. You can access information detailing our financial and administrative transparency by clicking on the GoodGiving logo to the right of this blog post.
And just in case you still need some tangible evidence that Children of the Americas performs big miracles on little people, here is Celee.

In this photo, taken when Celee was discovered in her village (left) she was wrapped in soiled rags that were tied around her stomach because of a birth defect that could not be surgically repaired in Guatemala. Celee's mother loved her daughter enough to trust Children of the Americas to fly her baby to New Jersey, live with a COTA foster family, get her donated surgery accomplished and return her when we were done working our miracles.
Which is exactly what we did. A baby who was living in the mountains of Guatemala with a hole in her abdomen is now back in the arms of a mother who was both loving and desperate all in the same measure. The trust Celee's mother had is something COTA has earned time and again...over 110 times in fact; one sick child who is returned to a Mayan mother at a time.
Children of the Americas leaves for our next medical/surgical/dental team trip in two months. There will be more mothers with sick babies waiting for us. There always are.

The portal to donate toward this upcoming mission trip is here.

COTA Fundraiser Link

Transparency is a wonderful thing.

So is Celee's smile.

What Ever Happened to Ever?

2015-08-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

Remember this toddler?

Children of the Americas 2015 Team Members do. Our triage volunteers first met him after he and his mother stood in our intake line for many hours this past January in San Benito, Guatemala. Our pediatrician consulted with his mother when she was called into the clinic room for the much anticipated physical evaluation of her son. The COTA pediatric nurses bonded with Ever and his mother when it was determined that this toddler's problem was beyond our ability to correct on a team and he must be evaluated for our stateside program. While on our pediatric ward we interviewed Ever's mother, taught her about her son's birth malformation and gave her the first-ever colostomy bags she had ever received for her son's open colostomy on his lower abdomen. How many mothers reading this blog post can imagine caring for an active toddler with an open solid waste portal on his abdomen....without any type of containment system?

Children of the Americas leaves every Guatemalan medical team with three of four stateside referrals; children who are beyond the technical scope of our surgical abilities to care for within the confines of working in a Central American hospital. Finding care for these children in United States hospitals that are struggling with caring for our own citizens is an art form that requires dedication, many hours of paperwork and the combined efforts of 4-5 COTA volunteers.

In other words, any child who ends up traveling to the U.S. for donated care wins the "COTA lottery."

Collaboration when attempting to heal the complex medical needs of a Guatemalan child with a birth anomaly is essential and the final details with all of the partners are being worked out for Ever's travel to the states in two months.

As hard as COTA volunteers worked on Ever's behalf, his mother worked harder. She called our volunteer, Bernice, every two weeks as instructed. She prayed, walked to high hills to get cell phone service, traveled 10 hours each way on a chicken bus to get her son's diagnostic studies done and she never lost hope. Here are the conditions under which she parents her sick son:

The Petén area of Guatemala is hot country. The family lives "en la montaña", out in the country, in a wooden structure, without electricity. They cook with firewood; they sleep on the floor.
There is a small wooden structure in the town that they use whenever they need to go to town, but they mainly live in the countryside far from town where they cultivate corn, the basic food crop. When we talked today, all the family was planting corn.
For cash, the father and the older boys look for seasonal work on plantations, not necessarily nearby. When they don't have to work their own land they go to a plantation for weeks at a time. Delmy's father estimates he earns about Q.2000.00 a year. At the
present exchange rate of about Q7.6/$ that would be $ 263.00 per year. Of course, everybody in the family has to do something to help get some cash.
I asked if they wanted to say anything to the people who will be receiving their information. Delmy's father said one word: Agradecimiento (Gratitude).
Several weeks ago Delmy and her father brought Ever to Guatemala City for a required barium enema test. They traveled all night by bus and arrived at 6.a.m. We had helped them with bus fare. When they finished with the test it was around noon. I took them to the bus station to buy a return ticket. Delmy's father said they would take the night bus back, because it was cheaper. I insisted they take an earlier bus rather than sit all those hours in the bus station, since they would have to buy food, etc while waiting. He really didn't want to spend more of COTA's money than necessary. I talked with him about the effort the family would have to make to fulfill the requirements for Ever to get the surgery in the USA, and told him there was still no guarantee they would find the volunteer hospital and surgeon after all their efforts. He simply said: "Whatever it takes to help this child be well and have a better life, we'll do it."

Written by Bernice Kita, Guatemalan volunteer

There is more of this story to be shared in the next blog post. Details on the organization who has agreed to gift Ever with donated surgery; his future travel to obtain his care; the adjustments his mother must make as she takes her first plane ride and leaves her family behind so that Ever can get the surgery he needs. It will be their story to tell, and ours to share as we collaborate in bringing the pieces of adventure together for Ever's journey to health.

