The Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya (ODIM) provides community-driven healthcare and education in the Tz’utujil Maya towns of San Pablo La Laguna and San Juan La Laguna. In addition to operating medical and dental clinics, ODIM offers six health education programs addressing a range of community needs including childhood malnutrition, adolescent health, diabetes, safe stoves, and drinking water.
Dra. Andrea Garcia, Executive Director
Andrea del Rosario García Quezada received her medical degree from the University of San Carlos in 2012. Originally from Guatemala City, she has lived in the Sololá capital for 2 years. Dr. Andrea has 9 years of clinical experience, working for several public and private establishments, always focused on preventive services and patient education. She completed her master's degree in Nutrition and Food Safety from the University of San Carlos and INCAP and a Health Administration course from the Loyola Business School in Guatemala City. She previously worked for over 4 years at Wuqu’ Kawoq /Maya Health Alliance, coordinating a preventive health program for indigenous women in the western area of Guatemala. With experience in community and preventive health, she joined the ODIM team in February 2022, to contribute her experience as the institution's Medical Director and now in 2024, as the Executive Director.
Vanessa Hernández, Communications Manager
Vanessa was born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In 2009 she moved to Guatemala to pursue her studies. Nowadays she has a Psychology degree from the University of San Carlos and is studying for a Master's in Forensic Psychology. Vanessa has helped multiple times in non-profit organizations back in Guatemala City as a volunteer. This was what encouraged her to focus on working with non-profits to support people and communities. She recently started working at ODIM and feels really excited to have the opportunity to spread the word about ODIMs work and community progress.
Vanessa Quesada, Volunteer Coordinator
Vanessa was born and raised in Costa Rica. She graduated with a degree in International Relations from the National University of Costa Rica in 2017. With a strong passion for human rights and international migration, she has worked for organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration in the border region between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Later on, she worked in the coordination of a project for Aid in Action, which was funded by the European Union. Her expertise in gender, development, protection, alliances, and social awareness contributes to ODIM in connecting and engaging with international volunteers, who channel resources through ODIM's programs to the most vulnerable indigenous Maya populations in need.
Pedro Méndez, Finance Manager
Pedro started working with ODIM in April of 2012 as a projects coordinator. He graduated high school as a perito contador (accountant) with an orientation in computers. His work as a projects manager with Azzi, a non-profit organization in San Pablo, gave him the perfect experience to join our team. Pedro first worked as the Scholarship Program Coordinator. At the same time, Pedro was also the Coordinator of our Diabetes Program “Caminemos Juntos.” In February of 2014, Pedro was promoted to the position of Finance Manager of ODIM. The staff is so thankful for Pedro's hardwork, dedication and great ideas!
Ana Silvia Sosa Piy, Manager of Human Talent
Ana Silvia is originally from San Pablo La Laguna and has a Bachelor Degree in Social Work. She joined ODIM in 2019 as a Health Promoter of the Adolescent Health Program, empowering adolescents about their sexual and reproductive health. In 2019, she became the Coordinator of the Social Entrepreneurship Program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led a project that responded to and prioritized the urgent community need for affordable hand sanitizer. The adolescents in the Entrepreneurship Program developed their own Antibacterial Spray, using a World Health Organization approved formula, which was sold at a low-cost and designed to be accessible in their communities. As part of the ODIM team, she is very proud and happy to work for her community and to help students who need to change their reality and their context. She is eager to provide students the opportunity to fight for their dreams and grow professionally. Ana Silvia believes, "Education will always be a door out of poverty."
Melyna Antonia Cholotío Pérez, Director of Community and Clinical Programs
Melyna joined ODIM as a Health Promoter for the diabetes program. In March of 2014 she became the new coordinator for the Scholarship program, serving as a liaison between the students, their teachers and parents to assure the best possibility for our students to succeed. She was also the coordinator of the diabetes health education program where she managed the heath promoters who work as diabetes educators, updated the patient records, and tracked the care of each patient. On February 2017, Melyna was promoted to the position of Community Health & Education Program Coordinator and in 2020, Melyna was promoted to the position of Community Program Manager. She is currently studying Clinical Psychology at Mariano Galvez University in Sololá.
