Duffle Bag Medicine
- Maya Roberts, YSM II
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New Haven, Connecticut
maya.roberts@yale.edu
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- PIECE OF MY MIND (YOUNG RK, ED)
While the self-styled medical missionaries are piling into the back of the truck, I spot a young man, at most 19, wearing a cowboy hat, smoking a cigarette, and leaning against the makeshift frame that converts the backs of pickups into the primary form of public transportation here in Guatemala. He is not a licensed medical professional; he is an American on vacation and he is about to distribute medication to patients.
I do not think he is aware of the power he radiates in this community. We are in a modest-sized village in the temperate green midlands of Guatemala, the coffee region. The most substantial source of income here is from day labor on the plantations, during the November-to-March harvesting season. Clean bottled water and fresh produce can be purchased at a lively outdoor market on Tuesdays and Fridays. However, for most families, these are luxuries that agricultural day …
