Today is International Women’s Day and I am honored to be working side-by-side with the most amazing team of women this week. This group consists of nurses, students, doctors, lab techs, scrub techs, moms, retired entrepreneurs, translators, chefs, and this week, above all else, volunteers. They will perform complicated surgeries, ensure that all patients are well-cared for, prep operating rooms, count every single medical instrument that comes into the operating room, prepare food for our team, deliver food to our patients, raise money for medical supplies and so much more. The heart, compassion and empathy that bring them to Guatemala is awe-inspiring.
The other half of this powerful equation comes from our patients. These women arrive with strength, warmth, humor and a remarkable sense of community. They are quick to smile, eager to connect and come with gratitude and few expectations. This morning during our spiritual leader John’s prayer, we could hear all the Guatemalan people praying along, many of them weeping while doing so. I am honored to be surrounded by these Guatemalan women whose faith has carried them mightily on this journey to receive medical care.
At the end of the day, upon leaving the hospital, Las Obras, we encountered an Antiguan tradition; the Lenten processional commemorating the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. It is a time during which families create beautiful flowered tapestries on the streets over which an anda (a large wooden platform) bearing a parish’s religious processional sculpture of Jesus is carried throughout the streets of Antigua. It is followed by a smaller anda honoring the figure of The Virgin Mary and is carried by a cadre of women and children. The women, as you can see in this picture, share the strength, dedication to faith, and community that we witnessed with our patients today.
Here is to the women of the world, each of whom is making a difference in their own unique way!
