The Way of Hope is a non-profit organization that serves the people of Guatemala by providing prosthetic services and post treatment follow up care to all ages. The Way of Hope was founded by Dick & Mary Jo Crandall in 2008 after having spent the previous 18 years working in Guatemala aiding in medical outreaches. These outreaches, conducted by New Covenant World Missions(NCWM), sparked a desire in Dick & Mary Jo to assist NCWM in building a full service hospital in San Benito Peten Guatemala. The project took nearly ten years and Hospital Shalom had its official opening in 2006. After Hospital Shalom began to grow and see many patients, Dick & Mary Jo saw a tremendous need for prosthetic services among the Guatemalan people. Prosthetic services and the post follow up care needed was new territory for Dick & Mary Jo, so they partnered with Lifenabled, who is a not-for-profit prosthetic and orthotic organization also based out of North Carolina. Now, The Way of Hope and Lifenabled conduct a week long prosthetic service clinic twice per year, where the prosthetics are custom made on site for each patient. The clinic is held in Guatemala's northern Peten region and serves approximately 100 patients annually, many whom are children ranging in all ages. The follow up care conducted is also vitally important to the patients success in mobility. Many of the entryways to homes in Guatemala are difficult to navigate even for the able bodied person. They are rooted deep in jungles, or wind down a muddy path that leaves family members with the task of carrying their loved one. Their homes consist of dirt or mud floors and this makes it very difficult for patients to move about easily. The Way of Hope helps these families clear pathways, poor concrete and many other projects that help the patient to not only move about easier but restores dignity and hope. After six years of offering this service, it has become clear that the need for this outreach has far surpassed what could've ever been imagined. This amazing blessing could not be possible without partnering with NCWM & Lifenabled and we are humbled by God's provision and guidance.
