Guatemalan Health Experts & Indigenous Maya Youth visit Kingston to speak about health and rights

COBOURG, ON, OCTOBER 23, 2019 – Horizons of Friendship (Horizons) invites the public to a free and public panel discussion on Wednesday October 30 that will bring together Indigenous Maya K’iche’ youth and Guatemalan health experts to speak about women, children, and adolescents’ health and rights in the western highlands of Guatemala. The event will take place at Next Church at 89 Colborne Street, Kingston, Ontario from 7:00p.m. to 8:30p.m.

Founded in 1973, Horizons is a Canadian international development organization committed to eliminating poverty and injustice in Central America and Mexico. Horizons partners with grassroots organizations in Mesoamerica that identify real issues in their communities. Through trusted partnerships, Horizons and its local partners are able to achieve significant changes in marginalized communities on issues such as health, migration, climate action, and violence against women.

The Guatemalan delegation is part of Horizons’ $13.2 million Maternal, Newborn, and Child-Health project, which aims to reduce maternal and infant mortality in the province of Totonicapán, Guatemala. This Government of Canada-funded project is in the final stages of its execution and has made significant strides to improve the health and rights of the Indigenous Maya K’iche’ peoples of Totonicapán.

The free and public panel discussion will feature the following guests:

• Dr. Martina del Rosario Ajpacaja Castro, the Health Services Manager for the Totonicapán, Health Directorate, where she manages the operations of all primary and secondary health posts and centres in the province,

• Virginia Yojana del Transito Tacam Ramos, a young Indigenous Maya K’iche’ leader that helps reach youth on issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights,

• Juan Eduardo Lux Tzoy, a young Maya K’iche’ leader and a strong advocate of the importance of family planning for Maya K’iche’ youth, and

• Alba Saturnina Acabal Zarate, a traditional Indigenous Maya K’iche’ midwife from Totonicapán’s Momostenango district.

“Horizons and the members of the Guatemalan delegation are incredibly excited to connect with health professionals and people from Kingston, Ontario”, says Patricia Rebolledo, Executive Director at Horizons. “We hope you can join us to meet our partners from the South to discuss the opportunities and challenges around health, both in Canada and Guatemala.”

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For media or other inquiries, please contact:

Daniel Quesada, Community Outreach Officer, dquesada@horizons.ca or 905-372-5483 ext. 20

This program is undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.