Rescued children get a chance at a new life (courtesy by Nuestros Ahijados)

María, 21, mother of four, fled dire poverty to come to La Antigua Guatemala hoping for a better future. But she didn’t find the tranquil, colonial paradise that makes Antigua so appealing to travelers worldwide. Instead, she and her older daughter were forced to work long hours for the owner of the house she lived in and barely got anything to eat. The house was frequented by drug dealers, and she had been urged on various occasions to sell her children.

Human trafficking is not something abstract. It is so shocking that it makes us want to look the other way. Who wants to see young children trapped into forced labor or domestic servitude, young women forced into prostitution and sexually exploited, free men turned into slaves? Who wants to see these 2.5 million victims worldwide? They do not have postcard smiles; they are survivors who have been through hell.
Like countless others, María was destitute and far away from her loved ones. She was helpless—the perfect victim for ruthless traffickers. She and her daughter had been exploited, and she might have been forced to sell her children if the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing Persons (ITEMP) had not stepped in to rescue her.

Founded in 2001, ITEMP is a borderless anti-human trafficking program of Nuestros Ahijados, an NGO well known for having helped thousands of children and families break the bitter chains of poverty over the last 20 years.

ITEMP works to prevent, interdict, rescue, recover and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking. It provides them with safe houses when necessary, medical and psychological aid, social and legal assistance as well as with education.

Thanks to ITEMP, María is now in a safe house, her children are going to go to school, and she is going to enroll is a literacy program. Tears have been shed but joy is taking over. And now she can agree: Antigua is beautiful.

If you know about a trafficking victim or if you want to help us offer a fresh start to children and young women whose lives have been broken, contact ITEMP. Call Clara San Filippo, operations director, at 7832-4678 or email: Claire.sanfilippo@itemp.org, also visit www.itemp.org

A supporter of the Integral Heart Foundation, Anabella E., meets her sponsor child, María Emilina, for the first time in San Mateo.

The Integral Heart Foundation provides a safe place to learn and grow

In the 1990s, Mick Quinn was an Irish immigrant living in New York City. Founder and CEO of several multimillion dollar companies, Quinn left New York after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Now at the top of his game, he began to realize that there was more to life than money. Already an avid spiritualist, he wanted to further explore the deeper meaning to life. Leaving his life in the U.S., he moved to a remote area of Portugal where he spent his days meditating and produced his best-selling book The Uncommon Path. It was at this time that he met his wife Debora, and at his publisher’s request, they moved to the United States to promote the book.

However, Mick and Debora missed the Latin culture and in 2009 traveled to La Antigua Guatemala for a holiday. Little did they know this would not only change their lives, it would impact the lives of many.

As many visitors do, the couple fell in love with Antigua and its history, beauty and charm. It was what most people overlook, though, that really caught the Quinns’ attention. Driving in the Guatemalan countryside one early afternoon, they could not help but notice the number of children roaming about. The couple wondered why these kids—poorly clothed, many without shoes and obviously malnourished—were not in school. After further research, they discovered some staggering statistics. Approximately 75 percent of Guatemalans live below the poverty level, with over half of Guatemalan children under the age of 5 suffering from chronic malnutrition. They had to do something.

So the Integral Heart Foundation was formed. With its focus on helping children and their families, the organization is making a huge impact after only two years. “Our goal is to empower the resource-poor through advanced education,” Mick Quinn says.

The Integral Education Program teaches self confidence, responsibility, social skills and alternatives to crime, and provides a safe place to learn and grow—teaching the kids not what to think, but how to think.

“We also help with more immediate needs, providing food and clothing in addition to access to education. We are very excited about the Solar Home Light Project. We want to supply as many families as possible that do not have electricity with a solar power lighting unit that provides five hours of light each night,” Quinn explains. “Imagine going home at night, and not having any light to cook or read by, no television or computer. This light allows the children to read school books and the parents to cook and do other chores.”

Working alongside the God’s Child Project and CasaSito, the Integral Heart Foundation is off to a good start: It has already found sponsors for 50 children; 37 students attend weekly Integral Education classes; and 19 solar units have been installed.

“We want to create sustainable change, showing the younger generation that they can break out of the cycle of poverty that they were born into,” Quinn explains. “Now, with cell phones and computers, we can introduce the resource-rich outside world to them for the first time so that together they can co-create a better life for themselves and for future generations.”

For more information or to donate, visit www.integralheartfoundation.org, e-mail info@integralheartfoundation.org or call 7934-6190

written by Reid Lustig

To fry an egg is no simple task. One must tromp through the forest harvesting wood with a machete, haul a hefty bundle back to the house on foot, arrange the sticks in a fire pit and nurse the flame to life. There are more than 8 million people in rural Guatemala depending on wood for cooking. For them the preparation required for even a simple meal demands a significant amount of effort and resources.

José and José cooking with biogas (photo by James Winfield)

These practical and affordable alternatives, such as efficient wood stoves, biodigestors and micro-hydroelectric systems, are what we are developing at Alterna by creating social ventures. Located in Quetzaltenango (Xela), our office and shop are staffed with the brains and brawn of an interdisciplinary group of professionals from across the globe. Although Alterna is a recently established organization, its core members have been working with appropriate technologies and social business development in Guatemala for more than five years.

Alterna harnesses local social entrepreneurship* in order to build economically sustainable ventures with the ability to serve those who lack basic services. We aim to develop products that are accessible to families who earn a limited annual income and can greatly benefit from savings in time and money, while ensuring minimal impact on the environment.

As our various ventures grow into maturity they will gradually be transferred into the hands of local entrepreneurs, rooting them within the Guatemalan economy. Developing profitable social businesses both fortifies the local economy as well as guarantees accountability for the products installed, ensuring long-term technical support for end users.

We invite those looking to bring positive social and environmental change in Guatemala to get involved with Alterna. To learn more about our ground-breaking enterprises, visit our website www.alterna-la.org, call +(502) 7765-4225 or email info@alterna-la.org. Or just stop by: 6a calle 1-37 zona 1 in Xela.

Discover how you can become a social investor, provide your unique expertise through mentorship, or volunteer in this active learning environment.

Twenty years of tackling poverty through photography

Surrounded by 40 acres of toxic garbage, in the middle of Central America’s largest and most dangerous landfill, isn’t exactly where most people gain inspiration. However, for ex-Reuters photojournalist Nancy McGirr, the smell of burning plastic, combined with the sight of cardboard houses and gardens of sewage, is where Fotokids first began.

Originally called “Out of the Dump,” this unique project was founded in 1991 with the aim of using photography to break the cycle of poverty, and this month the NGO celebrates its 20^th anniversary.

“I first went to the dump to photograph a story for an Australian magazine,” says McGirr. “There were 3,500 people living, working and scavenging for food–and 1,500 of them were kids who followed me wanting to see through my camera lens. The thought occurred to me: If they had the camera, what would they see through that lens?”

Armed with three cheap, plastic cameras the first group of six students aged 5-12 began their enrollment process: taking photos of everything and censoring nothing. The students, who all lived in Guatemala City’s sprawling garbage dump, took pictures of whatever fell before their lens: drugs, violence, death.

McGirr soon realized their photographs could be used as a teaching tool to show them they didn’t have to be part of a gang to be in a group, and that cameras are a more effective weapon against poverty than guns.

By taking snapshots of their everyday lives, children from some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city began to express themselves. Children who, at the age of 7 had been exposed to more pain and suffering than anyone should witness in a lifetime, could start to dream.

A Dump with Travel Benefits

“I originally thought the project would last six months to a year, but it just took off,” recalls McGirr. “We started in July and by September had already appeared in The Washington Post.”

A couple of months later, Konika Japan sent supplies and asked them to exhibit in Tokyo, they were the cover story of various magazines and even had a film crew from London come out to record two TV episodes for a children’s art show.

