Post on 17-Jan-2015
description
Guatemalan Maya Lake Worth, Florida
Introduction
The Guatemalan-Maya Center
Founded in 1992, as a non-profit agency
By Reverent Frank O'Loughlin
Serves 18,000 persons yearly
North F Street, Lake Worth, FL
21 staff members
Funded by the Children Service's Council, The Literacy Coalition, and Family Central of Palm Beach County
(Fooksman, n.d.; Guatemalan-Mayan Center, n.d.)
Introduction
The Guatemalan-Maya Center
Family and baby outreach program
Parent and child home program
Escuelita afterschool program
VPK summer program
Translation services
Legal help
ACCESS FLORIDA services
(The Guatemalan-Mayan Center, n.d.).
Field Interview
(The Guatemalan-Mayan Center, n.d.).
Field Interview
M. Martinez arrived in Florida during early 1980s escaping violence brought upon by the Civil War
The interview took a form of story telling
M. Martinez told a story with each issue, problem, or concern that she discussed
The major problems and challenges of the Guatemalan Maya people in Lake Worth are: lack of language, working too many hours, lack of legal documents, domestic violence, and no healthcare coverage
Lack of Language
24 different Mayan languages in Guatemala
10 different Mayan languages in Lake Worth
Spanish is also spoken by some
Problems, especially, in healthcare to understand treatment or their diagnosis
There are differences in words and their meanings even in Spanish
Two stories: Cuban nurse at St. Mary’s and 18 year old boy
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Working Too Many Hours
Both parents often work
Children are home alone or are taken care by others and picked up late by the parents (Story of little girl)
“There is no time to raise your children like you want to, but this gives me strength to be here and help my people”
Real problem is with teenagers: Are alone at home. They are bored and running the streets, doing drugs, drinking alcohol, selling drugs, prostitution, and gangs. Also girls are leaving with older men and their mothers are worried not knowing where they are(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30,
2013)
Lack of Legal Documents
Many in their community do not have legal papers
Have no job or have very low paying jobs
"It is just not fair, how little our people are paid, they are good and hard workers"
They do not know were to go to get documents
Many men have been deported
Single mothers in the community
"Problem is too that if they have accidents in jobs and do not have papers, then they cannot get any money or healthcare"
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a problem in the Maya community
Both women and men are victims
Alcohol is often involved
"The Lake Worth police department sends them back home to danger because they do not have anyone who even speaks Spanish, so we try to tell our people to come here and then we call the police to do the report here because we can interpret”
A young woman with her children was being helped as we spoke.
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
No Healthcare Coverage
Due to lack of papers, they cannot qualify for Medicaid and in day jobs do not have health insurance by their employer
Use Caridad Center in Boynton Beach
Sometimes Health Department
Traditional Healers
Story of young man dropped off to the curb by hospital
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Globalization
"Our people,
they are so worried about surviving themselves here
every day"
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Global Health Policies
”They have so many problems locally”
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Community Leadership
"This center is the leadership with Father Frank, who founded it. He is your
people"
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Community Leadership
Two afterschool programs and this summer started a new VPK program
To help with children being home alone
New counseling group meets Thursday nights. Hosted by two nurses with a Honduran heritage who volunteer their time
Mothers of the runaway girls or victims of domestic violence
Partnerships with various organizations
Legal help and help to get access to healthcare(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Community Leadership
Their action is through the use of various media
TV (Channel 5)
Radio (Radio Fiesta)
Newspaper (Palm Beach Post)
The locals will come to them if they hear about anything concerning
"It they hear something, they come to us".
