Thank you for subscribing to the GRACE Cares Newsletter. In
this edition, we share our contribution with partners towards
improving the healthcare system in Guatemala
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A typical Mayan doctor-priest above initiating a healing process
"The ancient Mayan doctor-priests, our grandfathers, wanted their knowledge not to be
lost. They left it to us. They taught us to heal through dreams."
Rafael Alarcon, the Museum of Mayan Medicine
Editor's Note:
DONATE NOW!
Dear Friends of GRACE Cares,
My husband and I faced the tragic reality of
the lack of health care when we visited Mayan
communities in Guatemala. It broke our hearts
to know people suffer because they can’t
afford to visit a healthcare center or have
adequate follow-up and support from local
medical staff. So we decided to work with
Guatemalan medical friends and colleagues to
develop a culturally sensitive program. Our
first step supports local priests who use the
We have so far carried out extensive research
on the Mayan Traditional medicine, produced a
documentary film and now planning to establish
a local medicine shop that will reduce costs.
We’re thinking BIG as we look toward the
future of the Mayan Traditional Medicine
project. Your generosity has brought us such a
great distance since 2013 and your help will
Maya medicine as an alternative cost-effective
remedy for disease control and prevention.
continue to play a BIG part in our ability to
make a difference in their lives.
Mayan medicine is classified as a medico-
Thank you!
religious healing tradition. It takes into
account not only the physical ills of the body
Sincerely,
but the effects of the spirit attitudes toward
life and living, emotions such as grief,
depression, anger, fright, etc. and recognizes
how intertwined they are.
Zoe Kopp
President/CEO
Continued on next column...
Setting of Maya Traditional Medicine Healing
and Healers
Community Outreach and Events
GRACE Cares Healthcare Intervention Model
Guatemala
Why Guatemala? Guatemala is a small Latin
American country with a population of
approximately 15,806,675 people making it
the most populated nation in Central
America. The population is young and
growing rapidly. It has one of the worst
health outcomes in the region with very
high infant mortality rates and low life
expectancy at birth. Major causes of death
still include treatable and communicable
diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia,
cholera, malnutrition and tuberculosis.
Due to limited access to public healthcare
facilities, the Mayan traditional medicine
has been introduced as a cost-effective
and non-formal remedy for primary
A Typical Healthcare center in
Guatemala (Centro de Salud)
healthcare in the country. It has been
handed down by indigenous community
leaders for generation and remains an
important healthcare option. Where still
practiced, it is often the most affordable
and accessible method of medical
treatment and disease prevention.
It is for these reasons that GRACE Cares
Inc. joined efforts with a Guatemalan
Social and Medical Anthropologist Anabella
Perez to educate communities and leaders
on the role of MTM in the healthcare
system as a whole.
Now identified as the Mayan Traditional
Medicine Project, it aims to investigate the
current system, identify setbacks and
leverage points to inject innovative ideas
that can improve on outcomes and the
A Mayan Traditional medicine Shop
general well-being of the Guatemalan
people. Our major priority in this initiative
is to establish the relevance of the
Guatemalan local health knowledge system
as an integral part of the healthcare
delivery system in the country.
Outreach and Support

Support the Priests and Mayan
Spiritual Guides of the Boca Costa
area of Solola, directly in Aldea,
Xejuyup, Nahuala. The healers now
have supplies to conduct regular

meetings to discuss critical health and
community issues.
Produce the documentary: The
MEDICINE in the infinite path of
the MAYAN CULTURE. This is a
documentary that chronicles a
respectful investigation into the
Mayan culture that promotes the work
being done to integrate Mayan
medicine into communities.