From the initial six students who entered the after-school program, hundreds have passed through it. Each receiving a camera, food, photography classes and educational scholarships–while having their work displayed in exotic locations around the world.

From meeting the Dalai Lama, to working on the set of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and exhibiting alongside Brazilian photographer Sebastian Salgado, Fotokids has created a future for many underprivileged children: a tool with which they can escape their lives of perpetual poverty, drugs and gang violence.

A Culture of Giving Back

“I never imagined going on a plane,” says Evelyn Mansilla, who started with Fotokids 18 years ago. “But at 15 I went to Spain, then to Australia and San Francisco.”

Mansilla, who grew up near the dump, now works as the administrative director of the project and believes the experience changed her life. “Without it I’d never have finished school, gone to university or been able to give back to my community.”

Giving back is an integral part of Fotokids’ philosophy. Many of the students become the teachers and work in the school in Zone 13 or in outreach programs across the city or farther afield in Santiago Atitlan and Honduras. The staff are all Fotokids graduates who feel compelled to give others the opportunities they have had.

Often they go back to their own communities, mentoring children and showing them what can be achieved if they work hard at school and stay in the program.

Challenges

“We all want to branch out and take the project to more places in the city. There are so many children of all ages here that need our help,” says Mansilla. “Around 7 years old is a good time to start–that’s when gangs start recruiting.”

As well as dealing with the threat of gangs, one of the main challenges Fotokids faces is persuading parents to let their children stay in the program. Parents often fail to see the long-term benefits of keeping children in school beyond sixth grade and would rather they start contributing to the family income.

To tackle this problem teachers work directly with communities, going into some of the most dangerous barrios in Guatemala City and giving classes to children while building relationships with their families.

“Of course, they don’t all go on to become photographers,” states McGirr. “Photography just gives them an identity and a platform”–for other opportunities they would never otherwise have had.

Entrance to Fotokids’ month-long “20 Years Capturing Dreams” exhibition is free and opens at 5:30pm, Thursday, August 4 at Artecentro Graciela Andrade de Paiz (9a Calle 8-54 zone 1, Guatemala City).

More information: www.fotokids.org

by Hannah Wallace Bowman

Malnourished kids are among the many who benefit

Volunteer Melanie H. with a child recovering from malnutrition. (photo: Ray Conway)

Aged 1 year and weighing only 13 pounds, Jose was referred to the clinic for treatment at a local hospital. As his story unraveled it seemed that he had come from a single-parent household where, after being abandoned by her husband, his mother had been unable to cope with raising the four children with whom she had been left.

When Jose was initially admitted to the program, located just outside La Antigua Guatemala, he displayed signs of severe neglect and was a withdrawn and morose character, rarely laughing or crying. Yet, very quickly, he became one of the most energetic and animated babies the staff had ever seen come through the program. As he gained weight he was nicknamed “Gordito” by the nurses, and under their supervision he learned to crawl, take his first steps and then walk.

One of several life-changing programs established by the GOD’S CHILD Project, Casa Jackson (Jackson House) provides in-house and outpatient care to hundreds of at-risk children every year. Although its immediate priority is to rehabilitate its patients in the short term, one of its fundamental goals is to address the underlying causes of poverty and implement sustainable change through education.

By working with the families and coaching them on the issues of nutrition and hygiene, and providing financial assistance or improved housing where necessary, the aim is that the child will be able to return home as soon as possible with a relatively low risk of relapse.

Unfortunately, in the case of Jose, his mother was unwilling or unable to take him back. Eventually, a judge made the difficult decision that Jose be placed into someone else’s care.

There was a lot of concern over where this hugely popular and unique little boy—the cheeky chappy who had become the resident smile of the second floor—would end up, possibly an institution. When Jose left the Casa Jackson six months later, however, weighing a healthy 25 pounds, it was to join the family of the staff nutritionist who had offered to take on the responsibility of fostering him. He is now thriving in a loving and stable home.

Although Casa Jackson itself is relatively new, having opened in 2008, its parent organization, the GOD’S CHILD Project, celebrated its 20th birthday last month.

Founded in June 1991 by international educator and human rights leader Patrick Atkinson, it has grown exponentially over the past two decades. The GOD’S CHILD Project now operates various programs, including the Dreamer Center School, the Scheel Center Dental Clinic, Santa Madre Homeless Shelter, an anti-human trafficking department (ITEMP) and Atkinson Clinics.

Providing services in several countries, the GOD’S CHILD Project cares for and educates 5,000 orphaned, abandoned and poverty-stricken children, and nearly 8,700 widowed, abandoned and single mothers and their dependents in many of the world’s poorest neighborhoods.

To donate, volunteer or for more information, visit www.godschild.org or www.casajackson.org

Editor’s note: The child’s name and some details have been altered to protect his identity.

Changing lives through surgery

by Astrid Barrios

Since 2004 the NGO Compañero en Salud (CENS) has been providing surgical and health services to needy villagers in rural Guatemala. Our mission includes acting as a bridge between foreign surgeons and the Guatemalan patients. National and international doctors, nurses and medical personnel have helped more than 40,000 patients (75% of them women and children) by performing more than 6,000 surgeries and holding more than 60 medical missions.

Through CENS’ work we have increased the quality of life for rural villagers and have helped them become healthy and productive individuals in their communities.

We conduct monthly surgical missions, treating more than 100 patients for tumors, hernias, burns, cleft lip and cleft palate, and pelvic cancer, among other conditions. We also provide patients with informative conferences and emotional support prior to being discharged.

Additionally, CENS has edited a marvelous book, ISTMO, which contains beautiful photographs of the most outstanding scenes in Central America. Proceeds from book sales will benefit CENS.

Among future projects, Compañero en Salud wishes to expand its facilities at Albergue San Gabriel, in San Juan Sacatepéquez, to accommodate more patients in a more comfortable setting.

We need volunteers to translate (English-Spanish) during medical missions and to help with financial support, publicity, sales promotions for the ISTMO book, a speakers bureau and cultural activities.

Contact us at +(502) 2363-4317 or quieroayudar@companeroensalud.org. For more information visit www.companeroensalud.org

Habitat for Humanity conference in honor of Guatemala success

by Anna-Claire Bevan

It’s not often that Guatemala is described as a global leader, but in the world of Habitat for Humanity, that’s exactly how it’s known.

The NGO´s international president Ken Klein recently visited the country to celebrate the success of Habitat Guatemala and learn from its effective disaster-response program. During a conference held in the capital, he praised the work of in-country teams and applauded their increasing achievements despite the financial problems around the world.

Habitat for Humanity builds affordable housing in over 85 countries and works in all 22 departments of Guatemala. By offering families interest-free loans, it has provided more than 34,000 housing solutions across the country during the last 32 years. The Guatemala branch is so successful that it has contributed approximately 10% of all Habitat for Humanity houses worldwide.

While Klein acknowledged that the housing deficit here is too big for Habitat alone to solve, he urged his colleagues to raise the level of social consciousness within the country. He suggested they seek commitment from the government and corporate world and collaborate with other NGOs to reduce the problem.

“We know that when we have good housing, health improves, education improves and productivity in our work goes up. We want all families to achieve this,” said Klein.
With precious resources becoming hard to find, Habitat International believes that the best solution may not always be to build a new home, but to renovate an existing structure. Building latrines and stoves are just some of the smaller ways that Habitat Guatemala is improving housing conditions throughout the country.

http://www.habitatguate.orgwww.habitatguate.org or contact rdguate@habitatguate.org

written by Hannah Freiwald

Asociación Manos Abiertas (AMA) was founded in March 2008 in response to the urgent need for reproductive health services in Ciudad Vieja. Our mission is to offer a safe and welcoming place where health services are provided for women by women, in a respectful and confidential manner without discrimination. We strive to treat the woman as a whole, in an environment where they feel safe to express, think and make decisions for themselves.

