ACHC-Guatemala
(Association of Christian Hospitals
and Clinics of Guatemala)

 

May 6, 2009

 

ACHC-Guatemala update.

 

I have come to the conclusion that this organization is in need of a name change. Our original purpose was to form a network of Christian Guatemalan healthcare facilities that would share ideas and resources in order to create synergy and demonstrate a desire to work together and show unity within the church. But this vision has not materialized at this time.

I believe that it is necessary to change our name to more fully agree with what we are most actively pursuing as ministry goals at the present time. The new name will likely be either "Health Development Guatemala" or "The Guatemalan Health Network."

Our community health projects are moving forward steadily under the careful guidance of Dr. Estrada, our Executive Director. He is building good relations with several different groups. Hope Bible Mission is providing much assistance, as is AGAPE. The work continues to develop in conjunction with local health authorities and other organizations such as the Wasson Foundation from Colorado. As always, the goal is to create synergies among churches, NGO's, the government health authorities, and private healthcare providers in order to achieve goals that none of these entities could achieve working in isolation.

I was able to complete my visits to Christian health ministries in the US that work in Guatemala by visiting several groups in the Atlanta area. The main purpose of these visits was to personally connect with these ministry leaders to talk about the types of things we all can do together to improve the health of the poor here in Guatemala. All these ministry leaders were very much in agreement that this is a noble goal and expressed interest in knowing and doing more along these lines. I believe the next step will be to hold a "National Consultation on Health in Guatemala," perhaps in 2010. This would bring together leaders from the government, churches, NGO's, Christian parachurch organizations and individuals to talk about how we can work more cooperatively in the future. Please pray that this longtime dream of mine will become a reality.

Mike Soderling MD, MBA (International Development)

011-502-5306-0828 in Guatemala
home: 2460-0439
mjsoderling@gmailcom
Skype name: guatedoc3