Accompanying to heal: when health also needs to be listened to

In the corridors of public hospitals, every day thousands of people face more than an illness: they face incomprehension, fear and, often, silence. Because their language is not understood. Because their culture is not taken into account. Because the system, with all its structure, is not always fully designed to see them or to care for them with dignity.

But there are those who resist from another place. There are those who accompany.

The organization Ixchel, accompaniment in health, has been working for years alongside those who face these barriers. Their work goes beyond translation: they put body, ears and words so that people -regardless of their language or context- can exercise their right to health without fear, without discrimination and with clarity.

Having Ixchel's medical accompaniment means that you are not alone when you go to the hospital. That there is someone who can help you understand what is happening, to ask what you need, to make decisions about your body and your health. That there is a voice nearby that translates not only languages, but also intentions, emotions and silences.

At Ixchel, to accompany is not to assist: it is to support with respect and presence. It is to create a space of humanity where before there was only formality.

Although much of Ixchel's work is with speakers of indigenous languages in Chiapas, her work is not limited to that. The accompaniment is for everyone who needs it: those who do not understand the medical language, those who are alone in a procedure, those who require emotional support in a difficult diagnosis. Because exclusion in healthcare takes many forms. And the right to understand and be understood should be universal.

In Mexico, talking about intercultural health is still a pending debt. Discrimination based on language, origin or social class continues to cost lives. In this vacuum, organizations like Ixchel care from the human point of view.

They work with a deep conviction: all people have the right to clear, respectful and dignified medical care.