In the spring of 2003, a small group in Santiago Atitlán began investigating the possibility of reopening the abandoned hospital in Panabaj. A town meeting was held and in June a Civic Committee was formed in City Hall, called “Comité K’aslimaal”. K’aslimaal means “life and regeneration” in the Tz’utujil language. In February 2004, the mayor granted a 50-year lease to K’aslimaal, and the renovation work began. Fifteen months later, the town celebrated the inauguration of Hospitalito Atitlán, and after more than a decade, the first 24-hour medical care was available for the Tz’utujil Maya in Santiago Atitlán.

But tragically, October 5, 2005, six months after the opening, everything changed. Hundreds of neighbors were buried in an avalanche of mud caused by the rains of Tropical Storm Stan, and the renovated buildings were useless.

On to Temporary HA