Julieta Tzaj, Manager of Community Programs
Julieta was born and raised in San Juan La Laguna. She graduated in 2015 from the Panamericana University in Secondary Teaching and Pedagogy. She started collaborating with ODIM in 2013, as a part-time translator. She liked the work that the organization was doing so much that she stayed as a volunteer. A year later, she became a Health Promoter, first for the Healthy Mommy & Me program and later for the Diabetes Program. During this time she realized how much she enjoyed working with the participants and having an impact on their life. After working as Coordinator for the Diabetes Program for several years, Julieta was promoted in 2020 to the position of Community Health & Education Program Coordinator. Her favorite part of working consists in organizing activities and managing the promoters.
Rosario Leja, Coordinator, Mamá y Yo Saludable (Healthy Mommy & Me) Program
Rosario was born and raised in San Pablo La Laguna and started working at ODIM in 2012 as a volunteer and translator. In 2015 she became a Healthy Mommy & Me Health Promoter and two years later she was promoted to the position of Healthy Mommy & Me Program Coordinator. Before joining ODIM, Rosario received training from World Vision, where she learned about malnutrition in children and how to prevent it. Her favorite part her job is that she is able to teach people and help them improve their lives.
Betty Pérez, Coordinator, Salud Adolescente (Adolescent Health) Program
Betty was born and raised in San Juan La Laguna. She graduated high school as a teacher and has several years of experience working in local schools and non-profits. She started collaborating with ODIM in 2012, as a Health Promoter. A year later, she became a Dental Assistant and stayed in that position for 3 years. Currently, she holds the position of Adolescent Health Program Coordinator. She enjoys working in the community and being able to help with its development. Her goal is to break the numerous taboos surrounding sex education and enable teenagers to make their own informed decisions.
Kelly J. Mendoza Cholotío, Coordinator, Caminemos Juntos (“Let’s Walk Together”) Diabetes Program
Kelly J. Mendoza Cholotio was born and raised in San Juan La Laguna. She graduated in 2013 with a bachillerato in Medicine, and currently is a psychology student at the Mariano Gálvez University in Guatemala. Kelly began to collaborate with ODIM in 2019 as a Health Promoter of the “Let's Walk Together” Diabetes Program. Two years later, she was promoted to Program Coordinator. What she likes most about her work is listening to and attending to the needs of people with diabetes in the community.
Juana Rosenda Ujpan Cholotio, Coordirnator, Vivienda Saludable (High Impact Home Improvement) Program
Juana was born in San Juan La Laguna. She earned a Master degree in Intercultural Early Childhood Bilingual Education. She joined the ODIM family in 2019 as a Health Promoter in the Vivienda Saludable and taught families practices for healthy living in San Juan La Laguna and San Pablo La Laguna. In 2021, Juana received training in video production and has produced several videos to promote ODIM’s community health programs. In May 2022, Juana assumed coordination of the Vivienda Saludable program. She is happy to be part of the ODIM team to continue to support more homes in San Juan and San Pablo.
Dr. Edson Méndez, Physician
Originally from San Pedro La Laguna, Dr. Edson graduated as a medical professional from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. Driven by a profound sense of community service, he volunteered during the pandemic to care for COVID-19-positive patients, both in the hospital and within the community. Beyond this, he has extended medical assistance to various communities across the country, accompanying groups of students from the United States. In addition to his public service, he has provided family and hospital medical care in a private clinic. Now, as a vital member of the ODIM team, Dr. Edson is eager to embark on this new adventure, aiming to make a significant impact by offering quality healthcare to our communities through ODIM's diverse programs.
Rebecca Alvarez Viuda de Campa, Head Nurse
Rebecca is originally from San Pedro La Laguna and she holds a Professional Nursing degree from the University Rafael Landivar in Quetzaltenango. Before joining ODIM, Rebecca worked for 24 years for the Guatemalan Ministry of Health as a head nurse. Then, she worked during 4 years as a consultant for the Guatemalan Ministry of Health. When Rebecca first joined ODIM in September 2017, she was on a monthly replacement for a doctor, but eventually Rebecca decided to stay longer as we offered her a full-time position. What motivates Rebecca is to be useful to her community? She enjoys listening to her patients and gifting them with her time. Rebecca attends her patients in Spanish and in Tz’utujil. Speaking the local Mayan language is a great advantage as some patients do not speak any Spanish; hence she maintains a special bond with her patients.
