In the developed world, we rarely worry about infant and maternal mortality rates due to our advanced medical care. In fact, in the US, the infant mortality rate (IMR) is currently 6.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. Contrast that number with Guatemala’s IMR of 27.8, and you begin to see why our missionaries in Guatemala, especially Fr. Maxi Charitable Derisseau, are working tirelessly on the Bethany Maternal Child Center of San Benito Lachúa.
Fr. Maxi Charitable and his team are working tirelessly on the Bethany Maternal Child Center of San Benito Lachúa. Help support their work here. They need your help!
When the center is completed, Fr. Charitable and his volunteer staff will be able to provide medical care, love, and support to women and infants who currently have only two options: travel 125 km to the closest city (Coban) to receive medical care or stay in their villages and receive no help. Fr. Charitable envisions the center meeting the medical needs of women and infants from the surrounding twelve villages.Thanks to your generosity and that of the community in San Benito, the Bethany Center is 75% complete. Unfortunately, in order to provide women and children with facilities like exam rooms, labor and delivery rooms, and post-partum recovery rooms , it still needs a ceiling, windows, doors, and bathrooms.
Although Bethany Center also houses cafeterias for 120 poor children and helps those children pay for education, the top priority right now is completing the Maternal and Infant Care Center.
As we prepare for both the first Sunday of Advent (November 27th) and Giving Tuesday (November 29th), will you prayerfully consider donating to support the pregnant and new mothers in Guatemala who are in dire need of local medical care and emotional support? If you aren’t able to give financially, please pray for Fr. Charitable and his mission, that they may be able to provide the least of Christ’s brothers and sisters in Guatemala with the love and care they need.
Will you help us finish the Bethany Center this Holiday season? Whether you can donate $10, $100, or $1,000, every bit helps!
