THE VILLAGE

Nuevo Progreso, in the state of San Marcos in southwestern Guatemala, is accessible by an 8-hour bus ride over bumpy, rutted roads from Guatemala City, after a 7-hour flight from the U.S. The hilltop village lies fifty miles from the Mexican border. About 2,500 people live here with 25,000 more in the surrounding villages. Unemployment is around 50% with some finding work on the coffee plantations and the rest marginally self-supporting, living on the land. Even so, the people are warm, friendly and most appreciative of the medical care they receive - often walking days to get to the hospital.