We have been off to a great start so far in 2017!

First completed domestic project. 21 Community Health Workers, or as we say, CHW’s have been trained in Gaithersburg, MD. Many people in this community are suffering from preventable diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and so much more! Yet because you believed in our vision to change communities and improve health, these 21 CHW’s are empowered with the knowledge and skills to better their own lives and impact their families and communities. In fact, several of them have changed their lifestyles to be healthier and even 5 of them have lost over 20 lbs since joining the training classes! After completing our training classes, becoming CPR/AED/first aid certified, and beginning their outreach work in the community, these CHWs were celebrated at their graduation ceremony this past weekend. They are eager to take the knowledge they are learning and to share this information with their community. You did that!

First Health Fair on April 1 to connect our recently trained CHWs to the community. We had 146 people come through to receive free health screenings from nurses and doctors, and health education from our Community Health Workers (CHW). Each person will be followed up with by a CHW from their community). Additionally, we had other professionals attend as well such as a nutritionist, fitness specialist, mental health professional, and maternal health professional to connect people to services and resources in the community. Through the health screenings, we found people who had high blood pressure or diabetes and did not know it nor were receiving care. We even had one woman who had never been to a doctor before in her life! This highlights the importance of this potential life-saving care offered this past weekend.

Through the health screenings, we found people who had high blood pressure or diabetes and did not know it nor were receiving care. We even had one woman who had never been to a doctor before in her life!

Honduras, Tegucigalpa. Our Founder and CEO, Monterey Starkey, spent a couple of weeks this fall in Honduras and Guatemala, visiting our potential partner organizations and assessing the major health needs of our current Honduras project. In the rural areas of Honduras, there are thousands of people without access to health services – children suffering from skin infections and diarrhea, malnourished mothers with malnourished children, and people who have died from a preventable disease. We are returning in April to conduct the trainings for 34 Community Health Workers. These men and women will be trained to provide basic first aid, to prevent infections, and to share proper sanitation, hygiene, and water filtration to their communities. They will literally be able to save lives!

Start of our 2^nd domestic project in Laurel, MD. We are currently training 15 CHWs to prevent diseases and provide basic health care, specifically with nutrition related disease. Like our first domestic project and cities all over Maryland and the United States, people suffer from diseases that are completely preventable. Knowledge is power and we are empowering these CHW’s with the knowledge they need to make a palpable change.

El Amate, El Sunza and Texistepeque in El Salvador. We are thrilled to start our second international project in El Salvador! We will be training over 30 CHW’s in rural communities throughout Santa Ana, El Salvador. These beautiful people are thrilled to be partnering with us! The community response in El Salvador was so favorable that while we were in El Salvador, 2 other communities asked us to come and work with them as well. We will be going back in early June to train health workers from 3 different communities!

Again, thank you to each person who has generously supported this work. You made this possible and this is your accomplishment!