 HOSPITAL SAN
CARLOS
ALTAMIRANO
(Image: Front Entrance to Hospital San Carlos)
Over the mountains, canyons and jungles, to the east of San Cristobal,
and down the road from Ocosingo, lies the town of Altamirano. It is here that Hospital San
Carlos operates.
Eight Mexican Daughters of Charity, and a Colombian Dominican Sister
who is a surgeon, work with teams of Mexican medical workers, and Mayan health teams,
reaching out to the 350 villages served by the Dominican Missionaries.
Indians from all over Chiapas carry their sick, often on their backs,
to the hospital. The Maya trust Hospital San Carlos, and they feel completely welcomed.
The hospital is run according to Mayan culture and customs, and due to poverty, no one is
charged for the services.
 During the over 30 years of
constant violence and warfare in Guatemala, thousands of Mayan Indians fled into Chiapas.
At Hospital San Carlos all were cared for, many being the victims of atrocities, torture
and violence, often perpetrated by Guatemalan government-sponsored death squads. Hospital
San Carlos was often overwhelmed with the sick and the dying Maya of two nations. Now the
hospital treats the victims of the continuing violence in Chiapas. Meanwhile, the
buildings of the hospital are literally falling apart from 35 years of overuse and the
effects of the tropical environment. (Image: Hospital San
Carlos: Waiting)
We are so very fortunate that we can rely on your prayers for our
Sisters and those they serve in Chiapas.
Triduum of Saint Martin de Porres
How can you help? Find out how
to support the Western Dominican Missions.
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