Making a Difference without Imposing Our Values

Peggy Styer has been an integral part of the Guatemala missions from their beginnings three years ago. As the director of supply chain management based out of Phoenix, Ariz., she has the formidable task of pulling together all of the medicine and supplies we use on our missions. While in country, she assists in the pharmacies, is up late every night helping the caregivers re-pack their bags for the next day, and keeps tabs on the status of all our supplies.

"It gets easier every trip to get into the rhythm of supporting the caregivers," Peggy says. "The greatest people in the world are the ones I get to work with here, as well as in Phoenix -- the members of my team who did so much to help me prepare for this. I'm just reminded every day of how special CHW is."

Peggy Styer (left) with pharmacist Janet Hoffmeister

What doesn't get easier is the ever increasing perspective that comes with each trip. "With every trip I've come to a much deeper realization of the complexity of providing care in underdeveloped countries," she says. "The complexity of the politics and the culture is a big barrier. You'd like to think you can make a difference but when you're not familiar with the culture it can seem insurmountable."

She is also very aware of the fact that Guatemala's economy hasn't fully recovered since their civil war, and the nation is experiencing a significant drought. "The patients are coming to us skinnier, sicker, and having gone without health care for longer," she notes. "And the terror of violence in this country is having a serious impact on the health of the community...really just the terror of every day life."

The real question, in Peggy's mind, is how do you facilitate change without forcing our values and lifestyle on someone else? "I don't think they need to be like us, but I'd like to see the needless suffering relieved in some way," she says.

Some of the answers are hard in coming, but the site visit to the hospital in Chiquimula provided at least a pathway for how to help. The hospital itself was "about what I expected having traveled in underdeveloped countries previously," she said. But this hospital was probably the most in need and furthest from our standard of care she'd seen in a long time. There was almost a complete lack of infection control -- there was blood on the floor and mold on the walls.

Yet she wasn't disheartened. "The trip to the hospital was a very valuable one for me because I know CHW is committed to doing what we can to help our sponsoring congregations ensure the poor can get care in Guatemala," she says. "I was able to identify what kinds of equipment can be supported here. There is just an extreme lack of supplies." As an example, she said that a typical U.S. ICU unit will have 500 different medicines on hand. Here, there were 20. And there's only one ventilator for the entire hospital.

"They need everything," she says. Just a few items on her very long list included dry X-ray equipment, IV pumps (most were hung without a pump or controller), new anesthesia machines, suction machines for the OR, surgical lights, incubators...the list goes on.

In the end she realized that there are certainly plenty of ways to make an impact, and that the time and dedication given to a long-term commitment is the only way to effect real change.

Comments

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Well Now i am speaking for kellie "she not here she got married" (its just a quote not real life) anyways...we are jealous of the work you all are doing. Hope you are getting some rest and I (tony's talking now) will cook dinner when you get back...Oh and brads back and lola too. miss you...Hope not to many people can see this.