In the age of viral Go Fund Me campaigns, seemingly impossible manifestations of goodness happen overnight every single day. This is the unstoppable power of the human heart — it makes things happen. We all have access to this secret power to say “yes.”
Over 25 years ago, that same power birthed The ACAM Midwifery and Birth Center in the Mayan village of Concepcion, Guatemala. Since that time, support from North America, along with the dedication and skill of the midwives and on-site executive director Asian Blackwell, has turned the center into a thriving birth/health center including mobile clinics for remote areas, and midwifery exchange training program with Mayan and North American students. Thousands of births have taken place over two decades at the center without a single mother or infant death, empowering local midwives with retaining their traditional practices to keep their communities healthy.
This exceptional history of safety and reliability abruptly ended one evening in April of this year, when all the midwives on staff were falsely arrested and imprisoned for 24-hours. During this time, a woman in distress arrived to birth her baby, but found no one to help. Both she and her newborn died.
This tragic account is the culmination of several years of trauma and upheaval at the hands of midwives from within the very heart of the founding ACAM group, who used the pervasive culture of corruption in Guatemala to wrangle legal ownership of the clinic for themselves. Their final desperate attempt to prevent a new people’s clinic from re-opening in a new location with a new name under legally protected status on May 1 resulted in the deaths of these two innocents.
Director Asia writes: “Naye Xjaw, the legally registered nonprofit civil association, is up and running, and is now housing all the midwives and the programs! Maybe all that we have is a corn kernel of hope, but we aim to plant that kernel and watch it grow into a milpa, a cornstalk, that can nourish the community and beyond. But now, more than honestly ever, we need your support.”
“We are in a place where we are in desperate need of contributions, of fundraising, and of grant writing to continue our efforts. We cannot continue to carry the load alone. In order to keep operations going and legally operate, we have had to invest in the bare minimum materials to make the new center functional. I can’t stress enough how much I need the help and assistance of everyone.”
“I can provide the spark, but I need you all to help light the fire. I know we have received disheartening news, but the mothers, the babies, the midwives are still waiting for us. The project and the impact continues. We have learned a lot, and now we can truly do it to the best of our abilities.”
“Please reach out to those around you. Please help gain more of an audience, more traction, more support. Don’t leave all you have helped to build for 25 years end here. Don’t let the emotional and physical trauma experienced by everyone in Guatemala be in vain.
Please consider a tax deductible donation to the center today to help. Thank you
You can also save donation processing fees and mail a check directly made out to Maya Midwifery International, c/o Nicole May, 124 Boston Ave, #2, Somerville, MA 02144.
Read more about the midwives and this incredible center at www.mayamidwifery.org.
Find holistic Yoga practitioners in the Spirit of Change online Alternative Health Directory.
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