Wuqu' Kawoq

Cause Area

  • Advocacy & Human Rights
  • Health & Medicine
  • International
  • Race & Ethnicity

Location

13 NORTH RDBETHEL, VT 05032 United States
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Organization Information

Mission Statement

Wuqu’ Kawoq is a nongovernmental organization committed to facilitating excellence and linguistic competence in medical care delivery in the indigenous highlands of Guatemala. There are currently few medical programs in Guatemala that provide care or educational resources in indigenous Mayan languages. We believe that the provision of first language services is the first step toward excellent care.

We cultivate partnerships and fund targeted projects at the intersection of indigenous language rights, literacy, and the provision of medical care. Such projects include: primary care systems development, support for indigenous community health workers, dissemination of written medical resources in indigenous Mayan languages, and literacy and continuing-education training for community health practioners.

Description

Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. After 36 years of civil war and continued violence, much of the population is burdened with extreme poverty. Nearly 75% of the population in Guatemalais indigenous Maya and speaks one of over 20 different indigenous languages, however there are few health care or development programs which provide services in these languages.


Wuqu’ Kawoq was founded in 2007 by a group of development workers partnering with indigenous communities inGuatemala with the intent of addressing this problem. We believe that health and cultural vitality are inseparable from each other. To this end, we work to develop high-quality solutions to community health problems in ways that are culturally and linguistically congruent and that are committed to building local capacity.

Over the years, Wuqu' Kawoq has evolved into a premiere provider of primary care services in Kaqchikel and K'ichee' speaking communities in central Guatemala. We have an active portfolio that includes the management of child malnutrition and chronic pediatric illness, women's health, and adult medicine programs.

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