Our History
In the summer of 2009 Dana Im, a recent Wellesley alumna, interned with the Guatemalan Project, which is run by Dr. Cecilia Campoverde in El Triunfo. Although her main focus was prenatal care, Dana realized that the basic concepts of health and health care were completely lost in the village. Many villagers did not seek medical attention when they were sick because they felt that they were not entitled to health care. She also saw a lack of knowledge on basic hygienic practices such as the proper way to wash hands and food, and saw the consequences of this lack of hygiene. She wanted to provide these villagers with information on how to prevent diseases and illnesses from spreading into their homes and throughout the village. However, she did not want a project in which outsiders were responsible for providing this knowledge. Rather, she wanted a sustainable project, one in which the villagers could participate in and keep alive.
Dana and the members of the Guatemalan Project created the initial plans for Proyecto Doctoritas. When she returned to Wellesley in the fall of 2009, Dana invited seven students from Wellesley College to take part in the project- Margaret, Angelica, Emma, Patty, Nicole, Rachel, and Katie. A group of three students traveled to in El Triunfo that November to interview the girls who had expressed interest in the program over the summer. During this trip, they selected ten girls based on their applications and their willingness to serve their community as healthcare workers. In the Summer of 2010, all eight of the Wellesley College students traveled to El Triunfo to begin training the girls and officially launch Proyecto Doctoritas. In the years to come, we hope to make several more visits to maintain the quality and functionality of the project, as well as to provide additional training to the girls.