Medical Aid provided to a woman in a hospital gown

Medical Aid partner spotlight: Guatemala’s Amigos Por La Salud y La Vida

Imagine your life without the ability to go to urgent care or swing by a pharmacy to pick up necessary medicines. 

For many throughout the world, medical treatment is free, but the medicines they need are unaffordable. Nearly 2 billion people have no access to basic medicines, according to the World Health Organization. When children and families are continuously ill, their entire lives are impacted. Attending work or school, supporting a family, maintaining relationships, and having hope for a bright future is a constant challenge that feels impossible to achieve.  

When it comes to medical aid, Cross International has a clear perspective on the importance it plays in our overall mission to transform the poor and their communities materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ. We understand that resolving health issues is critical for other supports, like education, clean water, and housing, to be effective, and it’s why medical aid will always be an important component of the services we promote and advance through our work with local ministry partners around the world.

Working closely with local ministry partners is crucial to the success of our programs. They best understand the needs of their neighbors and the type of support that will be most effective. Our partners are deeply rooted in their communities, providing sustained support that is often key in tackling systemic underlying issues surrounding medical needs. 

For more than a decade, our strategic ministry partnerships in Guatemala have helped children and families affected by poverty and abuse. One of Cross International’s largest gifts-in-kind recipients is Amigos Por La Salud y La Vida (Friends for Health and Life), an organization dedicated to providing food and medical services to fill the gaps in Guatemala’s overburdened health system. Cross International helps the organization stock the pharmacy shelves of clinics and hospitals, providing free medication to those in need. Cross International also gives donations of food to help support feeding programs that serve the 30,000 patients that visit each clinic per year, many suffering from malnutrition.

Using our holistic approach to partnerships, Cross International also comes alongside Amigos Por La Salud y La Vida to determine the most important indicators to track in providing  more efficient and effective care. We are working to develop a needs-based approach to medicine and medical equipment distribution that will help us know which programs to expand and improve. 

Long-term partnerships with local organizations like Amigos Por La Salud y La Vida are the hands and feet of the work we champion around the world. Through the support of generous believers like you, our local ministry partners are strengthened and empowered with hope to transform their communities with the love of Christ.

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Help Children With Disabilities

The UN estimates that between 93 and 150 million children worldwide live with a disability. In developing countries, these children are often unable to attend school, play outside or access specialized resources. Negative stigma or superstition among their parents, neighbors and community leaders often reinforce these barriers.

This year, we’re providing $60,000 worth of medical equipment to Kupenda for the Children in Kenya. This is a very remote location, and your gift will help cover the shipping costs to this very worthy medical outreach.

This gift will benefit: Kenya

Heal the Sick

In developed countries, basic medical supplies such as gauze, wraps, bandages, and syringes are commonplace. Unfortunately, that is often not the case in the developing world. Christian doctors and volunteers in developing countries frequently run low on these supplies, and they also lack the funds to keep large inventories on hand.

This year, we’re providing $84 million worth of medicines and medical supplies. Your gift will help cover the shipping costs to medical outreaches in some of the most remote areas of the globe

This gift will benefit: Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Kenya

Build a Family a Home

A gift of a safe, secure home is tangible affirmation of God’s love for a desperate family — it brings hope, health, stability and opportunity. Most poor families must settle for much less. Mired in poverty, they are forced to live in unsafe shacks fashioned from mud and thatch.

You can provide the life-changing gift of a safe, storm-resistant new home with Cross partners Ambuya Development Center in Malawi and Hope of Life in Guatemala. A new home will ease the family’s burdens, protect them from the wind and rain, and help them achieve their dreams.

This gift will benefit: Guatemala, Malawi

Education

The gift of an education is an investment that reaps long-term dividends for a child’s future. By opening doors for the children of the poor to enroll in Christian schools and get the same educational opportunities as their more economically well-off peers, you are giving not just a hand-out but a “hand-up.”

Your gift will fund Christian education to nurture vulnerable children mentally and spiritually — for thriving futures that will transform hopeless places.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Ecuador, Uganda

Rescue Women and Children in Crisis

Through emergency child rescue services, vocational training, anti-trafficking programs and Bible literacy classes, Cross International is helping vulnerable women and children reclaim their lives. Inspired by Jesus’ love, we work shoulder to shoulder with our in-country partners, empowering them to create change that lasts so that those who need help will eventually be able to stand confidently on their own. Be a part of this good news and make a life-saving gift part of your holidays.

Your gift will help protect victims of gender-based violence and also help save marginalized women and children from harm.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua

Provide Clean, Safe Water

Our ministry partner, the Kachere Development Center, has an ambitious plan to install 20 wells, providing 5,160 adults and 8,414 children with clean water. Our goal is to finance the drilling and installation of one well – part of an entire community water system, which includes training to maintain the well, and sanitation and hygiene training for improved health.

One borehole can provide 2,800 gallons of safe, life-sustaining water every day. Help us bring clean, safe water to one of these villages today — in a way that will last for generations.

This gift will benefit: Zambia

Give Tools for Sustainable Farming

One of nine people worldwide survive on less than $1.90 a day. Without training and supplies to grow moneymaking crops and breed profitable livestock, poor farmers stay locked in the cycle of poverty.

By supporting this fund, you’ll help families break free of poverty — transforming lives for generations. When families get the training and tools they need, it means bountiful harvests and small animals that produce income for a sustainable business model.

This gift will benefit: Guatemala, Nicaragua

Feed Hungry Children

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 811 million in the world suffer from under-nourishment. By providing the gift of food, you will save the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in developing countries.

Your gift will provide meals for ministry partners such as Divine Shelter Schools in Haiti and Hope of Life in Guatemala. A generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Malawi

Most Urgent Needs

Inspired by the love of Jesus, we work shoulder to shoulder with local leaders overseas, equipping families with the resources they need to thrive – basics like food, clean water and healthcare, as well as longer-term community transformation projects that will ensure lasting change.

By giving to our Thriving Kids Initiative, you’re not only meeting children’s Most Urgent Needs, you’re also helping lift their families – even entire communities – out of poverty.

This gift will benefit: Africa, The Caribbean, Central America, South America

Feed Hungry Children

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 811 million in the world suffer from under-nourishment. By providing the gift of food, you will save the lives of thousands of hungry children and their families in developing countries like Haiti, Malawi, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Your gift will support the provision of meals and other basic services that are essential for survival. A generous donation during this season of giving will change lives forever.

This gift will benefit: Haiti, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Malawi

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