Introducing...the Clinic & School!

On Tuesday Carey and I were able to make our first visit to the village of Camanchaj and what will be our new place of work for the next 1-2 years. The brand-spanking-new preschool looked ready to go for lots of five and six year-old kids come January and the clinic was full of patients!
Salud y Paz by the Numbers:
1 Preschool (in Camanchaj)
Will open in January 2009
First class of children will be around 20
Students provided 3 meals a day, 5 days a week
4 Clinics (one in Camanchaj, the other 3 spread throughout the lower half of Guatemala)
Each with:
2 Operating Rooms
1 fully-stocked pharmacy and lab
Approximately 75 patients (indigenous Mayans) a day receive medical and/or dental care
2 More "hopeful" clinics to be built in the near future

Here's the clinic in Camanchaj (nearest "big" city is Chichicastenango)

Here's the new Susanna Wesley Preschool (that's our boss Phil in front of it).
If everything goes well, we'll be adding a second story to it in 2009!

One of the patient rooms inside the clinic.

The clinic is stocked with medical supplies and a kitchen to feed the staff.

One of two operating rooms for visiting surgical teams.

A very impressive pharmacy!

The dental room (LOTS of tooth extractions take place here).

Of course the most exciting part of the visit was the fact that I was able to drive us home! If you thought I was a "gifted" (i.e. bad) driver in the States, you should have seen me in Guatemala! I've never dodged such a wide variety of animals before on one trip : )
We'll be posting photos soon of Carey's students and give you information about how you can sponsor them each month.
Thanks for checking in!
Peace,
Jay (and Carey)