A Timeline of Impact
Dr. Carroll Behrhorst, a family physician from Winfield Kansas, travels to Guatemala as a Lutheran medical missionary and is stationed in Antigua, Guatemala.
The Behrhorst Clinic is Founded
Dr. Behrhorst founds a vitally needed medical program in Chimaltenango for the Kaqchikel Maya, the Behrhorst Clinic and “Hospitalito.” It will grow into a creative center for health and community development, pioneering an array of village-based programs.
The Behrhorst Clinic Foundation, Inc. incorporates in the U.S., later known as Behrhorst Partners for Development, and eventually as ALDEA.
Behrhorst's work blossoms in both curative and preventive care. As the decade began, the Behrhorst work expanded its innovations in all of these priority areas. Of special note were the innovations and undertakings rooted in communities to address basic health needs.
The World Health Organization cites Behrhorst’s work in Chimaltenango as one of ten models, worldwide, for effective work among the rural poor.
An Earthquake Shakes the Nation
A devastating earthquake affects Chimaltenango. The Clinic is destroyed, but the earthquake-proof “Hospitalito” provides care for hundreds.
“La Violencia” Engulfs Guatemala
Violence overtakes Guatemala. Village work is halted. Health Promoters are targeted. Staff are killed. The clinic and hospital continue to function, but services are disrupted, communication with the countryside is cut off, and information sent to the U.S. is very limited.
Guatemalan ownership of the Chimaltenango program is assured through the incorporation of the Carroll Behrhorst Guatemalan Development Foundation (BFG).
Dr. Behrhorst and family receive death threats and reluctantly leave Guatemala. Dr. Behrhorst joins the faculty at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. As safety returns, he makes frequent trips to Guatemala.
First Behrhorst Study Tour travels to Guatemala, to visit rural villages and meet Behrhorst leaders.
Doc Passes Away
Dr. Behrhorst dies of natural causes while in Guatemala. There is an outpouring of grief and support, but questions about the future loom large.
A New Dawn in Guatemala: Toward a Worldwide Health Vision, edited by Richard Luecke, is published, documenting the Behrhorst story and its global impact.
As the Behrhorst Guatemalan Development Foundation approaches financial sustainability, the Behrhorst Clinic Foundation, Inc. expands our mission to support additional Guatemalan programs. We change our name to Behrhorst Partners for Development. (BPD)
BPD and BFG launch a renewed partnership, addressing maternal and infant health and strengthening clinic services.
BPD and BFG Part Ways and ABPD is Born
BPD and BFG decide to work separately. A Guatemalan organization, ABPD, is formed, supported by BPD, to continue work in selected villages in the municipality of San Martín Jilotepeque.
BPD/ABPD adopt overarching goal: reduction of chronic childhood malnutrition in partner villages, expanding into the municipalities of Patzún and Santa Apolonia.
In 2015, BPD announced its new name, ALDEA: Advancing Local Development through Empowerment and Action. ALDEA sees itself as a “sister” organization to ABPD, raising funds in the United States to support ABPD’s work on the ground in Guatemala.
We Celebrate 50 Years of Guatemalan Partnership
What a celebration it was, commemorating our history, back to the beginnings of Doc’s work in Guatemala, from which we’ve grown.
ALDEA/ABPD forge forward using a five-year plan with selected villages to reduce chronic childhood malnutrition and contribute to overall community well-being, now working in the municipalities of Comalapa and Tecpán.
2020 was a year of extreme challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. ALDEA and ABPD responded by modifying our activities to meet the critical needs of our partner communities in this crisis.