Just a quick update. We now have a complete board of directors--9 outstanding women who are fully behind what we are doing. Also, this week our stellar team of two in Guatemala traveled to the city along with one of our future students to present our program. There were 17 officials present, ranging from high level ministry of health officials and their aids to representatives from the UNFPA, the Panamerican Health Organization, and the public University of Guatemala. The overall spirit of the meeting was extremely supportive of our project and more meetings are scheduled to discuss how to move forward! We seem to be getting a green light at every turn.
It is my conviction that if we can build truly collaborative relationships with all of these players--the ministry of health officials, officials from the international health bodies, officials within the education system, the student midwives, our staff and board, the existing community midwives, the families themselves, the medical staff in the hospitals and health posts, and a wide base of donor support--then we can create a maternity care system that puts the needs of women and babies at the center and finds the way to truly serve those needs. That will be a new day.
