I have some exciting news to share with you today. Enfoque Ixcán is in the final stages of making our dream a reality: building our own permanent eye clinic in the Ixcán!
Arriving at this moment has involved quite the journey. Seven ago, we began planning and fundraising for this endeavor. There were many delays and setbacks.
Finally, in February of last year, I dug the ceremonial first shovelful of dirt. Our architect, Manuel Beletzuy of the Coban Rotary Club, completed the blueprints and in October we broke ground.
What a humbling feeling it is to know that nearly 100 loyal donors had the patience and generosity to help Enfoque Ixcán reach this long sought after goal, to have an eye clinic for the people of Ixcán.
There were construction delays due to tropical storms, additional land excavation to level land previously hidden by the thick jungle vegetation and difficulties bringing water and electricity to the work site.
After overcoming these obstacles, we are now in the final stage of construction. The construction crew is busy installing doors, windows, and fans; laying the floor tile; painting; and putting on the finishing touches.
However, this isn’t the end. This is the beginning of a new level of eye care for the deserving people of Ixcán. Making eye care more accessible to the region means we will be able to serve more people; dispense more sight correcting eye glasses, fund more sight restoring cataract surgeries and reach more people with eye health education.
We still need your help!
Moving forward, we need to ensure that this brand-new building is properly and sustainably staffed, equipped, and maintained. Will you consider donating today to help us run our promising new clinic?
This summer we will inaugurate our building, the very first eye clinic in the entire region! We have accomplished this great feat thanks to you, our loyal donors.
It’s time to start looking toward the next 25 years of eye care in Ixcán. We are on the verge of opening a top-notch building designed specifically for the people of the region and their eye care needs. Enfoque Ixcán is ready to increase access to eye care to the region’s 100,000 people, 80% living in poverty.
Thanks to your generous support, we will now be able to provide essential care in a spacious and high-quality clinic. Progress doesn’t stop here. This is a step along the way toward fulfilling our mission of making eye care accessible and affordable for all the people of Ixcán.