In Guatemala, Women’s Ministries Initiative Provides Bedding for Public Hospitals

A group of Adventist women from eastern region of Guatemala deliver bed sheets on July 9, 2019, to hospital staff at the Chiquimula public hospital as part of a women’s ministries initiative to assist hospital struggling to provide necessary supplies for their patients. The women raised more than $5,000 dollars and had custom-made sheets printed with the logo of the church and a bible text donated to four public hospitals. Photo by Bladimir Pineda

July 17, 2019 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | Bladimir Pineda/IAD News Staff

A group of Seventh-day Adventist women from eastern Guatemala delivered brand-new bed sheets to four hospitals in the cities of Chiquimula, Zacapa, Jalapa and Jutiapa, last week. Church leaders delivered the 561 bed sheets from July 9-10, thanks to donations of more than US $5,000 collected across 202 Adventist congregations.

“We wanted to improve the quality of service for patients who have to remain hospitalized while in the midst of the precariousness and limitations suffered by the national hospital network,” said Brenda de Solis, women’s ministries director for the church in east Guatemala.

“Many of our hospitals lack supplies and the bed sheets were a way for us to meet certain needs of the patient,” said Solis.

This is the first time that the women’s ministries department of the Adventist Church has taken on such an initiative during a year when the Inter-American Division is celebrating a number of efforts to impact women in the community, church leaders said.

Hospital staff at the Chiquimula Hospital stand next to the donated bed sheets to be used for in-patient assistance. Photo by Bladimir Pineda

Solis explained that every women’s ministries director at each local church  was motivated to purchase one bed sheet – costing about US $10 each –and encouraged other church members to join in. The goal was to collect $5,561 so that 561 sheets could be used especially for women at the four national hospitals.

“We had one company make each bed sheet with the specific fabric and measurements required by the hospitals with the logo of the church and a bible text printed on,” Solis said.

“This shows us the human quality and the elevated values that as a church you uphold,” said Dr. Danilo Mart, a representative of the hospital in Chiquimula. “You are an example for everyone in the community.”

Dr. Helen Ramos, subdirector of the hospital in Jutiapa, said that more than 30 percent of the patients that come to the hospital are women, followed by children and men. She thanked the group of Adventist women and said “the new bedding will improve the care for patients who come to our institution.”

Women ministry leaders from the East Guatemala Conference pose for a photo with supply of newly donated bed sheets at the Zacapa Hospital on July 10, 2019. Photo by Bladimir Pineda

Ramos explained that the national hospital network in Guatemala has more than 45 hospitals and 1,600 health centers to address the needs of more than 17 million people, so the life-cycle of the bedding supplies in a hospital is approximately three months.

The initiative took approximately two months to complete, from the collection of donations in the churches to distributing the bed sheets said Solis. “We want to continue supporting our hospitals with more initiatives and projects,” Solis said.