Every Drop Creates A Ripple That Leads To A Wave Of Change
From land agreements and architectural designs to fundraising, building permits and pouring the first layer of cement, we are committed to making change happen.
And we hope you’ll join us to celebrate every milestone along the way.
MILESTONE MARKERS
Our collaboration with Build Health International has entered its second phase with the inclusion of Guatemala-based engineering specialists, URREA Ingeniería. URREA’s commitment to high standards in infrastructure development and environmental stewardship makes them an excellent partner for our medical mission facility project.
This phase advances the project from conceptual design to detailed construction drawings and blueprints and formally initiates the permitting process. As we work toward key milestones in the coming months, we are encouraged to move forward alongside experienced and deeply committed partners who share our vision and values.
Fueled by another dedicated team of mission volunteers, our February mission delivered outstanding impact. Over the course of the week, we cared for nearly 500 patients—providing adult and pediatric examinations, women’s health services, surgical consults, and vision care.
At the same time, our team has been hard at work preparing for a major shipment of essential equipment and instruments that will expand our service capacity and support the future health facility. February may be a short month, but we maximized every moment to advance our mission and strengthen the care we provide.
We entered the new year with strong momentum, collaborating closely with our architectural teams as we advanced the blueprint development and prepared for our next medical mission. Our local team also joined the Uniendo América-Feria de Proyectos 2026 (Rotary International’s Central America Project Conference) to amplify our mission and forge powerful new partnerships. We were also thrilled to receive an exceptionally generous donation—a state‑of‑the‑art portable ultrasound unit that will significantly enhance our diagnostic capabilities during medical service weeks.
YOUR GENEROSITY POWERS OUR NEXT BIG LEAP!
Right now, mission teams serving rural communities like Purulhá, Guatemala work in temporary spaces—making it impossible to offer surgical interventions or specialized care. People deserve more than health checkups; they deserve lasting care solutions.
That’s why Onda Health is building a dedicated medical mission facility—a place equipped for comprehensive care.
With your help, we’ll launch into 2026 ready to break ground: preparing the land, finalizing blueprints, and securing permits—all while continuing vital missions in February, June, and October.
Together, we can transform plans into progress and turn hope into health.
Onda Health is extremely grateful to the Lemus family for their visionary commitment to improving life in Guatemala. By donating the land for the Onda Health Medical Mission Facility, the Lemus family honors their father’s legacy to use resources for the betterment of local communities. With this milestone complete, we can now proceed with design blueprints, building permits and site preparation. This is a giant step forward in our journey!
In October, we launched the first Onda Health medical mission team conducting nearly 600 patient consults, 72 pap smears, 31 surgical consults, 82 on-site labs and over 1,000 prescriptions filled. Over 30 communities were included and a third of the consults were conducted in 3 languages (Mayan to Spanish to English) – we’re grateful for our extremely competent Interpreter team!
Every mission brings intangible impact to the people we serve but the actual numbers speak volumes about just how many lives were changed by this team’s compassionate and dedicated effort.
Pulling together a medical mission in a rural setting with no existing infrastructure is no small feat! Our team is busy sorting, organizing, packing and shipping almost 800 lbs of medicines, and supplies – much of which has been donated by supporters and collected by our volunteers.
“This project was conceived to meet multiple objectives: to provide a healthcare center that meets the highest standards while creating a welcoming and accessible space for local communities,” remarks Betsaida Curto Reyes of Build Health International. “We believe this design reflects the needs and aspirations of all involved parties, and we are confident it will set a new standard for sustainability and community care.” Read the full article and watch the 3D fly-through here.
Great things are happening in Purulhá!
As we meet with the local communities in planning the facility construction, we hear over and over how much need there is for healthcare service now. Building our facility will take time and many people can’t wait. Healthcare providers are needed now. Onda Health will start medical mission teams in October this year. Learn more on the Volunteer page!
The last few weeks were filled with work sessions with Build Health International (BHI) to fine-tune design concepts in a way that will allow medical mission teams to function efficiently and effectively in order to best serve our communities. We’ve also continued discussions with local architecture firms to determine the best approach in bringing the concept to life.
Planning has never been more inspiring or fun! And, proper prior planning prevents poor performance – or so the saying goes. We are truly excited to partner with Build Health International (BHI) for the design concepting phase of our health facility mission. BHI specializes in designing and building health infrastructure in low-resource settings and have successfully executed projects in Haiti, Peru, Malawi, Sierra Leone and 22 other countries. They bring extensive expertise to the Onda Health build project! BHI team members, Betsaida Curto Reyes (Architect and Project Manager) and Mikel Beaumont (Architectural Technician) traveled from Spain to Guatemala for a weeklong, on-site workshop with the Onda Health team and local community leaders, as well as evaluation meetings with local A&E firms. After exploring our build site in Purulhá and many hours discussing facility design needs (and wants!), Betty and Mikel will now collaborate with others at BHI over the next few weeks to provide a recommended concept design, preliminary massing model and renderings as well as proposed project budget. This is one giant step forward on our journey.
In February, we focused on clearing the tall grass and brush from the land in preparation for the upcoming concept design workshop with Build Health International (more on that in our March entry!). Here in Guatemala, clearing brush is mostly done by hand with a machete (we often treat “machete elbow” during medical missions). It took five men ten days to cut the foliage growth which was then donated to local farmers who gladly used the “grade-A” feed for their livestock. A perimeter fence was also installed marking our northern and western property boundaries.
In January, we had numerous meetings with the Mayor of Purulhá Municipality, Edgar Xoy, and the neighboring community to discuss the access road to the healthcare facility site. Community leaders Eusebio Xoc and Juan Carlos Sis informed us that they had already initiated conversations with Mayor Xoy about widening the current road, improving drainage, and reconstructing a bridge to accommodate larger vehicles. We are truly grateful to see the community so enthusiastic about the opportunities the facility will bring, not only to the immediate area but to the entire region.
To ensure a collaborative approach, we formed Asociación Onda Salud in Guatemala to involve local community leaders and healthcare providers. This approach helps ensure we have our patient needs at the heart of what we do.
Building upon their legacy of improving life in Guatemala, the Lemus family offered to donate a section of their family land for a healthcare facility that could better serve Purulhá and its surrounding communities.
Onda Health is formed by a group of healthcare professionals committed to making change happen through improving access to care in rural Guatemala.
Is Spanish, onda means ripple.
“Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects.” – Dalai Lama
The meaning of life is to find your gift.
The purpose of life is to give it away.