The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have been working with the poor and marginalized in Guatemala since 1968. This mission was legally established as a nonprofit organization there in 1994. Responding to the need to promote and strengthen families, Missionary Sisters have founded two clinics which provide medical, dental, and nutritional services to the most impoverished populations in Guatemala. Dispensary “San Jose” located in Zone 6 of Guatemala City supports migrants, the elderly, the promotion of women, and child development through five peripheral programs designed to foster health and wellness in their communities.
Dispensary “San Jose” provides affordable, quality health care to approximately 4,000 families. Many people living in communities served by the dispensary are working poor with informal jobs
Families near the dispensary are low income, some have formal employment with low wages, many have informal jobs that do not allow them to prioritize health and seek emergency medical attention almost.
In the colony “La Reina” people live in insecurity with many small traders required to pay the “Economic” taxes imposed on them by gangs or cliques. If they do not pay, they are threatened with death by failing to comply with extortion.
In other neighborhoods served by the dispensary live poor families and in unsafe homes which are at risk of landslides and contamination by sewage. These homes are located in the field of risk and are prone to damage from any weather phenomenon occurring at different times of the year. Most people currently do not have the resources to prioritized preventive health. Previously the Ministry of Health was responsible for these communities. However, in the last several years there has been a decline in active participation from the government.
Patients seen at the clinic are offered an affordable, quality service. Private hospitals charge a premium, and an increasing number of people are seeking all their care at the dispensary.
