Franco: Educating families is such an important part of humanitarian work. Knowing the difference between where we would like families to be and meeting them where they are is key in creating healthy relationships with each family. The last part of today was on educating families and forging lasting relationships between different communities here in Sibinal, San Marcos, Guatemala.
During the first part of the day our team continued to carry supplies up a steep and slippery mountain where both teams and other community members had come together to help Don Victoriano and his family finish their home. Everyone helped in their own capacity as construction work in Guatemala differs from construction work in the US. For some of us, watching was a lesson in itself. I have noticed that at times our presence helps motivate people whether we are working or not.
In my opinion, I think showing up and being there for the families makes them feel like we genuinely care. Believe me when I tell you that standing on top of a 10,000 ft mountain in the hot sun is work. This brings me to our team of volunteers. I admire their willingness and support to show up and play even when we don't get to play all the time. Even then, we answer the call and are ready to work.
Below are pictures of the work which took place today.
UPDATE: One other important part of our morning is the follow-up care we have continued to give the children we took to the hospital several days ago. Both teams rotate morning and evening shifts to give the children their medications and ensure their well-being. I'm happy to announce that the children are showing remarkable signs of improvement and their impetigo (skin rashes) are rapidly healing.
We opted to keep the medications and personally treat the children because of the lack of attention the children receive from the adults in the house. Often, they are left alone for extended periods of time. The doctor who treated them explained a sharp decrease in their cognitive development because of malnutrition. For example, Ofelia is 12 years old; however, she thinks she is six and seems to quickly forget things and sometimes does not recognize me when I visit. She'll ask my name as if it were the first time we ever met. Below are pictures of our follow-up care.
Olivia: Time doesn't work the same way here. It confuses and frustrates my hardwired brain. Here in Guatemala, when someone says we start work at 8:00 a.m., nine times out of ten it really means we start work at 8:30 or 8:45. My fast-paced U.S. version of time tells me that this cultural tardiness is time wasted. I hurry up to be "on time" only to wait. What am I supposed to do with all this time?
I get anxious and wound up waiting. I think what
bothers me most is that this different concept of time throws off all my mental
plans and preparations. When we don't stick to the schedule, my little world
slides slightly off its axis. I struggle with being flexible, relaxing,
understanding that there is no rush, and that everything that needs to get done
will get done in its own time. The logical part of me can think that, but I
actually exert an enormous amount of energy trying to prepare for the unknown
and unexpected.
If you can't
already tell, I had a lot of time to think about time today. Time sometimes
seems to move slower here. It's not that the people don't work hard or don't
get a lot accomplished in a day, quite the opposite really. But the sense of
urgency or rush that we have in the U.S. seems to be missing. I think the
Guatemalan way of time is probably healthier for a person's mind and body in
the long run, but deprogramming 21 years of Americanized time simply isn't
possible in three short weeks, not for me anyway.
I did all this thinking about time while I watched for
over 2 hours the slow construction of a brand new home for Don Victoriano and
his wife Doña Estela. Victoriano is working so hard to help construct his new
home. When I see him, I see a man who seems determined and eager to move his
family in an upward direction. Your donations are helping him do that. Back to
time. I had all this time to observe Victoriano and the construction because I
was on the sidelines. It was quite frustrating.
I'm responsible
in part for my own frustration. I could have been more aggressive and jumped
in, taken a hammer from someone's hands, and climbed that ladder - but I
didn't. It's frustrating because I got away with it. As a young woman (add in a
dash of America and super white-ness) I'm often not expected to carry the heavy
concrete blocks up the mountain or swing the hammer, even though I'm perfectly
capable of doing both.
Today, I was frustrated with myself because I didn't
have the nerve to say "Yo puedo." I can do it. I feel like I should
have, even though I was tired and the rest I got while observing was probably
for the best. However, I grew up in a culture where we work all the time. We go
and go and go until we're so burnt out and tired that we stop when we simply
cannot go any further. A battle was waged in my head between the guilt I felt
for not being more involved and breaking those gendered expectations and the
quiet thankfulness that I had a chance to rest. Right or wrong, today I had
plenty of time to think about it all. Thanks for taking the time to read. We really do appreciate
our followers!
Franco: The last part of our evening was spent meeting all of the 26 families we have been able to help thanks to your donations. It was a splendid evening personally meeting and greeting all of the families. Both the US group and Guatemalan group had the opportunity to share with the families. We educated the families by talking to them about the importance of hygiene, nutrition, and sanitation. We connected with them by listening to them give their opinion and answering any questions or doubts they could possibly have. Toward the end of our presentations we gave the children Christmas gifts thanks to your donations and hot coffee with sweet bread.
Both Project HELLO and Generacion Magnificat team volunteers are committed to full disclosure with our donors and recipient families. During this meeting we discussed how much money was donating in the US and how it was used. The team treasurer went down a list of items discussing the total cost of materials used and labor. For the donors who are reading this blog, a list of where and how your money was spent will be available on our website when we get back home to the US after the 10th of January.
As promised in the past, we take great pride in that 100% of all funds go to the people here in Sibinal. Neither team takes a penny or in this case a Quetzal (Guatemala currency) from your donations. Just as we have paid for our flight, food, transportation, and lodging; the volunteer team here in Guatemala pay out of their own pocket to drive both teams to different construction sites.
