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Making a Difference Through Service in Guatemala
released: 12/29/01
Dr. Robert Braine, Professor of Health and Physical Education at West Virginia Wesleyan College, ten Wesleyan students, Gavin Donaldson, Co-Instructor for the course and Wesleyan's Men's Soccer Coach, Dr. Rigoberto Ramirez, and Dr. William Klenk will once again be visiting the Guatemalan villages of Guastatoya and El Carmen.

Dr. Braine first visited Guatemala in 1997 and has made four subsequent visits helping the families and communities in Guatemala by performing various community services. After his first trip, Dr. Braine said, "I didn't feel we did all we could have done, and I knew I wanted to go back."
He was able to turn his interest in revisiting the country into a J-Term class at Wesleyan that focuses on community service.

This year the class will be in Guastatoya from December 29 through January 5. Guastatoya has a population of about 8,000 and no running water. The Catholic church there houses medical and dental clinics, which were funded by a number of Rotary Clubs and Rotary International. During last year's visit, the group painted the local church; this year they plan to paint the clinic and the school. Drs. Ramirez and Klenk will be providing a variety of medical and dental services at the clinics.
After Guastatoya, the group will travel 1 ½ to 2 hours by van to El Carmen, which is approximately 45 miles away with the last 15 miles being anything but a superhighway. El Carmen is a very remote area with a population of around 500 people who make up 74-76 families. They will stay in El Carmen from January 5 through January 10.

In addition to completing smaller projects, the goal is to develop a plan for a water system for the community. Students and representatives will be interacting a great deal with the Guatemalan children as they complete the projects, play games, and sing songs. Last year, in addition to teaching the children games and a bit of English, the group installed stained glass windows in the church and completed the 1800 sq. ft. community center funded by Northern West Virginia Rotary Clubs.
Dr. Rigoberto Ramirez, a retired surgeon from St. Joseph's Hospital and Dr. William Klenk, a Wesleyan graduate and dentist from Fayetteville, will be working in the school, seeing patients in a make-shift clinic in one of the classrooms.

The trip will conclude in Antigua, where the group will stay on January 10 and 11.
Many families in Guatemala are subsistence farmers who have to grow their own crops for survival. Their diet consists of black beans, tortillas, eggs, and rice, and all meals are cooked over wood fires.

Dr. Braine, his class, and the other group members help to fortify the Guatemalans' diet by distributing vitamins to the villages. Last year 125,000 vitamins were distributed-enough for every child in the village for an entire year. They also gave out 500 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste.

Anyone interested in helping to support Dr. Braine's community service trips to Guatemala can contact him to receive a list of needed materials or medications. Dr. Braine can be reached at 473-8349 or by e-mail at braine_r@wvwc.edu.