February 1st 2014

It is Saturday morning, and our last full day here in Guatemala.  Today is the water park excursion with one of the classes we worked with this week.  Above is a short video clip of our team dancing with the niñitos at the pre-school on Wednesday, courtesy of Mr. Carver.  All is well with the team, though many are expressing a desire to stay another week!  (The team will blog again later today, after the water park trip.)
-Mr. Bennett
-Ms Frederick
-Mr. Carver

January 31st 2014

Today was our second free day! The day started off at the Valhalla Macadamia nut farm. We got the five star treatment by taking the tour, getting facials, trying the products, and eating their delicious macadamia nut pancakes. After, we went to the Mercado de la Viudas in San Antonio (Widows Market) and shopped for a while. We got to see some of the products being made and after making some purchases Jorge, our driver, brought us to the Finca Filadelfia coffee plantation. We had lunch which overlooked the mountain range and some surrounding volcanos. Our team members were given the option of either zip lining or taking a tour of the coffee plantation. Both were very exciting.After taking a safari styled army bus back to Antigua, we had a chance to do some last minute shopping at the various local markets. All in all it was a successful and fun filled day although we missed the kiddos. Below is a video of one of the activities we did at the preschool. Its hard to believe we have one more day, what a great experience this has been!!

Love,
Courtney and co.

 

If the video does not work, use this link http://youtu.be/lI74V5GMAWQ

January 30th 2014

Today was our last day working on location at Safe Passage. We got off to a bit of a rough start on our way out of Antigua because we recieved word that there were protests blocking the major roads in Guatemala City. The protesters were the teachers of the Guatemala City public schools who are standing for better conditions in the work place. Anyway, we were in no danger, we just needed to find a route to get us into the city. We arrived about an hour late and once we got there, we met up with our high school class and did a couple activities and went to lunch. A few special moments happened at lunch for a few of us when we were recognized in the cafeteria by students we had met previously in the week. It made us all feel loved and important because they remembered our names, wanted our attention, and came and hugged us. It was truely remarkable that the students remembered us by name because we only spent a half an hour with only a couple students each two days before. In anticipation of more protesting, school was let out early and we unfortunately didnt get to do our activities with our sixth grade students. Instead we went to Creamos and shopped in their boutique for their handmade jewelry. It was all so beautiful not only because of the designs and colors but because they were all unique and all made by the mothers of the children in Safe Passage as a means to support themselves. We all wish we could have bought more but we spent plenty. They appreciated our support for their jewelry. After we went to dinner with the leader of Creamos, Ilu. We had met Ilu a few days earlier and were all really inspired by her stories and the magnificent work she does. Even though we had to be flexible throughout the day, it turned out to be yet another great day in Guatemala.

Buenos Noches,

Chelsea and Maggie

Wednesday, January 29th

Today, we spent the whole day at the Jardín Infantil, which has children ages 2 to 6. Throughout the day, we met with 6 different classes for 30 to 40 minutes doing several activities. We played on the playground, drew on the sidewalk with chalk, read books, and led parachute activities. One thing that jumped out at us was the location of the school. As we were driving to the school, we observed the surroundings that included stray animals, trash filled streets, polluted air, the smell of garbage, and the squatter neighborhoods. Even though the school is a beautiful and joy filled environment, one step outside brings you back to the harsh reality of the dump. Despite the cruel living conditions, the children were full of happiness, enthusiasm, and love. Because of their positive attitudes, it was easy to forget what their lives are like outside of the school. While we were on the playground with the children, immediate connections were made. The minute we made eye contact, the children never hesitated to run into our arms, even before we exchanged names. From this we learned that the children can be so happy regardless of their situations, while back in America, we can get so caught up with meaningless things. It was so rewarding when the two year old children came in crying, but soon after warmed right up to us. Their gratuity towards us was extremely evident with their constant remarks of thanks, "gracias". The hugs between us and the children brought a mutual abundance of love, warmth, and appreciation. Their smiles melted our hearts. It was so hard to say goodbye to them knowing what they were going home to. Their teacher, Shannon, explained how every child is exposed to abuse, whether it be physical or emotional. However, she is working hard to change this, as she holds meetings with the mothers to try to help them understand the damage of abuse. It is a major relief knowing that such an amazing organization exists and what a difference it is making. Thank you Hanley!

Emily and Lynnea

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

Unfortunately, this post on our safe passage team blog is late due to spotty internet in the hotel. Sorry for the inconvenience.

