Family Planning for Guatemalans Living in Poverty

Here at WINGS, we focus on building knowledge and empowering youth, women, and men to thrive and be fully able to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights. Two of our community-based programs in particular allow us to have incredible impact in 12 of Guatemala’s 22 provinces: our Youth Peer Education Program and our Volunteer Promoter Network.

We begin our work by partnering with Youth Leaders who are trained as peer educators and provide education and referrals to their friends and neighbors at a grassroots level. Each year, we recruit 50 young people between the ages of 14 and 19 who receive specific training not only on contraceptive methods, but on communication strategies, common reproductive health myths, and gender-based violence prevention. Through these Youth Leaders, our message reached nearly 9,000 young Guatemalans in 2016!

One former Youth Leader’s story is particularly remarkable. In early 2016, 18 year-old Tania Pineda had a family member who was receiving her birth control injections from one of our volunteer family planning promoters, Etelvina Álvarez in Sacatepéquez. During a visit Tania made with her family member, Etelvina asked Tania whether she was studying and Tania explained that for economic reasons she was not studying at that time. Etelvina told Tania about the Youth Peer Leadership Program at Alas and recommended that she contact our Youth Coordinator to see if there was still a space. At that point, Tania had already missed the first training but was so excited about the opportunity that she made special arrangements to get the training on days when she was not working. She went on to become one of the most involved Youth Leaders and gave formal talks in her free time after work. She was proud to have hosted two talks in particular that were well-attended at the school where she worked. In late 2016, an opening for a Family Planning Specialist at WINGS came up and Tania applied and was hired as one of our newest staff members. She attributes the leadership skills she gained as a Youth Leader for her ability to listen and provide counseling, particularly to members of the Volunteer Promoter Network who work directly with adolescents.

Tania’s main responsibility now is to help facilitate the work of the Volunteer Promoters, including Etelvina, in the southern region of Guatemala. She organizes trainings with nearly 20 women from surrounding areas and manages the monthly birth control method disbursement that each promotora receives. These promotoras and their counterparts in Northern Guatemala distribute short-acting contraception to nearly 6,000 Guatemalans each year and help to educate their communities, dispelling many common-held myths around contraception.

Women like Tania and Etelvina are the backbone of the WINGS activities happening in villages across the country. We are grateful to them for their commitment to WINGS and to their own communities.

We are also incredibly grateful to you and to all our donors who continue to support the vital work we are doing. Without you, Tania, Etelvina, and the other Youth Leaders, Promotoras, nurses, and doctors would not be able to offer our services. We thank you!!

It’s common knowledge that family planning is an extremely taboo topic in Guatemala.  Equally as taboo are mental health issues, another topic not openly discussed.  In Guatemala, many people think depression, anxiety, and other disorders are “made up” and don’t take them seriously. Recently, these two areas of health crossed paths in what became a learning experience for WINGS staff.

Daniel is a 36-year-old, unmarried man, without children who walked into our Antigua clinic wanting a vasectomy. For most Guatemalans, his presence would be considered odd, as he hadn’t even had any kids yet. In Guatemala, it is not common for men to get vasectomies. In addition to the culture of machismo, there is a great deal of incorrect information about vasectomies; some men think they will not be able to have sex again, some think they won’t have an orgasm again, and others believe reproductive health and family planning should only be a woman’s responsibility.

Regardless, Daniel was certain about his decision, and he underwent a vasectomy with no complications. We spoke with Daniel later on, and learned more about how WINGS helped him with the decision to have a vasectomy, a decision he made when he was 18 years old. We were surprised that at such a young age, he made such a permanent choice for his life. When we asked why, he slowly, but bravely explained that at 17, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He has lived with this disorder for nineteen years now, and it has been very challenging in many ways, especially in a society that is not accepting of people who have mental health issues. Daniel shared, “I don’t want to have children because the disease is genetic, and I could never forgive myself if my child were to suffer as much as I have. I don’t know how I would handle that situation.”  

Daniel mentioned that growing up sexual health was taught in a very conservative manner in school. And while his parents never discussed contraceptives with him, they did support his decision to get a vasectomy. His female friends congratulate him for being so responsible.  His male friends constantly ask him about the pain, which is their main concern. However, Daniel explains how smoothly the process went, and some friends have become more interested in a vasectomy as an option and more open to learning about the work WINGS does. 

Because WINGS offers vasectomies for $6, Daniel was able to undergo the procedure without worrying about being in debt. Our services are affordable so that all Guatemalans, no matter their income or financial situation, can feel empowered to take control of their reproductive health. For us, it is extremely important to engage men in reproductive health, and though it can sometimes be a challenge, we are already seeing changes. Just in 2016, 101 men have gotten a vasectomy at WINGS, and we are certain that our number of patients will continue to increase from year to year, as has been the case so far.

Thanks to your valuable support, we are able to provide affordable services for patients in need. Your contributions are helping us change lives, one person at a time!