Gloria Mendoza, Nurse (Laboratory)
Gloria worked as the clinic receptionist since 2009 and has now transferred into her current role as “Health Specialist”. She graduated high school as a perito contador (accountant), and began working with ODIM shortly after. Gloria is currently studying Professional Nursing at a local university. Gloria has been trained by ALAS (WINGS) as a representative for family planning, and provides consults with our patients. Additionally Gloria provides Bach Flower consults and counseling sessions for patients with mental health problems. On a regular day at ODIM, Gloria can be found working in the laboratory, performing a variety of tests for our clinic patients.
Josefa Ixcayá, Primary Care Nurse and Clinic Administrator
Josefa, originally from San Pablo La Laguna, has been involved with ODIM since 2010. She started as a volunteer Health Promoter, and then worked as a diabetes Health Promoter. In this role she taught classes and provided one-to-one support for individuals in ODIM’s diabetes program. In November 2020, Josefa graduated from the Panamericana University with a bachelor degree in Nursing and Health Management, and wrote her thesis about diabetes. Josefa is one of the several staff members who received an ODIM scholarship to pursue her education. Her favorite part of the job is learning about the work that the doctors are doing. Her ultimate goal in her work is to be the best nurse she can be.
Concepción Ixcayá, Prenatal and Women’s Health Nurse
Concepcion is originally from San Pablo La Laguna. She comes with a nursing diploma but is currently studying Professional Nursing at the Panamericana University of Sololá. Concepción first came to ODIM in October 2017 as a prenatal nurse. She is currently in charge of the prenatal consults given to pregnant mothers. Concepción also supports our Healthy Mommy & Me program by giving workshops and informational sessions to the participants. She follows soon-to-be mothers from their first trimester till the birth of their child. Concepción feels great satisfaction when a baby is born healthy. What Concepción enjoys most from her work in ODIM is the NGO’s structure and friendly staff. Concepción wants to continue to support her community as much as she can. She is delighted to see people traveling from remote areas around the lake just to benefit from ODIM’s services.
Cecilia Faustina Hernández Vásquez, Data Entry Specialist and Pharmacy
Cecilia Faustina Hernández Vásquez is an auxiliary nurse originally from San Juan la Laguna. She started with ODIM as a volunteer and translator in May 2013. In 2015, she was a participant in the Healthy Mommy & Me program and later became a Health Promoter in the program, a position which she held from 2016 to 2020. Cecilia is passionate about working with mothers and children and her time in the program allowed her to see mothers empowered with food and healthy care for their babies. In 2017 Cecilia was assigned to a position where she digitizes data from the Let's Walk Together and Healthy Mommy & Me programs. She is happy to work in her community and proud to see the results of these programs where ODIM is successfully fighting malnutrition and controlling glucose levels of diabetic patients.
Dominga Micaela Quic Mendoza, Finance Assistant
Dominga was born and raised in San Juan La Laguna and has a high school degree in accounting with a specialization in computing. She began working at ODIM in 2020 as a Health Promoter in the Caminemos Juntos diabetes care program. She considers working with and knowing people with diabetes is indescribable because she has learned so much from them and their constant struggle to improve their health. To be a part of ODIM is to grow, to know and to learn more each day.
Mónica Leja, Clinic Receptionist
Mónica, born and raised in San Pablo La Laguna, is honored to have the opportunity to support her community by providing them access to affordable health care. She has been involved with ODIM since 2009 as a community Health Promoter and a teacher in our scholarship program. She is trained as a teacher and appreciates the opportunity to teach the youth of San Pablo and to continue to expand her skill set. Serving as the receptionist of both ODIM clinics, Monica is excited to expand her computer skills and also to provide excellent service for patients.
Domingo Elvira Mendoza López, Custodian Clínica Sanjuanerita
Elvira is happy to be part of ODIM. In 2009 she started as a health promoter, then moved to her current position in 2010 as a clinic custodian, during which time she has witnessed the growth of this organization. Elvira always tries to make a good impression with her work and to maintain optimal conditions in each area of the Sanjuanerita Clinic. She will continue to do her best for ODIM because this work has helped her to raise her family and be an example for her children because all work is worthy.
Olinda Leja Guaján, Custodian Clínica Chuitinamit
Olinda has been working at ODIM for 12 years. She started with ODIM in 2008 as a Health Promoter in the “Let’s Walk Together” Diabetes Program. Since 2020, she has been in charge of cleaning at the Chuitinamit Clinic. Her work helps prevent illnesses among workers and patients and ensures that they can enjoy a pleasant and clean environment.
