Manos Abiertas Atencion De Mujer a Mujer

Founder and first Director of Asociación Manos Abiertas (AMA), Hannah has over 20 years of experience in natural child birth and has assisted over 1500 natural births in Guatemala. Born in Germany, Hannah moved to Guatemala in 1988, and has four children. Hannah received her training as a Professional Midwife at Maternidad La Luz in El Paso, Texas, a border town between the United States and Mexico. There, she realized her interest in working with marginalized, high-risk communities. Prior to opening AMA, Hannah co-directed Ixmucané, a birth center located in Antigua and then opened her own waterbirth center in Guatemala City. In addition to attending births, the clinic also provides continuing education to traditional midwives. At AMA, Hannah continues to manage the intern program and AMA's international contacts.

Coordinator in April of 2009. She first came to know of AMA through the birth of her child, Juan Sebastian, at Ixmucané where Hannah was previously the Director. Trained as an auxiliary nurse, Sandra gained extensive experience working with low-income, indigenous women as the Coordinator for a women’s health program with the Behrhorst Foundation, a local community development NGO in Guatemala. At AMA , Sandra’s role as the new director ranges from attending births to helping families understand their reproductive rights and options. She is also in charge of maintaining the database of clients. Sandra is currently studying midwifery at AMA's new school in order to get a degree in the profession she is already practicing. Her goal at AMA is “to improve the situation that many women (in Guatemala) live in.”