Accomplishments
Since we started Manos Abiertas (Open Hands), we have become a trusted haven for women’s health and have served over 1,700 women, most of whom have become regular clients. Due to the incredible community support we received in Ciudad Vieja, we opened a second clinic in zone 11 of Guatemala City last July.

Services
We offer gynecological services, family planning counseling and obstetric services, including pre- and post-natal visits, and humanized birth. Additionally, we provide free pediatric and psychological services twice a week, emergency care, referrals to legal services and weekly educational radio shows on local station Radio Colonial.

We have just started our Sponsor a Birth Program, where we match donors with women who have the desire, but not the resources, to give birth at our clinics. Sponsoring a birth is a direct and effective way to help address issues of access to women’s health care in Guatemala. By supporting a woman’s birth, you are giving her the ability to choose and control the path of her birth. For a donation of $125 you can sponsor a natural, humanized birth for women who cannot afford to pay even our lowest prices. Along with your donation, you will receive a photo and a story of the mother and child you support.

How to help
We have an apprentice program and look to work with experienced midwives, doulas and other alternative health practitioners. For more information about any of our programs, please visit www.AsociacionManosAbiertas.org or send us an email manosabiertasgt@gmail.com.

One volunteer’s overwhelming experience serving in the city dump

written by Hannah Wallace Bowman

Every day at 7:15 a.m., a bleary-eyed group of Westerners gathers on the pavement outside La Antigua Guatemala’s San Francisco Church. Clutching banana bread and paper cups of steaming coffee, they soak up the early morning sun. Preparing to make their way into one of the infamous red zones of Guatemala City, they are a diverse bunch, comprising people from all over the world; their ages and motivations vary, and each of them has a unique reason as to how they came to be waiting for this particular bus.

Yet, they all have a shared destination: These are the volunteers of Camino Seguro (Safe Passage), a non-profit organization that provides hope, education and opportunity to the basurero community of the capital.

Basurero is the Spanish word for dump, of which Guatemala boasts one of the biggest in Central America. Taking up 40 acres of a huge ravine that runs through the city, the dump receives over 500 tons of domestic, chemical and medical waste daily. The people in the surrounding neighborhoods make their living by harvesting materials from the landfill for recycling—gathering cans, paper and metals to sell for a few quetzals—and it is this community that Safe Passage was created to serve.

Since it was conceived in 1999, when a young woman named Hanley Denning opened the doors of a small rented apartment in the heavily populated margins of the tip, offering the children who were foraging in the rubbish a safe space to come and do their homework, the organization has continued to grow. Today it works with approximately 300 families, providing refuge and educational reinforcement to over 550 at-risk women and children.

Whether you are a classroom assistant, a teacher, a tutor in the adult literacy program, a social worker or a kitchen porter, there really isn’t such thing as a “typical day” at the project. In my last eight months as an English teacher, every day has offered something new. I have been given the opportunity to work with a demographic I wouldn’t ordinarily have access to and have experienced almost every spectrum of emotion possible, from the intensely negative to the euphoric. It has been this diversity and intensity that has made the experience rewarding in such a way that only a true challenge can be.

The kids and mothers typically come from backgrounds that can make it a struggle to push past their streetwise exterior. After arriving on my first day expecting to be greeted by smiles and open arms, I quickly learned that building relationships with individuals who exist in the harsh reality of an inner-city slum can be tough and unpredictable. Trust is an issue in these barrios policed by gangs, as is violence and substance abuse. There is an educated suspicion and distance toward new people, unsurprising in a context where life is anything but easy and people learn quickly the art of self-preservation to survive.

Garbage trucks line up to offload 500 tons of domestic, chemical and medical waste daily photo by Joseph del Conzo

The volunteers, whether they are short term (minimum of five weeks) or long haul, are expected to treat their commitment to the organization as they would a job. This means 10 hours a day, five days a week, and a clearly defined set of responsibilities with no sleeping in for a hangover. It’s a tough schedule but it makes for a collection of dedicated and close individuals, who take what they do seriously. Spending so much time together in such an emotive environment forges strong and long-lasting connections between the folks of Safe Passage, while to an outsider, “The Camino Crew” may seem a strange phenomenon, displaying pack-like characteristics and tending to travel together as a unified mass, hosting parties where they take turns picking lice out each other’s hair.

I am now coming to the end of my time with the project. Although I fear that this was probably lost in translation, I have been trying to explain to the kids how they have affected me so much more profoundly than I could have possibly have hoped to affect them. If I have managed to give back even one percent of what I have taken away from this overwhelming experience, I can hold me head up high. It is with a heavy heart that I remove my signature green T-shirt for the last time and say farewell to a place that has changed me forever.

To volunteer, sponsor a child or for more information, visit www.safepassage.org

by Joe Collins

From Houses to Homes was founded in September 2004, and we began operations in Guatemala in January 2005 under Asociación De Casas A Hogares. From Houses to Homes aims to strengthen community harmony in Highland Guatemala by building lasting, healthy homes, improving access to health care and education, and inspiring participation between the poor and civil society.

Accomplishments

We have built 412 homes for the less fortunate in the communities surrounding La Antigua Guatemala. Each house costs approximately $1,750. We build a 13×19 foot home, made entirely of concrete block, with cement floor, corrugated metal roof, skylight, a metal door with lock, and a metal-framed window with glass. The home is stuccoed and painted inside and out with colors chosen by the homeowner. We are now including a bunk bed in every home. Every week we welcome volunteers to assist with this very important work. As one volunteer said, “The hardest thing they asked me to do was leave.”

Thanks to a very generous donor, we will dedicate Clínicas Médicas San José in Pastores on April 7. The clinic will provide health care, dentistry and education for “our” families and for the community of Pastores.

We are in the planning stages for our next project, a new green school for the children of Santa María de Jesús.

How to help

Besides our ongoing need for financial support we also need medical supplies, specifically antibiotics and an X-ray view box, school supplies, and, of course, volunteers to assist with building.

Contacts

• Joe Collins, founder & executive director, 7832-5074
• Oscar Mejía, De Casas a Hogares, project director, Calle del Hermano Pedro #9, La Antigua, 7832-5074, cell 4063-9881
• Kristen A. Hettrick, Clínicas Médicas San José, administrator, 2a. calle 1-19 A, Pastores, 7831-0178, cell 4265-2211
• In the U.S., Judy Baker, From Houses to Homes, director, P.O. Box 85, Mt. Tabor, NJ 07878-0085, cell 973-214-1119
• • Website: www.fromhousestohomes.org

by Lidia Climent Martínez

Niños de Guatemala (NDG) is an NGO that was founded in 2006 by Dutch students and Guatemalan residents to contribute to a better future for Guatemala through education. It tries to achieve this goal by starting or supporting small-scale community projects, with a focus on education and other youth-related projects.

Our vision

We approach our projects from three perspectives:

• Education: We use a broad universal concept that includes not only general knowledge but also values and skills to allow each child to develop as a full and independent individual.
• Local community: NDG’s strength is that its projects seek the involvement of the whole community, not only the children at school.
• Self-sufficiency: NDG’s objective is the independence of all its projects.

School in Ciudad Vieja

Our main project is a school in Ciudad Vieja. Only 15 minutes from La Antigua, Ciudad Vieja is a whole different story. There are only two public schools for its 32,000 inhabitants and a great part of the population lives in slums on the volcano slope. The illiteracy rate is high and most of the children can’t go to school since they have to help bring some money home.

NDG’s school, Nuestro Futuro, offers quality education during the morning and artistic programs in the afternoon, so the children don’t have to stay in the streets. We also offer adults literacy courses and activities for the whole community.
We have recently opened our library and community center, which we hope will become a space for dialogue and opportunity for all.

