In Guatemala's highlands, Maya women continue to make a difference for their communities by promoting healthier habits, three years after our fundraiser ended.
Three years after the conclusion of our 2021 fundraiser ‘Healthy Habits for Prevention of Chronic Disease in Sololá, Guatemala’, Maya women continue to improve community health by promoting healthier lifestyles. This initiative targeted women as the diet and lifestyle decision-makers toreduce diabetes risk factors and supported six villages through education for nearly 200 traditional birth attendants (TBAs).
The project was led by our local partners, Asociación K’aslimaal (Hospitalito Atitlán). WDF has built a long-term partnership with Hospitalito Atitlán through three previous local projects with a focus on indigenous communities. This has contributed to a larger multistakeholder partnership currently implementing a national diabetes and hypertension care model in Guatemala.
During a recent visit to Sololá, we had the opportunity to meet two TBAs who participated in the project: Antonia Yataz Tacna and Micaela Ixtetaj Yataz.
‘I want to express my gratitude to you and other organisations that come here to support us and strengthen our capacities’, says Antonia (73). ‘I’ve learned a lot that I now use in my work’.
The training has instilled a newfound confidence in her and her fellow TBAs. ‘Something I find very special is that now we have more confidence in what we say and advise our patients’, she shares. The training equipped them with knowledge on essential nutrition and health practices particularly for pregnant women.
Micaela (56) also finds the knowledge gained to be invaluable. ‘The project had been incredibly useful. What I learned about healthy habits is something I share with my patients.’
There is no doubt that this project has positively influenced the skills and self-confidence of TBAs, resulting in better care for their patients, especially pregnant women. The training educated TBAs on nutrition and exercise and the importance of regular health check-ups.
Antonia has observed real changes among pregnant women who now attend regular check-ups and are more conscious of what they eat. ‘I had a patient who, for her first child, had another TBA who didn’t explain anything about the importance of healthy eating and exercise during pregnancy. I was the TBA during her second pregnancy, and I was able to share everything I learned to help her have a healthy pregnancy.’
‘I just want to say that the work you support matters. Now we are better able to assist our patients with support and advice thanks to the healthy habits training’, Antonia adds.
Micaela echoes these sentiments. TBAs learned to communicate effectively about nutrition to those at risk of gestational diabetes or high blood pressure. ‘I teach my patients that if they eat healthy and take care of themselves, they will have a natural birth and a healthy baby.’
She highlights the importance of physical activity, too. ‘Before, we didn't even know what exercise was other than running. We learned that you don't have to run; we can also exercise at home, even in bed when we wake up.’
The positive shift towards healthier community practices is evident not only in their patients’ lives, but also in their own. Micaela shares, ‘We also put what we learned into our own practice, including healthy eating’.
Antonia affirms this commitment to improvement: “If another training takes place, we will join again because we gain a lot of knowledge that benefits both us as traditional midwives and our patients.”
Their stories demonstrate the impact of empowering women as leaders in health promotion. As these Maya women continue to advocate for healthier lifestyles within their communities, their work fosters a culture of primary prevention that honours their traditions while embracing healthier modern practices.
‘It was God who gave me the skills to become a traditional midwife, but all the knowledge about healthy habits I gained through the project; we didn't receive any actual training as traditional midwives’, Antonia shares.
‘Pregnant women also have questions, and now I feel more confident in the answers I give them. I'm proud of the way we can now treat patients in our communities.’
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The TBAs speak K’iche’, a Maya language spoken in the central highlands of Guatemala and Mexico. The testimonials have been adapted in English with the help of a local translator.
WDF's 2021 fundraiser aimed to reduce diabetes risk factors in Sololá's indigenous communities by educating female community leaders. The project was the first systematic effort to spread understanding about diabetes prevention to Maya villagers.
WDF’s 2021 fundraiser project in Guatemala empowers the Maya women as agents of change within their local communities, promoting healthier habits stemming from their own culture.