Matthew will receive additional birth attendant training!

Matthew was born in the village of Chirreocob in rural Guatemala on May 8th, 1945. Matthew now lives and works in the community of San Jose Granadillas. Matthew and his wife Manuela have 8 children. He supports his family by making maguey (material to make ropes) which he sells in the market for Q3.00 (about $0.35) per pound. He is also dedicated to agriculture.

Matthew first started working as a birth attendant 14 years ago after the health center of the municipal government asked his community to identify people who were interested in working as assistants to birth attendants. He initially received 15 days of training at a local health center before starting this job.

In the past 14 years, Matthew has attended more than 90 deliveries, some easy and others very difficult. He found the work very rewarding, but he reported that he needed better equipment (often he didn’t even have gloves) and more training.

Because of Matthew’s dedication to his community, Medical Teams Guatemala identified him to be a participant in their birth attendant training program, ensuring that he receives monthly training courses and appropriate supplies. Your combined support has ensured that Matthew can improve his skills and continue to save the lives of mothers and children in his community!