How to help

You can become a padrino and sponsor one of our children. That would pay for his/her tuition, all the materials and part of the teacher’s wage. But, most importantly, you could be the encouragement that these kids lack at home, since their parents do not know what the challenges of studying are.

You could come and enjoy our weekly “Experience Guatemala” tour, where we will take you to our school, the slums where the families live and two of the most important businesses in Ciudad Vieja: a mechanical shop that refurbishes buses and an handmade coffin shop. The tour finishes with a snack prepared by the mother of one of our students.

You could become a volunteer and help us at the office in Antigua or at the school.

Contact

Lidia Climent Martínez, tel: 5416-3078, lidia@ninosdeguatemala.org, or stop by our office at 4a calle oriente #41, La Antigua (inside the Casa Convento Concepción), tel: 7832-8033. You can also learn more at www.ninosdeguatemala.org

Sue Patterson (center) & guests

With the theme “It All Begins With Family Planning …,” WINGS’ 10th anniversary launch party on March 17 brought 150 guests to Mesón Panza Verde in La Antigua, where they met WINGS board members and staff and watched WINGS’ new nine-minute film about family planning.

“One of my inspirations is trying to help the women of Guatemala. They do hold up half the world,” said retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer Sue Patterson, who founded WINGS over 10 years ago. “I have a passion for helping women get better control of their lives.”

The organization’s history dates to 1999 when Patterson, a 25-year diplomat who served in Chile, Iran, Guatemala and Italy, received a request from a friend to fund voluntary tubal ligations for seven women – each of whom had at least eight children.

Reaching out to friends, Patterson, who lives in Antigua, raised the needed $4,000 and put the wheels in motion for a permanent organization that would provide reproductive health and family planning services in Guatemala.

In 2001, WINGS achieved U.S. 501(c)(3) non-profit status, hired its first full-time staff member to provide reproductive health education and began providing Pap smears to detect cervical cancer.

After providing screenings to 200 women in the first year, WINGS today reaches more than 30,000 women, men and youth in Guatemala. Its budget has gone from the initial $4,000 to over $1 million.

“WINGS really started off doing one thing – family planning in the communities,” Janeen Simon, WINGS executive director, told guests. “We now have five programs to give people information to make informed choices so they can have healthier, happier families.

“Without Sue we wouldn’t be here today,” Simon continued. “She’s been an incredible inspiration to us.”

For more information or to donate, see www.wingsguate.org, e-mail info@wingsguate.org or call 7832-5130.

At a recent meeting held at La Peña de Sol Latino in La Antigua, attendees had the opportunity to hear about the work of, among others, the Reicken Foundation, Children International, Friends of the Deaf/Voces del Silencio, Funcedescri, Asociación Corazones Unidos, NAPA OT Field School and Casa Maríia Geriatric Home.

Co-Chairs Judy Sadlier and Tamalyn Gutierrez, in celebration of the one year anniversary of the web site of La Antigua Guatemala Network, announced the name change to GUATEMALA NGO NETWORK in recognition of the need to collaborate and network throughout the country and the increasingly wider geographic scope of the work of the network participants. In addition they would like to announce the appointment of Joel Arana as the new web administrator.

They encourage all who are interested in learning more about the work of participant NGOs to go to the new web address. NGOs who are interested in joining may do so directly, in either Spanish or English, from the new web address as well: WWW.GUATEMALA-NGOS.NET

Making a difference
Tessa de Goede is a 27-year-old Dutch woman who came to Guatemala three years ago. After doing volunteer work in several countries she found out that helping children with cleft lips was the work that touched her the most. “It’s just a feeling I have inside when I see a baby with a cleft lip. I just need to help.” In La Antigua she started working in the hospital as a volunteer. Seven days a week she helped the nurses and took care of the babies. She realized that, if she really wanted to make a difference and help the babies with cleft lips, she had to win the trust of the nurses and doctors. For them, of course, she was in the beginning just a “volunteer.” But time passed by and Tessa kept working and showing her willingness. After a year of volunteering in the hospital she knew a lot of people, found out how things worked and saw the difference she could make. Just a year after she stepped into the hospital she started her own foundation: T.E.S.S. Unlimited.

From one thing to another
With her foundation she raised money and paid for surgery of babies with cleft lips. She also found out that a lot of children can’t get surgery because they are underfed, as the deformity makes it difficult for them to breast-feed. And so she started the milk project: giving milk to underfed children to help them gain weight. Meanwhile, she started giving English lessons at a primary school in Santa Catarina and asking volunteers for their help.

Centro Educativo T.E.S.S.
Nowadays T.E.S.S. Unlimited is helping people in the fields of cleft lips and education and is offering volunteers the opportunity to add value to people’s lives. By opening her own education center in San Gaspar (a little village 10 minutes from Antigua), Tessa is able to provide education five days a week. “The classes have a maximum of 12 children, so we really can add quality,” Tessa explains. Guatemalan teachers help children with lessons and homework four days a week. Volunteers from several countries take care of English classes, and on Wednesdays they come up with fun ideas for creative projects, such as making candles, creating fruit smoothies and singing songs.

For the adults there are three special programs at the moment: English, sex education and tae-bo. “It’s amazing to see how volunteers come up with their own ideas and are getting people involved,” Tessa says. She is happy with all the help she is getting. Even though she already has achieved a lot in a short amount of time, she still has dreams for the future. “One day I hope to have my own cleft-lip center, specializing in the help and surgery of children with cleft lips.” Tessa is a shining example of one person making a huge difference!

If you are interested in volunteering for T.E.S.S. Unlimited visit the website www.tessunlimited.nl or send an e-mail to: info@tessunlimited.nl

Transitions creates 10 years of mobility in Antigua

Transitions Foundation, an Antigua-based organization dedicated to supporting and empowering Guatemalans with disabilities, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its wheelchair workshop. The workshop offers employment opportunities, currently to nine people with disabilities, and produces affordable and custom-tailored wheelchairs and mobility devices for those in need.

History
The workshop was rented from Raphael Alvarez in 1997 as a dream that was made a reality two years later by a group of Canadian Rotarians, carpenters, electricians and craftsmen. A Rotary International matching grant provided the funding in 2000 for technical training by Whirlwind Wheelchair International and San Francisco State University and for the purchase of the tools and equipment. Full-scale production began later that year and in 2010 Transitions is on target to make 200 chairs. More than 40 people, the majority of whom are Guatemalans with disabilities, have been trained in the workshop over its 10-year history, helping thousands of clients to achieve mobility and independent lifestyles.

Visiting friends
Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are tapping into the workshop’s experience in production and innovation this summer to perfect and construct the internationally recognized Leveraged Freedom Wheelchair design. In August 30 chairs will be produced for local trials, making Antigua the incubator of groundbreaking innovation. Transitions is also hosting a student from Stanford University who is researching prosthetics in resource-scarce countries. The Transitions Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinic is a blossoming program that changed the lives of 36 patients in 2009.

Our needs
The organization’s North American founder, John Bell, retired in March 2010, leaving the management in very capable Guatemalan hands. A $50,000 fundraising initiative was launched in April to usher the foundation through the transitional phase. To date $40,000 has been raised with high hopes of reaching the goal in August and providing stability moving forward.

Tours and Volunteering
Individuals and groups are encouraged to contact Transitions for more information about the wheelchair workshop tour schedule and weekly English Night activities. English Night offers local Guatemalans with disabilities the chance to practice their language skills and gain a cross-cultural perspective. It is also a great opportunity for Spanish students to wrap their mind around the vos form and other modismos.

Contact
For more information about Transitions, please visit www.transitionsfoundation.org or contact Andy at communications@transitionsfoundation.org

The women show their latest creations (the author is in the front on the right)

The future income-producing ability of a town in Baja Verapaz may be connected to the gourds that grow in the area

text and photos by Kathryn Rousso

Mayan Hands is a small, fair-trade organization that has been working with Mayan artists since 1989. It works with approximately 200 weavers, organized in groups of 12 to 50 women in 11 western and northern Guatemalan highland communities. Its mission is to assist these women by providing the skills and markets necessary to earn a regular income, enabling them to provide for their families and gain control over their lives.

