On October 31, 2025, 28 team volunteers had arrived in Guatemala City in preparation for the surgical week to come. On Saturday, November 1, those 28 team members and three Guatemalans boarded a chartered bus for the 6.5-hour drive to Morales, Izabal.

In Morales, our team grew to 36 team members with an additional 14 Guatemalan volunteers for intake registration and interpreters. Now our week could begin! Three teams of dedicated volunteers saw patients and prioritized their needs. The surgical team consisted of three surgeons, two anesthesiologists, surgical and recovery nurses, and support staff for scheduling.

The audiology team of ten members were there to test hearing, clean ears, and fit hearing-impaired children with hearing aids.

The dental team consisted of an orthodontist, two dentists, a dental hygienist, and support crew for patient logistics.

Additional volunteers provided support by being interpreters, children entertainers, runners, and were just on call for anything needed.

Sunday was our set up day and clinic day. After getting all the bags unloaded and unpacked, we began assessing children. This was the busiest and most chaotic day, but we did it!

Surgeries began on Monday, dental patients were seen beginning on Tuesday, and after a day of training for the local Guatemalans, children for hearing assessment were seen on Tuesday. Now there were three areas of children being cared for and we were busy!

Overall, our team saw 368 children! Of those, 56 were surgical patients, 56 received dental care, and 92 were hearing aid patients, some new patients and others receiving follow-up care from previous trips. It was a very successful week!

On Friday morning, our week was over. We packed our gear and loaded it all back into the bus. Now, it was another long drive, 6.5 hours, back to Guatemala City. The drive back gave us all an opportunity to reflect on the week we had just had. The faces of the children that were helped, the relief in the faces of the parents, the heartwarming gratitude of those parents and the support from the local community was truly inspiring!

We can’t wait for the next trip!