Mike Oswald began participating in medical mission trips to Guatemala in 2007. After he and his wife visited several areas of Guatemala and its different departments, they observed the need within the communities to provide the best possible medical care to people with limited resources.
They noticed a lack of participation between the foreign mission teams and local physicians and nurses. In 2018, ALMA was formed with the idea that there would be a symbiotic relationship between the volunteers and the medical staff in Guatemala. This change in paradigm has been the key to safely providing surgical care to hundreds of individuals in Guatemala. Shortly after the formation of ALMA, alliances began starting with Dr. Vicky Loza at Ilumina, Dr. Julio Estrada at Panamed, Dr. Alex Diaz at Cemedica, and Dr. Errol Mendez with the Guatemalan Men’s National Soccer Team.