One of these groups is from an aldea of Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. Its members perfected the art of weaving beautiful scarves, but recent low market demand forced them to question their product and try a new idea. The answer, as it turns out, might be with gourds.

Rabinal is famous for gourd (jícaras or morros and guacales) art. Gourds (C. alta H.B.K.) grow in the area and are often used as containers and cups. In pre-colonial times gourds were ornately decorated, very highly valued and traded extensively. During colonization the Spaniards even added silver trimmings to the already decorated gourds. Gourds were also associated with many rituals and social gatherings.

Traditional gourd patterns often resemble figures found on prehistoric pottery, and are accomplished with red, yellow, black and white paints or engraved. The engraving is done with a crude knife on a cleaned gourd dyed black with lampblack, obtained from the smoke of ocote (pitch pine) mixed with grease. After the design is complete the gourd is polished with a waxy material called nij, which is obtained from an insect (Coccus nige or Coccus axuua) that lives on resinous trees in the region. The wax is extracted from the insects by boiling them and squeezing it out of the body. To thicken and make it soft enough for a good polish, the nij is mixed with linseed oil and lampblack. It is repeatedly rubbed on the gourd with the palm of the hand as more is added to achieve a high gloss.

Another common local material is the tecomate or bottle-shaped calabash (Lagenaria siceraria [Molina] Standl), which is turned into instruments or water containers. To clean out the interior, a small hole is cut in the narrow top, and the seeds and pulp removed from the dry fruit. For rattles, small clay pellets and stones are inserted, and then a piece of cornhusk is placed in the hole. For water containers, a dry corncob is placed in the hole to prevent spillage.

As it turns out, gourds are common and popular in many worldwide locations, and through Jim Widess (a gourd enthusiast who has written a number of books on the subject), owner of the Caning Shop in Berkeley, California, Mayan Hands contacted me, and I was invited to teach a workshop on making gourd dolls.

Thirty women learned looping techniques and worked with maguey fiber, beads, cordage, fabric and feathers. One young woman even used her own hair. The first day everyone created tecomate shaped dolls, with the exception of one, who made a chicken. Morros were turned into decorated bowls. The second day more animals emerged, and ideas and gourds got more colorful. The women worked hard and had fun.

Now the task of growing morros and tecomates, plus exploring new forms and added materials is upon them. As with other traditional arts of Guatemala, the evolution into contemporary styles can provide new markets, and with these, increased income is possible. So, as the women from this small aldea look toward their future, help support them, and be on the lookout for unique gourd products in the marketplace, and the label Mayan Hands.

Building new lives in Guatemala

written by Brian Kirkup

Constru Casa was founded in 2004, and by the end of 2010 we hope to have built our 400th home. The houses are basic but effective, consisting of three rooms, concrete walls, a metal roof, a concrete floor, a shower and a toilet. The cost of the house to the family is $875, payable over a four year period. Participating families experience a number of benefits including improved health, self-esteem, educational opportunities for their children and financial status.

Long-term
Support of the families does not end when our masons have laid the final brick, or when one of our volunteers installs the last window; another important aspect of our work is in cooperation with local social organizations. It is the social organizations who recommend which families urgently need improved housing, and once the construction has been completed, the family takes part in a four year follow-up program. This aids in the development of each family as they learn responsibility and maintenance of their home, hygiene, health and childcare.

Volunteering
Our volunteers work with local masons, and share unforgettable experiences with Guatemalan families. Constru Casa organizes tailor-made volunteer packages for individuals, companies and student groups, this includes arranging accommodations, transport and recreational activities.

Our needs
The number of houses that Constru Casa can build and lives we can improve depends on the donations that we receive. The cost of a complete house is $3,500, which includes all materials and labor. Every donation contributes 100 percent to the construction of a new home, so if you would like to donate a whole house or just a door, we appreciate your collaboration.

Tours
Constru Casa organizes free educational tours to visit the construction sites and families that have benefited from a new home. This is a great opportunity to get a glimpse of the impact that Constru Casa has on the lives of our families, while learning about the challenging housing conditions in Guatemala.

Contact
For more information, please visit www.construcasa.org or drop by our office in Antigua at 4a avenida norte 22-A. Constru Casa is a Guatemalan foundation and a U.S. 501(c)(3) registered charitable organization.

Giving help and hope to the deaf in Guatemala

LAVOSI (Las Voces del Silencio)

Like so many, Chris Tackett came to La Antigua Guatemala to learn Spanish, but gradually Antigua, and a growing interest in the plight of the deaf here, lured him to become a full-time resident. He met Álvaro de León C. (a teacher of 30 years) and his son Álvaro who is deaf. Álvaro Jr. received a scholarship from USAID to study at Mount Aloysius College in the U.S. and has published volume I of his textbook Guatemalan Sign Language and is currently working on volumes II and III.

In June 2009, Álvaro Jr. and his father presented their idea to Chris about starting a local school for the deaf. In order to raise funds and awareness for Las Voces del Silencio (LAVOSI), Chris returned to the States to establish the non-profit Friends of the Deaf. Álvaro’s idea became a reality as a school in Antigua for hearing-impaired students opened its doors in January 2010.

Mission
The staff of five teachers is dedicated to helping children become happy, productive and respected citizens through encouragement, education and example. Freddy E. de León C. (also hearing impaired) is an extraordinary local artist who is setting a positive example at the school. Visiting teachers and artisans also provide new experiences for the students.
The Friends of the Deaf school strives to remind the general public that deafness doesn’t imply helplessness.

Current Projects
The 2010 curriculum includes technical classes, computer literacy, courses in baking and multi-media art, all of them offering potential career opportunities; plus standard elementary classes and practice in Guatemalan Sign Language.

Wish List
Our first wish is to be welcoming and open to the community of Antigua and to receive visitors and volunteers. Supplies to assist teachers as well as donations are always gratefully accepted.

For more information:
Friends of the Deaf (LAVOSI)
Valle de Santiago, No. 29-A
La Antigua Guatemala
Tel/fax: (502) 7832-5852
www.friendsofthedeaf.org

written by Paloma Pérez-Templado, director

El Teatro Escolar en Antigua works to promote art and culture by encouraging and exposing young people to creativity and artistic sensitivity.

In March 2007 artist Pacho Toralla and his company Robalunas performed Calle Luna for the inauguration of the Teatro Escolar in La Antigua Guatemala. One hundred and thirty students from the Colonial Bilingüe enjoyed themselves, for many this was their first time attending a theatrical performance that included music, dance, acrobatics and jokes.

Next, children from Arco Iris came to see La Liebre y La Tortuga performed by Companía Scenium, then later children from Compostela attended a performance of El Gato con Botas presented by the Companía de La Universidad Popular. In all there have been 35 theatrical events attended by more than 4,500 students from 40 schools in Antigua.
Thanks to the support of school principals, teachers and sponsors, including Fundación G&T, El Teatro Escolar en Antigua continues to expand its mission.

This year El Teatro Escolar en Antigua plans to present plays that will bring joy and laughter to young audiences, Circo de Panchorizo, Restaurante Los Malafachas, Cuentos al Derecho y al Revés, and Sol y La Luna. As well, we’ll present the story of the Popol Vuh told by puppets; we will have plays that teach children to respect and take care of the environment like Basurita a Tu Lugar and El Árbol Amigo. And of course we can’t forget music and dance by the Masters Collado and Rosales and Bette’s dance Desde La Tierra, Marimba Femenina de Conciertos and Grupo Aj from Comalapa with Mayan music and poetry.