At a quarter to eight, after another lovely breakfast, we boarded the Jorge-mobile (Jorge being our spectacular and extremely knowledgable driver) and arrived at the Safe Passage main campus in Guatemala City an hour later. The drive into the city was filled with anticipation over the classes we were going to teach throughout the day. After arriving we met Ada, the health teacher. This began the day with a somber tone once we heard the stories she had to tell about the abuse, neglect, and overall taboo toward the subject in the poverty stricken areas of Guatemala. There were horror-filled statistics, such as that 24 Guatemalan`s contract hiv/aids every day, and that many teens will get pregnant and have no idea how or why due to a lack of sex education.
The tone of the day only got better from there. At 10 we met with the 12th grade seniors to implement our art projects. Although we thought that there would be minimal participation and enthusiasm amongst them, they turned out to have loved the snow globes especially. We realized that they had never seen or talked much about snow, which made this relatively simple art project a true learning experience. After associating with this group, everybody is glad that they are joining us in our trip to the waterpark on Saturday.
After an eventful morning and a short lunch break, we went straight back to more classrooms. This time it was English classes with the 1st and 2nd graders. As we walked into each classroom, all the children jumped up from their seats and began to swarm us, giving us hug after hug with endless love. We played games and sang songs with the little ones, whose English was spectacular. It was very heart-wrenching to see the vultures hovering over the dump through the windows. We had the realization that after such a safe and joyful day at Camino Seguro, these children still had to return home to their dangerous lives. Following the English Classes, we implemented the same art projects from before with a class of 6th graders. They seemed to be more timid than the 12th graders, but opened up more during the activities.
This was the first day of intense interaction with the students of Safe Passage. It was the first step of a life-changing experience for many of us. Sometimes we just found it hard to beleive that these kids are living such tragic lives outside the walls of the Safe Passage compound. Although we were tired at the end of the day, we went to bed knowing that the next day would be just as rewarding as the last.

Thanks for reading!
Alex and Ben

Brief post

The internet here has been down frequently here.   We will try to post our blog entries on Thursday night, along with a few photos.  In the meantime, the students have been doing great work.  We're very proud of them!

-Mr. Bennett
-Ms Frederick
-Mr. Carver

¡Hola!
Today marked the teams second full day in Guat and it was sure full of ups and downs. We began the morning with a drive into Guatemala City, where we visited the cemetary lookout over the garbage dump. The cemetary really showcased the wealth disparity in Guatemala - some graves were apartment style while others were almost like castles. Rent has to be paid every year to keep a body preserved in its resting place - if the families fail to pay the fees, their loved ones are disposed of in the dump. It was heartwrenching to hear that families have to work to pay for both life and death. The cemetary overlooked the garbage dump, where thousands of Guatemalans come each day in search of valuables that can be resold. Hundreds of vultures flew overhead and scoured the trash alongside those digging. The process has been going on for so long that natives have it down to a science - people get dibs on certain garbage trucks by putting their hands on the side of them and following the trucks until they are emptied. Dirt has to be placed over areas of the trash in order to supress the methane released into the air, thus reducing the risk of fires. The dump helped us all realize the true meaning of why it is that we are here.
After the cemetary and dump, we headed to the Jardin Infantil to meet with preschoolers. The school is inspired by nature because the childrens mothers wanted it to be bright and colorful - having grown up in mainly Squatter communities with stolen electricity, no running water, and very little vegetation, it was important the school be full of life. We got a chance to spend time with the youngsters at recess and it served as a nice introduction to our day. The kids were so full of life one would never know what theyre going through at home.
Following the Jardin Infantil, we traveled to the Cre, the main Safe Passage building. We met with the administrative director Mariela, the English teacher Grant, Ilu, the head of Adult Literacy and Social Entrepreneurship, and Oscar, one of the five social workers responsible for covering 590 students. We sang an ice-breaker song with the English class we will be working with later in the week and also learned about the Adult Literacy program, which educates the mothers of children attending Safe Passage. We got a sneak peek of Creamos and the beautiful jewelry the mothers make out of recycled newspaper - the business has given the women purpose and pride, and has taken all of the women involved out of the dump for good.
We finished up the day with a dinner at MonoLoco with our amazing Support Team Leader Jessa and ordered all of the desserts on the menu (and finished them, too!). All in all, it was another exciting and eye-opening day in the beautiful country of Guatemala.
Until tomorrow,
Katie, Erin, and Lindsey

1-26-14

Today we explored Antigua. We went to the market place and learned to barter. We visited the Chocolate Museum and we all tried delicious new foods.

One of the things we saw was how happy and outgoing everyone was. The children werent afraid to wander the streets alone and almost everyone had a smile on their face. We also saw some extreme cases of poverty. One woman was sitting on the side of the street in her wheelchair begging for money. Another was sitting on the corner holding her hand out to everyone that passed by. Even outside of the market, locals were walking up to us trying to sell us their goods. Some of them were adults, while some of them were young children. Almost all of the goods we saw, in and out of the market, were made by the people selling them. There were bags, bracelets, paintings, journals, clothing and much more. Everything was so colorful, and much different to what we see walking the streets back home.

The food we had was amazing. Breakfast included fresh fruit and some of us tried papaya and plantains for the first time. For lunch we went to a local restaurant where some of us had nachos, tacos, burritos and quesadillas. We all gathered together again for the Chocolate Museum where we molded our own chocolates and got to try many different recipies, including Mayan and Spanish recipes, dating back 4,000 years ago. For dinner, we went to Cafe Sky with our team coordinators Jessa and Christiana, where we got to try more authentic Guatemalan food.

It was hard for us to take all of it in and we all realized how much we take for granted back home. Seeing all the poverty around here, most of us, if not all of us, feel bad that there isnt more that we can do to help, and that there isnt enough money to go around. Some of us who bartered for something at the market realized how cheap we got it for, which made us feel guilty, that we were taking away from all the hard work these people put in to their work every day.

Tomorrow we begin our work at Safe Passage. We are excited to work with the kids. However, we know that it will be an emotional day for all of us.

Maggie Seitz and Courtney Buhelt

Our departure date is quickly approaching!  Our bus from Portland to Logan will depart at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 25.  We've received our work schedule from Safe Passage and our team is just about ready to go.