Spanish speakers can view the
documentary on youtube
Mayan Healers in Guatemala
Future Events and Volunteer Spotlight
Plans for the MTM Project in 2014
The Priests and Spiritual Guides have a priority of searching for a sustainable income so that they
can continue their work in the communities. They have decided to open a store of rituals and
ceremonial supplies, which will allow them to lower the costs and charge less for their services. This
project will also include cultivating medicinal herbs that the Mayan Priests use for their ritual and in
health services.
We are therefore embarking on an ambitious vision of constructing and stocking the local store as
well as establishing a management framework that ensures inclusiveness and benefit across all
stakeholders. We are currently trying to raise $5,000.00 for the medicine store project. We also
need $1,000.00 to produce and English language version of the Mayan Medicine documentary and
distribute it.
Benevolent Contributors
Meet Anabella Perez and her volunteer partners in Guatemala
From left to right: Carolina Wetterstad (Swedish Volunteer, filmed, edited and produced video),
Anabella Pérez, and Antonio Diego Chox Guarchaj Tziquin Tziquin (Mayan Priests), Venancia Dionisio
(Technical Expert in voluntary social work), and Maria Ardvinsson (Swedish Volunteer, edited
and produced video)
Anabella F. Perez is a Medical Doctor who recently completed her Masters in Social Anthropology
and did extensive research on MTM. As part of her research, Dr. Perez studied indigenous
communities in the western highlands of Guatemala, specifically in San Juan Ostuncalco and Nahuala,
and meet with Mayan communities’ leaders who shared their experiences and dreams of preserving
Mayan Traditional Medicine. She identified the significant role MTM plays in the Guatemalan
healthcare system in conjunction with Western Medicine.
Dr. Perez is developing materials for each of the ethnic communities where the study was
conducted. She is aiming to support the conservation of Mayan cultural resources by making the
information she gathered available in an accessible form to indigenous communities with little
schooling and low literacy rates. This will raise awareness of the history and culture of Mayan
Traditional Medicine and its benefits in the management and treatment of common illnesses. This
awareness is crucial to ensuring it continues to provide healthcare to a population without viable
alternatives.
Dr. Perez notes that her interest in the Mayan Traditional Medicine is based on its significance as a
strong social and economic component in the rural areas. She further reveals that attention is
mostly centered on the therapeutic aspect with little commitment to respond to feedback from the
rural communities confirming its significance.
Ellen Rose Eiseman
Ellen is an international health and organization development specialist and has been committed to
the course of promoting the Mayan Traditional medicine for a couple of years now. She was
introduced to the project by Anabella while developing another project in Guatemala. She finds
Anabella's work very fascinating and shares the opinion that indigenous knowledge systems should
be revived for the good of local communities since development progress has significantly affected
traditional systems of thought. She therefore suggest we take the chance of introducing traditional
medicine into modern medicine. Her work in this project includes a fruitful partnership she has
developed over the years between GRACE Cares and Anabella towards supporting her research and
other aspects of the MTM project.
A native English, fluent Spanish, and proficient Portuguese speaker, Ellen originally hails from New
York State and currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland. Her development experience spans over 30
years across the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Maria Cordon
Maria joined the MTM Project as a volunteer to assist in translating the documentary film. She felt
really honored to start working on such a wonderful project since it directly affects her life as a
Guatemalan living in the US. She has been such a significant addition to the team with regards to
her background and knowledge in Latin American Studies and experience volunteering at Jumpstart
and the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission. She completed her undergraduate education in
International Studies at Towson University, Maryland and further pursued a graduate degree in
Latin American Studies at the American University.
Maria mentions that the Mayan Traditional Medicine Project has instilled in her a deeper curiosity
about this model of traditional medicine practice and a greater appreciation of her culture
especially after watching the documentary film. She feels a special connection to nature after
listening to the Priest describe their experiences keeping alive a tradition passed on to them by
their relatives and the care and kindness that they transmit when they treat people.
Maria is currently on a short term engagement in Nicaragua and continues to be an ardent supporter
of the MTM Project.
Internship Updates
GRACE Cares Inc. continues to appreciate the valuable time interns put towards ensuring that the
organization achieves its ultimate mission; identifying and working with local heroes who have a
strong desire to bring change in their communities. To this end, we express our deep appreciation to
all interns who worked for the organization during the Spring and Summer session. We welcome
those who may have interest to support us during the Fall session.
Contact [email protected] for more information.
A word from our Spring Intern, Robert Muluh
It's so difficult to let go at a moment that one
feels really filled in. Nothing is better than
working for an organization that echoes love,
compassion, care, help and empowerment to
people they have never met and unaware of
their ambitions. It informs us enough about
their burning desire to build rather than
destroy, caress rather than manhandle,
provide rather than exploit or seize. Being a
black and an African, recent challenges on
racial profiling within the US makes it hard to
walk into the door steps of organizations
without negative sentiments. I embraced Zoe
and Namaya with fear and got to realize they
are even better than my own pals. We did not
only spent time working on the India and DR
projects, exploring funding strategies and new
marketing and communication frameworks for
the organizations, we built the arts studio
together, went out shopping and shared lovely
stories on the dinner table at the Blue Heron
Pond!
I leave but I ain't going...
Please join me and support the initiative
anyway you can...
With so much love!
Robert Muluh
Copyright © 2014 GRACE Cares Inc., All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
GRACE Cares, Inc.,
773 Guilford Street,
Brattleboro, VT 05301.
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