Wish List: Donations, both monetary and in kind; also, we’d love to have a theater with curtains, lights and seating.

If you’d like to be part of this project, please contact us: teatroescolarantigua@gmail.com

Threads dry in the sun after application of natural dyes

Thirteen Threads (www.thirteenthreads.org), a Maya women’s educational program based in Panajachel, is putting on its first International Women’s Day event. Representatives from each of its 22 participating Maya women’s groups will display their weavings and natural products. There will be live music, talks by indigenous women leaders, a mini-workshop on natural dyeing of fibers, free yoga class, a raffle with great prizes, face painting, and lots more fun for the whole family. All proceeds from the raffle will go directly to supporting Thirteen Threads’ educational programs. Come out to celebrate and support women leaders!

Sat., 6th, 10am – 6pm
Centro Commercial “Los Barandales,”
at the bottom of Calle Santander,
Panajachel, Lake Atitlán.

For more information and a schedule, please contact Maya at thirteenthreads@gmail.com

written by Ralph Anske

The American Society of Guatemala (ASG) was founded on June 14, 1960 by a group of American citizens residing in Guatemala. The society was created to provide a focal point to strengthen community ties and provide an institution to represent the interests of its members. It helps them contribute in situations where citizens of the United States as a group can usefully participate in promoting the ties of friendship and mutual understanding between Guatemala and the United States, as well as among American citizens living here. From its earliest days, Americans doing business in Guatemala (and across Central America) have been able to strengthen their associations through the society.

During its first half-century, the society undertook a wide range of charitable enterprises. One of the most substantial and earliest is the Milagro Medical complex in Mixco. In 1966, businessman William Luce gave a building and grounds to the ASG for a medical clinic. Numerous ASG fundraising activities, as well as cooperation from the Swiss, Italian and German communities in Guatemala, have resulted in a complex of buildings that include a dentist’s office, a community center and a library. In 1990 then-Ambassador Tom Struck formally handed the project over to the community, and the center is currently managed by Vitalino Cuca.

Historically, the ASG has focused on good-works projects such as providing building, cleaning and paint supplies to the Escuela de Los Estados Unidos in zone 5; donating several computers to the IGER (Guatemala Institute for Radio-based Education); and providing scholarships for children participating in the FotosKids program which uses photography, graphic arts and scholarships to give children at risk in poor areas an opportunity to get ahead. Caring for children with HIV, the Hospice San José in San Lucas, between Guatemala City and La Antigua, has received educational materials and cleaning supplies from ASG.

The ASG also supports the annual Messiah concert during Christmas season, proceeds from the concert go to various local charities. In response to the recent drought and ongoing hunger crisis in parts of the country, ASG, along with the American Legion, contributed over 10,000 quetzales worth of food with much of it going to help children in the affected areas.

The society also organizes social gatherings for its members and their guests every year. In addition to the traditional Fourth of July picnic, ASG holds seasonal festivities such as Christmas dinners and other get-togethers, including pasta lunches, receptions and other events that allow participants to share the fellowship of Americans living abroad, as well as encourage cooperation and assistance at the individual level.

As a final act of outreach to its fellow Americans, the society maintains the American Cemetery, which is part of the larger La Villa De Guadalupe Cemetery in zone 14.

If you are interested in knowing more about the ASG, please contact Linda Palacios (lindabpal@gmail) or Pablo Arroyave (parroyave@gmail).

text and photo by Maya Moore

Thirteen Threads (TT), a Maya women’s education and empowerment project based in Panajachel, Lake Atitlán, proudly completed its first five years of operations this year. What began as an 18-month pilot project designed to provide resources to 16 groups of artisans working with two fair-trade organizations, Mayan Hands and Maya Traditions, has turned into a valued organization in its own right. Today, TT serves over 400 Maya women from 21 rural Guatemalan communities. 

The mission of Thirteen Threads is to empower organized groups of indigenous women to bring about changes, through their own efforts, that will alleviate the adverse effects of poverty and improve their quality of life. To this end, TT offers trainings and workshops in four focus areas: new and improved artisan skills; democracy and group organization; health and well-being; and small business skills, including micro-credit loans.

Participants consistently express sincere appreciation for the skills and knowledge that TT has given them. Over the past year, TT has offered sewing classes, a soap-making workshop and rug-hooking training using recycled cortes and huipiles. TT’s three community facilitators continue to make monthly visits to each group. This year, the focus has been on group administration for self-sufficiency, including themes on division of responsibilities, management of funds and resolution of conflicts.

TT, as an organization, is growing, as well. An ambitious proposal for the next three years has been developed, presenting a variety of innovative ideas for transitioning into a more democratic and sustainable operation. TT hopes to continue to inspire others and is thankful for all of the dedicated support that it has received for this ever-evolving project.

Wish List
Used laptops, projector, funds to make a film about the project.

For more information on how to volunteer or donate, please visit the Thirteen Threads website, www.oxlajujbatz.org. You can also find the latest project updates on Facebook and Twitter.

A project where women serve their sisters

The center’s name is symbolic. In a country where coffee represents approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic income, the gravilea tree provides a critical, protective canopy for the shade-loving plant. Just as the gravilea tree provides this fundamental necessity for the cultivation of coffee, so, too, is Las Gravileas meant to offer a protective, nurturing environment for women of every background and ethnicity.

“It’s a name that represents receiving, taking care of, and supporting the growth of a woman,” Project Manager Dalila de Montoya says. The keys to achieving this ideal environment, she adds, are education and training.

Las Gravileas is defined as a center for the promotion and technical training of artisan women. The project offers a large assortment of instruction, ranging from textiles, piñata making and ceramic molding and painting to cooking and baking, basic literacy, business studies and more.

“The idea is that they can learn and make many things that offer them an opportunity to gain more in their lives,” Gravileas instructor Alma Díaz says. And that is precisely what the project’s goals spell out: generating more sources of work and promoting Guatemalan culture—all through the advancement of women. Why women? Because, de Montoya asserts, women are in dire need of support in Guatemala.

Not only are they frequent targets of violence simply because of their gender, women rarely receive opportunities for basic education. Globally Minded, a social enterprise committed to supporting Mayan communities in Guatemala, reports that Guatemala possesses the highest female illiteracy rate in Latin America. Index Mundi bolsters that claim, stating that the 2002 national census defined more than 60 percent of Guatemala’s female population as illiterate.

“Women are not seen as great contributors to the country, so violence against them seems to be acceptable,” said Norma Cruz, founder and director of the Survivor’s Foundation, an organization supporting victims of femicide (the murder of women by men purely because they are female) in an August Al Jazeera article.

Las Gravileas is devoted to changing this sentiment by offering a safe haven where women can transform their lives and ultimately “transform the lives of the people with whom they live, with the people of their community,” de Montoya says. “They are eager to cause an impact in their society… 
As an institution, we are causing an impact in the society.”

Dolores de Baeza, 54, instructs students at Las Gravileas in bakery and confectionary desserts. She says she teaches because she wants to offer Guatemalan women a way to climb out of the harsh reality that defines their lives. “To help the women and give them the capacity for earning extra money because life is difficult for a woman. Sometimes their husbands don’t have anything extra to give to their wives, thus, through additional means, the women work and are able to move ahead.”

Move ahead from extreme poverty, as Manuela de Jesús Tum Pérez puts it. She is an accountant for the Center of Family Integration and works with CFI’s Hogar Rural Rabinal (Rural Home of Rabinal). She was leading a group of about 20 women who had traveled four hours to reach Las Gravileas. This was the group’s third visit to the center, and each participant is currently enrolled in a program for learning skilled techniques in non-precious jewelry making. During each visit, the group spends three days and two nights at Las Gravileas. Tum Pérez says the training at Las Gravileas is helping make fundamental changes in their local community:

“This is a municipality that’s very behind. But with training, we teach the people about the fruits of developing and promoting women. And our people are beginning to send their daughters and women to the school. Previously, they thought that the woman did not have importance, did not have value, that she was inferior to men. Now, the women have been learning that everyone is equal.”

