Continuing Promise 2010, Project Handclasp Deliver Goods to Guatemala

By Lt. Jacqui L. Barker, Continuing Promise 2010 Public Affairs

PUERTO SANTOS, Guatemala (NNS) -- Continuing Promise 2010 (CP10) and Operation Project Handclasp personnel delivered 59 pallets of goods to organizations in Guatemala Sept. 7.

Embarked in USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), anchored off the coast of Puerto Santos, Guatemala, Sept. 2, they delivered Project Handclasp pallets. Lt. j.g. Josh Hauth, a Project Handclasp representative, orchestrated the delivery of 34 pallets of refurbished wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and canes, in total worth $189,758.

Twelve pallets of other goods, such as feminine hygiene items, clothing and school supplies were donated by the Church of Latter Day Saints and were worth approximately $44,209.

Hope Haven Guatemala Director of Operations Mark Richard and Pastor Antonio Sehuero, of Guatemala City, both picked up the pallets of donated goods at the Guatemalan navy base in Puerto Santos.

"Receiving these wheelchairs is amazing," Richard said. "We have so many people in this area that will be able to use these."

Hope Haven Guatemala gives wheelchairs to children without access to pediatric wheelchairs. Some of those wheelchairs were distributed throughout the Puerto Santos community the day after receipt.

The organization manufactures wheelchairs in Antigua and Guatemala and most of the factory workers grew up with polio or spina bifida. The factory also partners with a correctional facility in South Dakota to provide refurbished wheelchairs to children in Guatemala.

Sehuero, who drove several hours from his mountainous home near Guatemala City, said the products donated by the Church of Latter Day Saints are truly a gift.

"Working with the Navy has been wonderful," said Sehuero. "They've all been so professional and nice, and we really are thankful for these items. I am taking these pallets back to our town tonight for distribution in the next few days."

Some articles of clothing, including children's winter coats, were given to Sehuero for donation.

"Who would've thought that here in the hot summer days of September in Guatemala we would be donating winter coats, but the children in those higher elevations can really use these clothes," said Hauth.

Hauth, a resident of Seattle, Wash., is the CP10 and Project Handclasp liaison, and his sole purpose with the HCA mission is to ensure Project Handclasp goods reach their intended recipients.

"I didn't know that I'd be doing this job on this mission, but I'm so happy this is how I can contribute," Hauth said. "This mission is definitely making a difference in my life when I see that I can help the lives of others."

To date, Project Handclasp and CP10 have delivered $337,178 in goods to Guatemalan citizens.

CP10 is a humanitarian civic assistance (HCA) mission in Central and Latin American countries staged aboard the large-deck amphibious ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7).

CP10 includes 1,600 personnel from Iwo Jima, CP10 mission support, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 7, Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Together, these personnel provide medical, dental, construction and subject matter exchange partnerships in host nations to include Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama and Suriname.