On Guatemala City

I don't have a camera right now.  It's a shame, since this city has some phenomenal architecture, but it also means I can enjoy it without trying to capture it for posterity.  The city streets are well paved, the buildings are a mix of modern and historic, there are charming restaurants and shootings on the streets, nice hotels and very poor people.  Once again, I realize that Haiti is on a completely different developmental level than its neighbors. Here, there are malls and Christmas decorations on the streets.  In Port-au-Prince, we are still working on providing water and sanitation to residents.  My Haitian colleague confessed to me in the car yesterday that she longs to leave Haiti and live someplace with space (she spread her arms) where things are spread out and safe and clean.  I don't blame her.

We are here to visit our Guatemala and our regional offices, just like we did in Trinidad.  

On our first day, we visited a government health clinic where we provide family planning services in the form of intrauterine devices and hormonal implants.  Women who we see there often start having children as young as 15 and have several by the time they are 24.  I was impressed with the quality of the education sessions our colleagues delivered to the women at the clinic: they were able to explain how IUDs and implants work and show the women how they are implanted.  Both methods are for five years of contraception and are provided at no cost to the women.

December 1 was World AIDS Day.  We went to a square where events were taking place.  Two young volunteer radio hosts MCed the event, but even they couldn't hold my attention amidst the cold and the endless school band performances.    

At one point, a circle of witches materialized on one side of the square with brooms and a cauldron.  They were HIV positive witches demanding free anti-retro viral treatment, protection from violence, and other rights. I appreciated their non-conventional presentation, but it was hard to know who they were addressing.  

I was happy to see several gay and transgender youth at the event.  Guatemala is a very conservative, very Catholic country where it's very difficult to talk openly about sexual health.  I'm told the outgoing Catholic leader equated a condom to a bullet.  Hmm.  We later visited a couple of partner organizations who provide services for gay and transgender people.  

One of the centers where transgender people meet is also a clinic with a full laboratory that provides comprehensive sexual health services.  They had a small hospital that served 760 HIV+ patients that has been unable to stay open because government funds have dried up.  Their operating budget was $500,000 per year.  That's about $650 per patient.  Peanuts.