The project is in its sixth year of member training and serves 19 communities each year through its main school in Santa Catarina Bobadilla and two smaller, satellite schools that change locations each year. The center offers three types of training programs. A daily program allows participants to train for two hours each week in a selected course for a sliding-scale rate of Q40 to Q125 (about $5 to $15) per month. Women can also enroll in a two-year program, which offers a technical diploma in several trades. Students in this program train at the center three days a week during the first year and two days a week during the second. Rates for this program range from Q75 to Q350 (about $10 to $40) per month.

Finally, the center offers an intensive training program where participants pay Q185 (about $20) for a two-and-a-half day program that includes eight cooking lessons, two nights of accommodation, cooking equipment and supplies and an outing to La Antigua. “They go to Antigua to observe stores and businesses, visit places, go to hotels, go to restaurants and see how they operate, even how they decorate,” de Montoya says; “Things that could be useful for them to put in practice in their own communities.”

While the fees are impossibly low for training and services that cost so much more, Las Gravileas operates with the financial support and under the supervision of the non-profit ACOE (Asociación para la cooperación educativa). It is also supported by more than 20 national and international organizations through financial and material donations.

Díaz is convinced that the effort is worth it: “Perhaps we can’t change the world, but we can change one person’s life.” Each week she hears stories of little successes. Patricia de Vásquez, who has been studying desserts at the center for three years, says she is becoming a local favorite within her community. “Now, when I need cakes in my house I make them … because it’s much more economic and you can make them exactly how you want them. And, I sell now. If someone wants a dessert I can make exactly what they want me to make.”

The time for offering women real opportunities is ripe, de Montoya says: “Now is the time to give them their own space and we are giving it with much affection.”

For more information: www.lasgravileas.org, (502) 7832-4607, lasgravileas@hotmail.com

2nd in a series by Judy Cohen

The natural healing properties of honey cover a wide range of ailments, and more uses are still being discovered.

Doña Gavi’s tienda, located on 3a avenida behind the cathedral in La Antigua Guatemala, carries all-natural products, including several types of honey. Her favorite is gravilea, which she buys from nearby farms. I learned some of the local folklore on bees and honey from our interview.
“The floripondia flowers are planted to grow up the fences surrounding a coffee finca and protect it from harm,” she told me.

“Do you mean physical harm?” I asked.

“No, no, spiritual. It’s an old Indian belief. You see, the pink and white floripondia and the yellow flowers of the gravilea trees, which shade the coffee plants, have pollens that induce sleep. When the wind blows, these pollens are spread across the Panchoy Valley and make it tranquil.”

True or not, it’s a lovely story. What is a fact is that honey has made a medical comeback: Its properties have been proven to aid in the healing of deep wounds, diabetic ulcers, open sores, gangrene and second- and third-degree burns where antibiotics have been less effective. Honey is also effective in treating symptoms of bronchitis and asthma.

Germs cannot live in honey because of its antibiotic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antifungal and other “anti” properties. Occasionally, a strain of botulism will survive; that is why there are warnings not to feed honey to babies under a year old.

Honey, unlike sugar, is not full of empty calories. Besides the enzymes added by bees to the flower nectar, it contains trace minerals, vitamins A, B, C, D and K plus proteins and hydrogen peroxide.
One doctor used honey-gauze bandages on children injured in the Iraq war. The parents liked them because they were natural products and didn’t have to be changed as often as other bandages. Second- and third-degree burns healed without scars. The doctor said he unquestionably would use this method on any one of his five children as a first choice for those types of injuries.

In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of honey-gauze bandages made by a New Jersey company named Derma Sciences, Inc. Medihoney bandages are sold in North and South America by Convita L.P. of New Zealand; it also controls the supply of New Zealand manuka honey.
All honey has benefits ranging from mild to strong. But only two honeys have been found so far with enough antibacterial and antifungal strength to heal seriously infected wounds, diabetic ulcers, chronic sores and second- and third-degree burns. They belong to the genus Leptospermum (myrtle family).

The flowering plants that these honeys come from are the manuka tree (or jelly bush) in New Zealand and the golden tea tree in Australia.

Seventy-nine varieties of honey were catalogued in these two countries. Only these two tested active (strong) enough to kill or inhibit serious and chronic external skin infections. But, they are not miracle cures. For example, they don’t cure infections in the blood.

Activity, or the strength of the two honeys, depends on the area of the country where the bees produced them. Activity ratings run from 10+ to 20+; meaning how fast and well they can heal wounds.

For deep wounds (diabetic ulcers and chronic non-healing sores) an activity level of 16+ to 18+ is recommended. Higher ratings can cause burning sensations. But there are no serious adverse side effects observed in any of the clinical trials of honey bandages.

Interesting fact: Bee pollen has more protein per pound than meat, and if stranded on a desert island, a person could live on bee pollen and water.

In Guatemala, where arable land is so scarce, food so sparse in some areas and diabetes rampant, surely we can find many uses for this honey and test more of our own varieties.

Fundación Tradiciones Mayas (FTM), based in Panajachel, Lake Atitlán was founded by American social worker Jane Mintz after more than 10 years of fair trade with women’s weaving groups in rural highland communities. FTM’s United States counterpart, Maya Traditions, is a long-standing member of the U.S. Fair Trade Federation and represents the women’s artistry products in international markets. FTM supports its social programs for artisans in health, education and artistry techniques through the non-profit sale of goods, grant writing and fundraising. 

Mission
FTM works with 86 Maya women and their families, preserving the ancient technique of back-strap weaving and the knowledge and use of medicinal plants in order to strengthen cultural identity. Its goal is to create opportunities for Maya women through fair trade and social programs.

Past Achievements
Over the last 13 years FTM has awarded more than 1,000 scholarships to children of the weavers with whom they work and supervised over 40 community-service projects. It has also helped a weaving group buy community land and build a community house. The FTM “mother garden” has provided low-cost medicinal plant products to members of the weaving group as well as trainings and workshops on preventative health.  Women have received workshops in natural dye techniques, pine-needle basket weaving and other artistry techniques.

Current Projects
In 2009 FTM is carrying out a community health project working with traditional Maya healers (Aj’qomaneles) within the Lake Atitlán region to establish a network of professionals that will provide affordable, culturally appropriate consultations and natural medicines to their communities. This year 125 students are receiving scholarships. Teenage scholarship recipients attend two workshops a year to develop leadership skills and plan and prepare a community-service project with the women in their communities. All 86 artisans will also learn about basic design techniques and product development, contributing to their independence and increasing their competitive edge in the artisan market.

Wish List
Computers and peripherals, financial donations, volunteers.

For information about donations, visits to our medicinal plant garden, educational tours, guided visits to the weaving communities, volunteer opportunities or to purchase from our store, please go to www.mayatraditions.com

“Many people simply believe that the horse is a machine and because of this they believe that they don’t have necessities, that they don’t suffer from pain, that they don’t suffer from heat exhaustion, or that they aren’t thirsty or hungry,” explains ESAP Resources Manager Mario Sapón.

The same goes for donkeys and mules. He says the majority of owners simply do not consider the basic needs of equines. And that is not the full extent of the neglect, or abuse rather. Although at least 90 percent of the equine population is considered the main tool of transportation of goods and services in rural communities, General Director Danilo Rodríguez says equines are often mistreated.

“We see that most of the equine population—mules, horses, donkeys—have very poor health,” Rodríguez says. “They are underfed, they are often injured. They are overworked… . They have a lot of physical problems, and on top of that they have a lot of psychological problems because they are treated badly. If the horse doesn’t behave in a certain way, people will hit him.”

