Year End Wrap-Up

scroll down for photos from December's trip!

Last Saturday morning, after an intense full day of meetings with Ramiro and the local board of directors to discuss our progress and our plans, I sat at the kitchen table with a cup of clear, sugary coffee. Keidy sat faithfully by my side, arranging her newly gifted imitation Legos into imaginary animals while I sat at my laptop, brushing away the errant chick or kitten as it scuttled underfoot. 

I sighed heavily and raised my typing fingers, reluctantly poised to list what ADAWA had accomplished in 2014. I had been dreading this task. 

I would be lying if I said that this job is not largely discouraging. Ramiro is a wonderful man. The community is filled with incredibly hard-working, humble people, adorable children, and breathtaking natural beauty. There is such potential here for progress, growth, and development of all kinds.

But there are no resources; no money. There is almost no staff. We have big dreams, big ideas, and big goals... but small means and smaller coffers.  Sometimes I feel like a little sailboat lost at sea in a storm with no supplies, no map, and no skilled crew. It’s overwhelming. And anyone who knows me well knows that ‘overwhelmed’ is not my most productive mental state. I often feel too frustrated about what we haven’t accomplished yet to feel proud of what we are doing or have done since I took the position in April. 

Maybe it was the warm coffee-water or Keidy snuggling into my side and grinning up at me every two minutes, but as I typed, my apprehension melted away and I began to feel very positive about what ADAWA did accomplish:

* Delivered 3 days of nutrition workshops in April and provided alcohol and gloves to 19 rural midwives

* Fundraised for building materials and trained men in 6 communities to build public wells at their communities' schools

* Welcomed 4 volunteers who provided 4 weeks of English classes to 125 students in Santa Lucía Lachua

* Raised $875 to purchase of a concrete block mold that halves the cost of concrete blocks for our home construction, latrine, and stove projects

* Secured a Q15,000 grant to subsidize the cost of stoves for 50 families through Embrace Guatemala in Nebaj

* Initiated application process with Engineers Without Borders to be considered for a project providing community-wide access to clean water

* Facilitated the application of 5 youth for scholarships through Casa Sito, a high school in the department capital of Coban (anxiously awaiting acceptance letters!)

* Successfully brought IGER, a radio-based school completion program (similar to a GED but for elementary through high school) into Santa Lucía and inscripted 5 students to begin in January 

* Delivered 2 public radio programs explaining the rights of the indigenous community to citizens of the region

* Participated in 4 manifestations protecting the rights of the indigenous communities

For a small, newly minted community association with only two staff members and no consistent funding or income; in a region with almost no paved roads, no running water, intermittent electricity, no internet; and no government support or strong local institutions, we have managed to accomplish a fair amount in the past 9 months.

And those are just the accomplishments that can be quantified! We have learned so much together this year. Trial and error really is the name of the game up here. Ramiro and I have been fumbling through the steps to our cross-cultural waltz, taking turns leading and following; trying to find our own balance between teaching and learning from each other. We’re still clumsy, but we’re finding our feet together, one song at a time.

We have a lot of exciting goals for 2015, some of which we actually may accomplish! :) We’re continuing to chug along slowly towards increasing community-wide access to potable water, making safer cookstoves and more sanitary latrines available to all families, and continuing to provide workshops that bring needed skills and information to our members.

We’re also working on increasing income streams for the community by securing microcredit loans for women looking to open their own businesses; increasing the number of ‘voluntourists’ to the community and beginning an English program; and creating a local market in Santa Lucía so that goods can be sold and exchanged here with the money remaining in the community. 

Chepe, Ramiro, and Miguel at our year-end meeting in Ramiro's kitchen. 

Pueblo lunch! Caldo de gallina and a tamal
(chicken leg soup and thick corn dough cooked inside a palm leaf).

Ramiro's granddaughter Keidy, aka my little shadow!
Hanging out with Keidy is hands-down one of my favorite parts of being up at the project. 

Manuel, far right, and some of his children and grandchildren. Manuel is a widow twice-over
who has 11 children and cares for 2 of his granddaughters,
who have a single mother who works in the city trying to support them.

Manuel and SOME of his brood outside their home.

This little cutie is another one of Manuel's granddaughters.

Candelaria and Candelaria. Candelaria senior is a widow, and Candelaria the younger
has been unable to return to school since her father's death as the cost of school
fees is too high for her widowed mother to cover. The women survive off of the food they
grow on their small plot of land and the chickens and ducks they raise.

The inside of Candelaria and Candelaria's home. The dirt floor and wood-slat
walls are very typical for homes in the region. Poorer families have walls made of palm thatch, while
wealthier families have cement floors and tin rooves. The wealthiest have homes made entirely of concrete.