Guatemala, June 13th, 2009

Dear friend,
	Greetings from Hanne and Kurt.  We work together with Eva in a project called “Vivir en Amor” (Live in Love).  This project is situated in Guatemala, where we founded it in 2001.  “Vivir in Amor” is a non-governmental agency which operates in Northeastern Guatemala, in a very remote, poor region.  This area is populated by indigenous persons, descendents of the Mayan culture.

	Our principal activity is centered on healthcare, and we have two clinics in the villages of Yalanhuitz and Pojom.  The people come for consultations when they are sick, and sometimes remain in the clinic with us.  When their condition is grave we accompany them to the nearest city hospital, 7 hours away by road.  We also assist with complicated deliveries.  One day each week we visit other remote villages for consultations with pregnant women and more seriously ill patients--but must also anticipate emergencies at any time.

	We attend to an average of 15 to 20 patients daily.  If this appears to be a small number to you, consider also the need to translate ( from Mayan into Spanish), and to dispense the necessary medicines ourselves.  In addition to the consultation services, we have a laboratory in the clinic, used mostly for examination for tuberculosis and stool testing.

	One of the most important objectives of the “Vivir en Amor” project is training the local people in the provision of healthcare.  For this reason, we do perform our consults together with a local midwife or healthcare worker.  One day each week we have training sessions for groups of midwives and healthcare workers from the surrounding villages with the hope that locals will be responsible for the running of healthcare as much as possible in the future.

	This all requires a lot of work, and is very difficult for us to manage alone.  Therefore, we are searching for long term medical supervisor (doctor or nurse) to support the local team and other short term  medical volunteers…having prior experience in the provision of tropical heath care, or a degree in tropical medicine would be ideal.

Meanwhile we are searching for a general co-ordinator who should run the project together with the medical supervisor.

	We (Hanne and Kurt) anticipate remaining in Guatemala until the end of 2009, and will return thereafter to our own country (Belgium).  However, we are convinced that the project and the local healthcare workers are going to need more support from Europe/the outside world.  For this reason, we are urgently searching for someone who wants to assume the directorship of the project for a sufficient time (minimum 1 year) receiving a local salary, plane tickets once a year and health assurance in Guatemala.  Ideally, you could arrive in the fall of 2009 to continue with the responsibility in 2010.  Anyone who would like to work with us right away is also welcome!
	
	If you are interested, you can contact us at the following e-mail addresses: Hanne Dejonckheere (hannegua@itelgua.com) or Kurt Debuyck (kurt.debuyck@gmail.com) .  You can also find more information about the project on our website: www.vivirenamor.be.

Sincerely yours,
Hanne and Kurt, “Vivir en Amor”