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013)
Guatemalan-Maya Center
Background
Maya account for approximately sixty percent of the population in Guatemala
The largest indigenous groups in the Americas
Ladinos have exploited them for centuries and still continue in Guatemala today
36 year war in Guatemala, started in 1960, resulted in destruction of over 400 Mayan villages and the death of over 200,000 people, majority of whom were Mayans, causing many to flee to Mexico and to the United States
(Burns, 1993; Brown and Odem, 2011; Green, 2009; Hiller, Linstroth, & Vela, 2009)
Background
Many Guatemalan Mayan immigrants came to the United States in the 1980s due to the immense violence of the war
Or in the late 1990s after the end of the Civil War in 1996, when the Mayan villages were terribly struck by hunger, unemployment, and continued violence
The Maya who came to Florida in the early 1980s came as families, however, later in 1980s this changed to mostly young men arriving alone (Burns, 1993; Brown and Odem, 2011; Green, 2009; Hiller, Linstroth, & Vela, 2009)
Background
The Guatemalan Mayan refugees come mostly from rural, poor western highland villages where more than twenty different Mayan languages are spoken
Most of the Guatemalan Maya who arrived in Florida came from the province of Huehuetenango and are referred to as Kanjobal Maya here in the United States
The indigenous heritage and injustice that Guatemalan Maya experienced in their home country, is often carried with them into their new life in the United States
(Burns, 1993; Brown and Odem, 2011; Green, 2009; Hiller, Linstroth, & Vela, 2009)
Background
1.1 million Guatemalans live in the United States
81,887 Guatemalans in Florida
19,615 in Palm Beach County
4,358 in Lake Worth
Lake Worth has the highest Guatemalan population of all Florida cities
Miami at second place with 4,060; West Palm Beach at third place with 3,775
(Pew Research Center, 2013; U.S. Census Bureau, 2013)
Background
Median age of Guatemalan in the United States is 27
Median income is $17,000
26 percent of them live in poverty
Only 8 percent have at least a Bachelor's degree
(Pew Research Center, 2013)
Background
U.S. Hispanics Guatemalans0
10
20
30
40
50
18
31
48
% of population without health insurance
(Pew Research Center, 2013)
Review of Literature
Language and race
Families and communities left behind
Stress
Health and illness
Undocumented immigration
Review of Literature
Language and race
The Maya are considered Native American and not Latino or Hispanic
Healthcare providers are often unaware of the difference between Hispanic and Mayan
Creates many problems in their care because their traditions and language are vastly distinct.
Mayans do not consider themselves Hispanic, nor identify with the Latino community
(Czerwinski, LeBaron, & McGrew, 2011; Hiller et al., 2009)
Review of LiteratureLanguage and race
21 official Mayan languages in Guatemala and over 50 Mayan dialects
4 most common Mayan languages are Mam, K'iche, Chuj, and Q'anjob'al
The majority of the Lake Worth Mayan speaks Q'anjob'al today
Some Mayan speak or understand Spanish or a non-standard Spanish, called "la castilla"
Critical need for interpreters of the various Mayan languages because not speaking good enough Spanish or English is an immense barrier to health care (Czerwinski, LeBaron, & McGrew, 2011; Hiller et al., 2009)
Review of Literature
Families and communities left behind
Today increasing amount of women are migrating leaving their children to be cared for by other caretakers, typically women, such as aunts and grandmothers
Remittance
Discipline from abroad
Separation
(Brown & Odem, 2011; Moran-Taylor, 2008)
Review of Literature
Stress
Worrying about family’s safety back home
Waiting in job pools on street corners in hope of having a job for the day
Feeling of not being acknowledged as skilled agricultural workers
Accept drinking over the weekend as a way to deal with the multiple stressors
Have a higher risk for stress and mental health disparities because of their distinct culture, language, history of trauma, and immigration status.
(Millender, 2010; Millender, 2012)
Review of Literature
Health and illness
Illness is caused by an imbalance between hot and cold elements in the body
Use traditional healers and medicines, such as herbs, and they often wait to seek help from Western medicine only if these traditional methods are unachievable or their illness has become serious
The Mayan prefer to receive health information through word-of-mouth communication
Frightened by the healthcare system and mistrust the care because their culture is disrespected
(Czerwinski et al., 2011; Long et al., 2012)
Review of Literature
Undocumented immigration
Many Guatemalan Mayan work low paying jobs as day laborers, as majority of them do not have documentation due to the immigration laws that do not qualify them for political asylum
The United States immigration officials saw Guatemalan Mayan as economic refugees and not political refugees
1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act
Obama administration’s immigration reform S.744
(Burns, 1993; Mayo, 2010; Ruiz, 2013)
Globalization
At the grassroots, the Maya community in the Lake Worth, does not have a sense of globalization
Letter, on behalf of the Guatemalan-Maya Center, Corn Maya, and Ik Balam, to the Guatemalan President, the high commissioner for human rights in the United Nations and the office of high commission of human rights in Guatemala
(M. Martinez, personal communication, May 30, 2013; The Guatemalan-Maya Center, 2012 )
Globalization
Interconnectedness and interdependence between United States and the Guatemalan Maya
During the Civil War, the United States government sited with the Guatemalan military and the U.S involvement has been seen as the key aspect contributing to the human rights violations during the war Causing Maya to flee to Mexico and to the United States