Caring for the Caretakers in Guatemala

2015-07-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Mama and toddler: hopeful and hungry

She looked like she hadn't eaten anything substantially nutritious in days, if not longer. She had stood in our clinic line in 98 degree heat for hours so that her son could be evaluated for donated cleft surgery and trying to make eye contact with her was unsuccessful. This hot, hungry and exhausted mama had retreated inward, to a place where the noise and chaos of our COTA medical clinic and the emotional distress of two little ones couldn't penetrate. She was, as we say, "over it."

The three month old

This mama was one of over 1,400 women that we saw in January on our medical team. They all came with histories of hardship and of lacking; with hope that they or their child would be on the Children of the Americas donated surgical list, or treated for a rotten tooth, medical malady or prosthetic need.
Children of the Americas volunteers leave these annual medial teams humbled and awed by the caretakers of Guatemala. The women who go without basic needs but still find the ability to give of themselves, day after day... after day. They inspire us with their patience and humility in the face of a lifestyle that allows little in the way of self care, and nothing of luxury.

Hundreds of women in clinic line

Our COTA volunteers can only offer our talents and compassion- a physical healing that we hope brings emotional relief; caring for the Guatemala caretaker so that she is free of at least one concern.
After the toddler (above) received his donated cleft surgery, his mother walked to the local bus stop. Her son was on her back, the baby in her arms and her waistline seemed even smaller than the day before.
Professional fundraisers encourage COTA to promote our cost-basis donations. A cleft lip repair in the United States would cost this mama at least $6,000. For an indigenous mother in rural Guatemala, $6,000 is a sum that is beyond imagination. In reality, there is no figure that can be placed on the value of relieving Maria of the concern for her son's health. That relief is priceless.

Our COTA Cleft team

COTA Salutes our Nurses

2015-05-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

Nurses Week, which started on May 6th, acknowledges the commitment, compassion and care nurses display while practicing their profession. This is a week that COTA celebrates the nurses we know and care about; to reflect on the power of their profession; and to salute them.

This year’s National Nurses Week theme is “Ethical Practice. Quality Care.”

The hallmark of an ethical professional is shown in the quality of patient care that is delivered when no one else is watching. When your patient can't speak your language. When you will walk away a week after your job and you will never see that patient again. When you know that malpractice is not an option, hospital administration oversight is minimal and peer reviews are not an issue....but you do the job just as you would if those pressures were present.

Children of the Americas had 28 of those kind of nurses on our recent medical team in San Benito, Guatemala this past January. Twenty eight people who were ethical, competent and altruistic and treated each patient just like they would have if they were practicing their profession in the United States.

Without our nurses, patients would not have had their needs met, surgeons would be missing expert staff to pass instruments and prep patients, and post operative care would have been missing without our team nurses.

In short, we would not have had a medical team.

Our nurse volunteers are our support system: our foundation.They spent a week working long hours while paying their own expenses to travel with us. They give up vacation time that could have been used to be with their families. COTA nurses return to the United States with empty pockets, tired feet and a major dose of fatigue. Our organization could not ask more of them because they already give 110%.

Children of the Americas nurses:

Observations From a New COTA Volunteer

2015-04-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Valesca Bybee

I am blessed to know Doctor Mike McNevin! This wonderful man gave me the opportunity to join the COTA team this year and be a part of a life changing experience as an interpreter! It sure did change my life and I can't wait to go back!

I was born and raised in South America, and have been in the United States for 20+ years. I live in beautiful Colorado with my husband, son and 3 dogs. I went back to school a couple of years ago and I am finishing up a degree in Public Health, which is one of my life's passions.

Being part of the COTA team and serving the people of Guatemala was a dream come true for me. If I could do this full time, I would in a heart beat!

I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the people there, and the willingness to give back to us as we helped the people of their country. I met some amazing women and children that kept a little piece of my heart. The need of health care in Guatemala is great and having teams like COTA go out and help is a blessing.

Line of patients awaiting care

I had so many amazing experiences that it is hard to just pick one. One of my many favorites was working in the pediatrics clinic. We saw so many wonderful children with so many health issues. Parents came in with hopeful hearts and smiles on their faces. Even if all we could offer were vitamins, they were so grateful!

Another favorite was working with the Women clinic. I met some strong women, women that truly know what hard work is all about. Mothers that would give it all for the sake of their children. Inspiring women for sure.

There was an adorable couple who worked in a "tienda" near our hotel. Such sweet people! They were so giving and thankful that we were there. Every time I stopped by they wanted to gift me something to show their gratitude. It was very humbling.

I think we take for granted what we have and most important of all, our health. This was definitely a reminder for me.

The COTA team was amazing! The individuals on this team are there to serve and have big hearts. I am looking forward to next year!
Valesca Bybee