2018 Annual Report

Dear Friends of Casa Colibrí,

This has been a year of transformation, collaboration and culmination, thanks to your tremendous support!

Casa Colibri has successfully transformed from an organization providing periodic health care missions. literacy and clean water projects, to one providing ongoing, well-established programs that enable us to more fully achieve our mission. The Casa Colibri medical clinic is now open full-time, and the Clinic on Wheels travels to remote villages each week providing routine prenatal care. Ongoing literacy programs are in place that put books in the hands of preschool and school-aged children. We are supplementing this base of programs with annual medical, dental and eye-care missions, teacher workshops, and clean water projects.

Collaborations with Guatemalan, U.S. and international organizations took on added significance in 2018 as we looked to expand our reach and capabilities.

We are particularly proud that 2018 saw the culmination of nearly ten years of effort to orchestrate complicated neurosurgery and follow-up care to children with debilitating, encephalocele birth defects. Generous donations of time, facilities, and expertise, from a myriad of Guatemalan and U.S. organizations, have resulted in triumph. Several children have had their initial surgeries and are on their way to enjoying a normal childhood.

In 2019, we aspire to further expand our impact and are finalizing plans for several exciting new programs. A major goal is to add another indigenous health care provider to meet the increasing demand for health care services.

As always, my eyes fall on individual patients—in this case, two—twins who were brought to us four years ago just days after they were born. Their mother had died in childbirth, and their grief-stricken father, not knowing where else to turn, came to us seeking help. Fast forward to the present day. The little boys are twin clouds of dust, playing with reckless abandon outside the clinic. With your continued support, our vision is that when the time comes for their wives and daughters to have children, obstacles to safe childbirth will be a thing of the past.

With sincere appreciation for your interest and support,

Jay Eastman