Andy Moss has been to Oliveros 7 times.  Here he highlights the mission statement and the originators of the partnership.

 

 

Karl Hertz, Andy Moss, and Dan Gannon share a laugh following Andy's presentation to the club.

 

What began as one man's idea became an on-going partnership in Guatemala.  The Thiensville-Mequon Rotary Clubs established the Guatemala Medical Resources Partnership (GMRP) to help the people living in the Department of Santa Rosa, a remote area of the country, who did not have access to adequate health care. Every year, dedicated health care providers, interpreters, and other volunteers travel at their own expense to the small village of Oliveros in Santa Rosa to provide medical, dental, vision, nutrition, and pharmacy services to the local community in desperate need of such care.  The main occupation is agriculture, and the region remains largely undeveloped.  Dirt roads are the norm, and support from the government varies widely depending upon who is in power.  Dirty water was a major problem and a source of infections until the partnership dug clean wells and updated electricity to the school in Oliveros.

 

In 2012, it became apparent that many of the patients also required continuing care, mostly surgery, which, because of poverty, lack of transportation, and inability to negotiate the hospital system, they were unable to access. As a result, in 2014, GMRP established the Guatemala Continuing Care Project which provides these individuals and families with the care they require. With a gift of $200, one patient is able to obtain the surgery he or she needs. To learn more go to: http://gmrp.org/  

 

This year the team provided services to 850 people and reviewed at least 100 students' progress toward scholarships provided by the Oliveros Scholarship Fund.   The fund was established because students dropped out of school after grade due to the cost.  A donation of $160 provides a year of schooling for students in grades 6-12, while a donation of $1200 funds a year of university.