GlobeMed at Amherst

Who We Are // GlobeMed at Amherst

Founded in 2010, GlobeMed at Amherst is one of 46 GlobeMed chapters working to improve the health of people living in poverty around the world. We partner with Pastoral de la Salud in Cuscatlán, El Salvador to improve access to high quality health education and care for 47 communities, and to advocate for their human right to health.

Our Partner // Pastoral de la Salud in Cuscatlán, El Salvador

GlobeMed at Amherst is partnered with Pastoral de la Salud, a community health organization working in and around Cuscatlán, El Salvador. Pastoral de la Salud is a coalition of 12 parishes that attends to a total of 47 communities. Through the work of volunteers and community health workers, Pastoral provides heath education, prevention, and natural medicine, placing a focus on children's health from pre-natal care through age 5. The organization also serves as a hub for community organizing, mobilizing communities to advocate for their human right to health care.

Our Project // $5,000 to support food sustainability projects

This year, GlobeMed at Amherst aims to raise $5000 to support a food sustainability project for struggling families in Cuscatlán. Pastoral will use these funds to build a chicken coop or fishpond for each of 150 households that have been affected by overfishing, crop failures, or other difficulties. These sustainable sources of food and income will allow the families to focus on things beyond the daily grind of survival, such as putting their children through school.

To help ensure the success of the project, Pastoral has enlisted the aid of its sister organization, Pastoral de la Tierra, which focuses on agriculture rather than health. Fish and poultry experts will help in the construction of the coops and ponds, and will hold regular trainings with the families throughout the yearlong project so that they can get the best yield from their new resources.