WEST JORDAN — Imagine going into labor or writhing in pain from a broken limb and being unable to get medical attention due to a lack of transportation.
Tthose scenarios are far too common in the remote Alta Verpaz region of Guatemala, where poverty-stricken communities never receive basic health care.
Many people have never seen a hospital or an ambulance before, according to Brenda Chacon, of Zapaca, Guatemala.
"Some people in the world don't know how Guatemala is," Chacon said. "Some people die because they live so far in the mountains. The roads are very bad."
Help is on the way, thanks to Utah's CHOICE Humanitarian and Gold Cross Ambulance.
At a ceremony at CHOICE's offices Monday, Gold Cross donated two vintage 1981 ambulances to the humanitarian organization for use in Guatemala.
For CHOICE, which stands for Center for Humanitarian Outreach and Inter-Cultural Exchange, it was a no-brainer that help was immediately needed in Guatemala.
"We see people dying, literally, because they don't have access to the hospital a couple hours away," said Chris Johnson, CHOICE program director.
In Alta Verpaz, people routinely die during childbirth or from injuries from accidents, Johnson said.
After e-mailing Gold Cross two years ago, CHOICE's wish and request for ambulances was granted after a long wait.
Mike Reynolds, director of operations for Gold Cross, said the company is more than willing to help the community when resources are available to donate.
"We're happy that we can do it. It's not often that you have the opportunity," Reynolds said. "It's something that the company feels strongly about. Somebody else, somewhere in the world can use something."
For Johnson and those involved with CHOICE, grateful doesn't even start to describe how thankful they are for Gold Cross' involvement.
"They are a phenomenal company and very generous with their needs," he said. "They allow us to do the work that we do. This is where the real work starts."
Chacon, whose husband and uncle will be driving the two ambulances to Guatemala, said the people there will be happy.
Although the trip spans about 2,217 miles and will take five to six days of travel, Chacon and her family are more than willing to sacrifice their time and resources to make such a delivery.
"We just want to help. They were looking for a driver, and he was available to go," Chacon said of her husband.
After reaching Guatemala, the ambulances will be handed over to the municipal authorities of the region, but a CHOICE field team in the area will have "direct oversight" over the vehicles.
CHOICE has been operating for 25 years and focuses primarily on helping poverty-stricken areas of the world by working on sustainable village development, specifically in Guatemala, Bolivia, Mexico, Kenya and Nepal.
e-mail: danng@desnews.com