Dr. Vicky Guzmán recently visited Worcester State University to meet with University officials as well as nursing faculty and students who worked with her organization, Asociación Salvadoreña Pro-Salud Rural – The Salvadoran Association for Rural Health (ASAPROSAR), in El Salvador during the spring of 2015.
The El Salvador nursing students, a global service learning group, met with Dr. Guzmán to evaluate the program and discuss their assessments with nursing faculty and administrative officials. The program is expected to continue this year.
“We don’t like to just ‘go’ some place,” said Dr. Maryann Sabetti-Gramajo, who organized the trip along with Dr. Judy Tuori. “Rather, we like to work with local community organizations to support their work.”
ASAPROSAR works with the neediest families in El Salvador to improve their quality of life, and aims to empower the poor through health care, youth leadership training, environmental and nutritional education, micro-credit, and community development. Priority is given to children, youth, and women in rural and marginalized urban settings.
Dr. Guzmán has been providing health care and working with rural villages in El Salvador since the 1970s, and founded ASAPROSAR during the Salvadoran Civil War in order to provide protection and validity for her rural health program and for the safety of her workers.