Nancy is one of the founders of GHA. She is currently working in Guatemala. Here´s what she has to say.
Hello friends,...an update...
San Pablo is a town of
7600 on the south shore of the beautiful Lago Atitlan. All here are
indigenous Tz'utujil maya. There is not a bank here, or ATM, or even a
restaurant; such is the economy. San Pablo is the poorest, least
developed town around the lake. The coffee has just begun to bloom, and
the avacado harvest has started. Our waking view is of volcanos and
lake, flowers and banana trees. Tz'utujil is one of over 50 mayan
languages spoken in Guatemala. Some people speak Spanish as well, a
language learned in order to unite and defend themselves during the
genocide that robbed some 200-250,000 indigenous lives. The mayans are
at the bottom of the economy here. Agrarian workers, campesinos, when
there is work available, earn 25-30 quetzales a day...less than $4.
We are here birthing an organization...known in English as Guatemala
Housing Alliance (GHA), and in Spanish as Constryendo
Alianzas...Building Alliances. Within a few days we'll complete our
second house. It is humble---15x18', 2 rooms---but for a family that
now lives in a home made of cornstalks. Apolonia, the mother in the
family, is particularly happy for the security she will finally have,
with a strong, locking door. Now she can't leave home all day, having
to stay to guard the little they own: a radio, blankets, pots, and a
pile of dried corn in the corner. They have been robbed a couple of
times.
Soon they will have a cement floor to replace the
dirt one that turns muddy with the rain. Everyone's health will
improve. There will be fewer parasites and the resulting anemia and
diarrhea. Studies show that a student´s health improves so much from a
cement floor that their grades improve on average 9%.
Moises is the father, and remains extremely poor although he works hard
in the steep mountain fields. He is a really sweet guy. And strong.
I've seen him carry 8 cement blocks on his back wearing a tump strap.
The families we'll help with construction are responsible for getting
materials to the site. In this case, that will be over 700 blocks and
50 bags of cement and many cubic yards of sand and gravel....all carried
the equivilant of a city block along a path through the high coffee
bushes.
It sems an incredible honor to be here. Mac and I
are the only foreigners about. We soak in the smiles as we walk up the
mountain to work each morning, passing produce and firewood vendors, and
children on their way to school.
Many can´t go to school
for lack of funds. Fees, books, and uniforms are required. Another
ambition of GHA is offering scholarships. This year our fledgling org
has granted 31, all to children living in extreme poverty (less than
$1/day per person in household)., most with single parents, a couple
with none. Last weekend they all gathereed for 1 of 2 lake clean-ups
they'll do this year as partial requirement for receiving the funds. 14
of the kids lost their homes and all belongings last year in landslides
during tropical storm Agatha. One mom told me that her kids' receipt
of the scholarships was what gave her the will to go on.
So we begin, with baby steps, guided every step of the way by strong
mayan women leaders in the community. We hope in the near future to
build with compressed stabilized earth blocks, building beautiful home
both durable and sustainable.
happily here, happily yours,
nance
1 comment:
thats incredible! kinda sad too, but things are looking up for those people, i'm sure.
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