The lack of U.S. authorities to recognize the Maya as refugees Lack of legal papers is still a critical issue, which also
affects their access to healthcare and the quality of their care
(Bradbury-Jones, 2009; Miller, 2011)
“What happens in one country matters for the rest of the world"
Globalization
Nurses are expected to be global citizens and be aware of various issues that cross borders and impact all of us
Influence of the United States globally, effects health care and its determinants locally
In 2009, President Obama started the Global Health Initiative (GHI), and one of its focus areas is combating malnutrition of the Maya women and children in the highlands of Guatemala
USAID also supports the indigenous women of Guatemala and receives funds from the U. S. Global Health Budget
(Kriel, 2011; Mill, Astle, Ogilvie, & Gastaldo, 2010)
Leadership Strategies
1. Internationalizing the Curriculum
According to the review of literature and the field interview, the Mayan feel apprehensive about our health care system and share that their culture is not understood or respected
Nursing education has the responsibility to prepare students to give care in a global context
Service-learning experience in a local, culturally diverse community
Study abroad experience in a Guatemalan Mayan village
Leadership StrategiesMultidisciplinary Service-Learning
The Maya Heritage Community Project (MHCP) is an example of an interdisciplinary service-learning project
Students and faculty from various disciplines, such as history, education, and nursing, work together to serve the local Mayan community
Various service-learning projects, such as the toolkit for health care providers, the handbook on teaching students of Maya heritage, and helping with the Mayan annual national conferences (Kennesaw State University, 2011; National Service-Learning
Clearinghouse, 2013).
Leadership Strategies
Study Abroad
Larson, Ott and Miles (2010) discuss the impact of their school of nursing's first elective course offering a two-week immersion experience in Guatemala
Gained a deeper understanding of US politics in developing countries, and recognized the intersection of health and economics
Allowed them to respect the traditions and beliefs of the Mayan people, instead of seeing them as barriers to health or as odd
Leadership Strategies
Study Abroad
Wright (2009) explains that during the past six years their school of nursing in the United States has offered a study abroad clinical course in Botswana
No matter where humans live, they have basic similarities
Partnered with a local school of nursing and after several years, the faculty from the U.S. school of nursing was asked to help the local school to start a bachelor level program
Leadership Strategies
Internationalizing the Curriculum
Interdependence in education involves moving away from isolated institutions to collaborating with other institutions and organizations both locally and globally, with a goal of "harnessing global flows of educational content, teaching resources, and innovations"
(Frenk et al., 2010, p. 1924).
Leadership Strategies2. Political Activism
Nursing must be committed to social justice and social responsibility should be its core value
Health remains a goal to achieve and a commitment for humanity
One of the biggest issues that the field experience revealed centered on the lack of legal documents
Legal status would improve not only their wages and chances for stable employment, but their access to and quality of health care
Political activism is a way to take action against racial prejudice and social injustice, therefore promoting human diversity and health care for all (Kelley, Kun, Connor, & Salmon, 2008; Racine, 2009)
Leadership Strategies2. Political Activism
Healthcare is political because it is expensive and there are limited resources to be matched with the needs
It is nurses' responsibility to get involved
At this time of immigration reform, writing to Florida Senator Rubio urging him to vote in favor of the immigration reform bill, is a concrete and effective leadership strategy that would help both provide the W visas for the hard working Guatemalan Mayan immigrants and allow for the unification of their families (Roux & Halstead, 2009)
Summary
The field interview revealed that the challenges of the Guatemalan Mayan people in Lake Worth are lack of language, working too many hours, lack of legal documents, domestic violence, and no healthcare coverage
The review of literature confirmed that especially immigration and healthcare are of concern to the Guatemalan Maya people in the United States.
The review of literature further exposed that Guatemalan Maya did not trust the healthcare in the United States, due to their culture not being understood or even disrespected
Through the stories told by M. Martinez, this same theme for lack of cultural competence and distrust emerged
Summary The suggested leadership strategies were centered on the two
key needs of the community locally and globally:
1. Need for enhanced cultural competence for the nursing profession
2. Migration as it relates to healthcare
Including an interdisciplinary service-learning experience in a local community and/or including a study abroad experience in the nursing curriculum, were suggested as leadership strategies for enhancing the cultural competence
Political activism in a form of writing a letter to Florida Senator was suggested as a leadership strategy related to migration
Legalizing the Guatemalan Maya immigrants would not only improve their social status from "second class citizens", but would also assure them access to healthcare(LeBaron, as cited in Hutto, 2013)
ReferencesBradbury-Jones, C. (2009). Globalisation and its implications for health care and nursing.