Rodríguez says villages rarely consider the veterinary needs of horses. It is customary, he says, for owners to simply leave a sick or injured horse to die.“They don’t value the importance of the equines as a main aspect of their everyday work,” Rodríguez said. “We teach the communities how to humanely treat their working equines.”

ESAP partners with several organizations – including the Brooke Institute based in the UK, Guatemala’s Minister of Agriculture and the Conrado de la Cruz Foundation – to spread the word that horses have rights. Currently, ESAP directly works with 10 communities in Petén and 20 in Chimaltenango. By March 2010 the organization expects to double the communities it serves in both departments.

“We teach them about the five freedoms of equines: the freedom from pain, injury or disease; the freedom to express their natural behavior; the freedom from hunger and thirst; the freedom from discomfort; and the freedom from fear or distress,” Sapón says.

ESAP offers a host of outreach activities to spread its message about the proper treatment of equines. The most critical service is training what the organization calls “community assessors of equine welfare.”

“It is a person in the community that has the basic knowledge to provide for the horses of his community,” Sapón said. “And for us, it is an avenue of communication with the communities. When a horse becomes ill and the community cannot attend to the horse, our community assessor can inform us of what’s going on and we can come to the community and support the community.”

The organization also offers vet services to the horse-carriage owners who cater to tourists in La Antigua Guatemala. Part of that program includes helping the owners track the medical records of their horses “so they can see that is really helping and they can show that to the tourists,” Rodríguez said.

Tourists aren’t the only ones seeing results from rural education in equine welfare.
“The foundation has a positive impact,” Sapón said. “The people are already taking more care to meet the basic needs of horses, like water, feed, that they have shade and that they have a way to express their natural behavior.”

Still, Sapón says there is much work to be done, such as getting horses back on the national census. With continued support, he says he is certain that ESAP will be responsible for big change in Guatemala.

“We are sure that what we do is necessary and will better the country,” Sapón said.

You can learn more about ESAP at its upcoming presentation in La Antigua Guatemala on September 5. It’s an invitation-only event, so contact the organization to attend: www.equinosano.org

photos by Marco Montufar

2009 conference participants on developing community-service projects

PROGRESA is a Quaker-run scholarship/loan program that has been in existence for over 35 years. Jointly sponsored by the Guatemala Friends meeting and a Friends meeting in California, the program helps Guatemalans attend universities and secondary schools. Our focus is on the rural poor who often don’t have access to higher education in their communities. Our office is in Parramos, Chimaltenango, but our students come from 15 of the country’s 22 departments.

Current Activities
Each student receives a monthly stipend, which varies in amount depending on his or her needs. Each student also receives monthly counseling in person or by telephone. Whenever possible we visit current and former students in their homes to better understand the problems they face. These visits have provided us with important information and have led to our recent decision to allow students to repay their loans with community service. Once a year we hold a weekend conference, and this year’s conference focused on developing community-service projects. The students will now be volunteering in their communities during their school vacations and after they graduate.

Wish List
We welcome new sponsors or donations of any amount. It costs between $600 and $1,200 to sponsor a student for one year. Checks made out to Redwood Forest Friends Meeting and mailed to The Guatemalan Scholarship/Loan Program, P.O. Box 1831, Santa Rosa, CA 95402 are eligible for a U.S. tax deduction.

We also need volunteers to translate student letters into English, help us with web design, or are skilled at creating databases in Access.

Contact information
Phone: (502) 7849 5970 or 5842 0329
E-mail: progresa3@gmail.com
Website: guatemalafriends.org

Niños de Guatemala is a nonprofit organization that provides education to Ciudad Vieja’s poorest children to develop themselves and improve their life quality and their community’s. NDG’s strength is in the combined support from both international and local people.

Mission
To contribute to a better future for the people of Guatemala by initiating and supporting development projects where they are most needed.

Current Projects
NDG finished the construction of “Nuestro Futuro” primary school in zone 3 of Ciudad Vieja in 2008. Classes started in January 2009 with four grades: preschool, kindergarten and two sections of first grade. Today 71 children attend Nuestro Futuro. Students receive classes of the basic national curriculum in the morning and arts and crafts in the afternoon.

Future Projects
As most of the children come to school without eating breakfast, we would like to provide a healthy lunch soon. Also, we will build the second floor of the school this year to house a library and a community center.

Wish List
Volunteers, padrinos, financial support, funds for lunch program, school supplies, books in Spanish for our library, clothes, hygiene items.

To learn more about the program you’re welcome to join our free tour every Wednesday at 2 p.m. from our volunteer center (6a avenida norte #45, La Antigua).

For more information visit www.ninosdeguatemala.org or email: antigua_office@ninosdeguatemala.org

One out of 10 rural Guatemalans suffers from a physical condition or disability that can be surgically cured. However, only 11 percent of Guatemalans have access to surgical care. Maya Indian populations face daunting barriers to treatment, including fear of hospitals and lack of information, Spanish language skills and financial resources.

As many as 100 international surgical teams volunteer their services each year but have no infrastructure to reach the most impoverished rural Guatemalans. Many of these teams rely on Partner for Surgery to link them with the patients who they came to serve.

Mission
Our mission is to enable the neediest Guatemalans access to quality medical and surgical care. We organize medical triage missions into rural areas, pair patients with surgical teams and escort and stay with them throughout the hospital experience. The PfS model focuses on helping Guatemalans help themselves by training responsible community members to be our local area leaders.

Past Achievements
Founded in 2001 by Frank and Todd Peterson, Partner for Surgery has provided medical care to over 30,000 rural individuals and over 5,000 with access to surgery.

Current Projects
In 2009, PfS will organize and lead seven triage missions into the rural areas and expects an additional 5,000 people to be given medical attention and 1,500 with access to surgery. In November 2008 we inaugurated a new surgical center in San Juan Sacatepéquez dedicated to serving PfS patients and are recruiting surgical teams.

Wish List
To maintain their dignity, patients are asked to pay what they can afford, but it is always very little. Partner for Surgery relies on donations to make up the difference. $60 (or Q500) covers costs for one patient and $600 covers the average cost of a village. Donations can be made online at www.partnerforsurgery.org. We are also looking for translators willing to pay their own expenses to accompany PfS on rural triage missions and volunteer surgical teams.

written by Maraya Loza-Koxahn

Project Ix-canaan was established in 1995 by Canadian Anne Lossing and Guatemalan doctor Enrique Chapetón in El Remate near Lake Petén Itzá. Her dream to live in a hot climate and a vision of world peace led Anne to the jungle, where she met a man with a complementary vision. Together they continue to create better living conditions for the locals and gather people from around the world to support their vision.

Mission
Ix-canaan is a Mayan word that means “guardians of the rainforest.” The goal of Project Ix-canaan is to assist people who live in the jungle, through improved health, education and opportunity, to become the true guardians of the rainforest. To conduct tourism in a way that is ecologically sound, brings prosperity to the locals and education to all, is a top priority to Project Ix-canaan. Another mandate is to promote sustainable jungle culture by focusing research on the alimentary, medicinal and industrial value of the seeds of the Ix-canaan, and all, jungle trees.

Past Achievements
Project Ix-canaan created a free medical clinic, a computerized library, an outdoor play area and a women’s center. The project has also been instrumental in supporting the local Puesto de Salud and NUFED school.

Current Projects
Unificación Maya is an annual winter solstice celebration at Tikal leading up to December 21, 2012—the end of the Mayan calendar. It brings together spiritual guides from several Mayan groups with interested people from all over the world to participate in seven days of sacred Mayan fire ceremonies. Ongoing projects include upgrading water and sanitation in the village, square foot gardens and expansion in all areas.

Wish List
Volunteers in any capacity are always welcome—as are financial donations, computers, educational and medical supplies. Currently needed is a web designer to create a new website.

For more information please visit www.ixcanaan.com