Nursing Standard, 23(25), 43-47. Retrieved frohttp://ezproxy.barry.edu/login?url= http://search.proquest.com/docview/219889301?accountid=27715
Brown, W. & Odem, M. (2011). Living across borders: Guatemalan Mayan immigrants in the U.S. South. Southern Spaces. An Interdisciplinary Journal About Regions, Places, Cultures of the U.S. South and Their Global Connections. Retrieved from http://www.southernspaces.org/2011/living-across-borders-guatemala-maya-immigrants- us-south
Burns, A. F. (1993). Maya in exile. Guatemalans in Florida. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Czerwinski, K., LeBaron, A. & McGrw, M. (2011). Maya Health Toolkit for Medical Providers. Retrieved from http://www.brycs.org/maya-toolkit/upload/Maya-Toolkit.pdf
Frenk, J., Chen, L., Bhutta, Z. A., Cohen, J., Crisp, N., Evans, T., . . . Zurayk, H. (2010). Health professionals for a new century: Transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The Lancet, 376(9756), 1923-1958. doi:10.1016/S01406736(10)61854-5
Fooksman, L. (n.d.). Day in the life of Guatemalan-Mayan Center. Retrieved from http://www.guatemalanmaya.org/featured/day-life-guatemalan-maya-center
References
Green, L. (2009). The fear of no future: Guatemalan migrants, dispossession and dislocation. Anthropologica, 51(2), 327-341.
The Gutemalan-Maya Center. (2012). Important letters. Retrieved from http://www.guatemalanmaya.org/letters
Hutto, T. (2013). The Maya: Elevate your graduate journey. Kennesaw State University Graduate College Magazine, Spring 2013, 22-26. Retrieved from http://www.kennesaw.edu/graduate/admissions/magazine.shtml
Kelley, M. A., Kun, K. E., Connor, A., & Salmon, M. E. (2008). Social responsibility: Conceptualization and Embodiment in a school of nursing. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 5(1), 1-16. doi:10.2202/1548-923X.1607
Kennesaw State University. (2011). The Mayan Heritage Community Project. Retrieved from https://commons.kennesaw.edu/maya-project/
Kriel, L. (2011). Healing the World. Retrieved from http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/110714/ghi-targets-chronic-malnutrition-guatemala
Larson, K. L., Ott, M., & Miles, J. M. (2010). International cultural immersion: En vivo reflections in cultural competence. Journal of Cultural Competency, 17(2), 44-50. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.barry.edu/docview/365997203/fulltextPDF?accountid=27715
References
Long, J. M., Sowell, R., Bairan, A., Holtz, C., Curtis, A. B. & Fogarty, K. J. (2012). Exploration of commonalities and variations in health related beliefs across four Latino subgroups using focus group methodology: Implications in care for Latinos with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 19(4), 133-142
Mayo, E. J. (2010). Maya USA: The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and its impact on Guatemalan Mayan in the United States. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies, 3(2), 29-44.
Millender, E. I. (2010). Stress experienced by Guatemalan-Mayan immigrants. Archives in Psychiatric Nursing, 24(3), 212-214. doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2009.04.001
Millender, E. I. (2012). Acculturation stress among Maya in the United States. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 19(2), 58-64.
Moran-Taylor, M. J. (2008). When mothers and fathers migrate north. Caretakers, children, and child rearing in Guatemala. Latin American Perspectives, 161(35), 79-95. doi:10.1177/0094582X08328980
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. (2013). Interdisciplinary models of service-learning in higher education. Retrieved from http://www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/fact_sheets/he_facts/interdisciplinary
References
Olmedo, S. (2008). Mayan immigrants face prejudice. Daily Sundial. Retrieved from http://sundial.csun.edu/2008/04/mayanimmigrantsfaceprejudice/
Pew Research Center. (2013). Hispanics of Guatemalan Origin in the United States, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/06/27/hispanics-of-guatemalan-origin-in-the-united-states-2010/
Ruiz, D. R. (2013). Maya migration north: Transnational indigenous identities. Cultural Survival. Retrieved from http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/voices/debra-rodman-ruiz/maya-migration-north-transnational-indigenous-identities
Roux, G. & Halstead, J. A. (2009). Issues and trends in nursing. Essential knowledge for today and tomorrow. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
United States Census Bureau. (2013). American Fact Finder. Census Group 2010. Popgroup Guatemalan. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices /jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF2_PCT43&prodType=table
Wright, D. J. (2009). Planning a study abroad clinical experience. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(5), 280-286. doi:10.3928/01484834-201000115-05