Day 3: Power of Human Touch

Michelle: La inteligencia es más que la educación.

This quote, which translates to intelligence is more than education, is a small tidbit of a welcome speech we heard while eating lunch with the women from the Association of Embroidery and New Hope. 

The speech, which was said by one of the women's husband, is what I chose to focus on for my first blog for two reasons: First of all, hearing an indigenous male, who has been subjected to a strong machismo culture his whole life, speak highly about the intelligence and importance of the women's association was inspiring. Machismo of some form is a cultural norm in all of Latin America and is even more emphasized in native cultures. As a result, the women's role, although essential to the family’s success, is often times dismissed as less important than her male counterpart.

Secondly, the quote stood to be true and hold significance as we explored Sibinal and its families. I thought it would be important to discuss that although the majority of Sibinal doesn't receive formal education, their intelligence is shown with their knowledge of the land and agriculture, physical labor, and human relationships. This type of intelligence doesn't come from years of schooling or a certain number of degrees, but rather generations of experience of working the land and living in a close-knit resilient community.

Families often live on the same land for generations, and with that comes generations of experience, expertise, and sustainability. On land that we found it difficult to walk up, the families work daily to grow fields of maíz and graze their sheep, cattle, and pigs.

Agriculture looks like art here. Along a 10 hour drive to Sibinal from Guatemala City you see steep mountains blanketed with dense forests and small dirt roads and in the middle of the rolling hills off in the distance, you see patches of land that have been worked and manipulated by Mayan families, looking more like a hand-made quilted patch blanket than land that produces their livelihood.

Our host family, Don Elfego and his big-hearted wife Doña Julia have done rather well for themselves. Along with raising sheep, chickens, rabbits, and crops, they recently found a new way to manipulate their land to produce a stable form of income. By methodically drilling into the mountain, they were able to create a trout farm that looks more like a hotel lobby's fountain, which grows over 1000 trout and is supported by the lands constant flow of water.

Between filling our plates with fresh food from their land, Doña Julia is able to predict when the rain will next fall. She not only cooks for us but also effortless my acts as our mother. To describe the amount of love and humility that radiates off of her is impossible. It simply doesn't exist in the U.S. Our warm plates fresh off the plancha look cold compared to her warm heart.

Even better, it's not just her. The entire town treats you with humility and hospitality. While the men spend the day tending the fields and working on their homes and stores that will take years to finish because of a lack of funds, the women work tirelessly holding a child in their arms and one on their back, cooking, cleaning, and raising the children. And even when they spend all day in a damp home and struggle to find the means for daily meals, they welcome you with sincere smiles, warm greetings, and hot tortillas and rice water fresh off the plancha. With sincerity like that, it's easy to forget you are in a foreign land. In Sibinal hospitality does not know exhaustion.

Jasen: This is my first trip to Sibinal, the scenery here of the mountains is breath taking.  The work that Project HELLO and Generacion Magnificat have done in the past is amazing. The family's here are truly grateful for the help they have received.

The story's told by my team members and the family's themselves are incredible. One of the biggest things I have learned so far is that all the team members in the USA and in Guatemala do this because they love to help others and their community. This can be hard work and sometimes not fun… but the payout of the family's being happy, the children smiling or even just the people saying thank you for everything you have done is well worth the time and energy spent to get the family's what they need.

Amy: The open and welcoming nature of the people in Sibinal has been wonderful and humbling. There are always people on the streets, some are going places, some are working, some shopping and others just spending time with their community. As we walk, and sometimes ride, through town the people smile and nod, many saying hello or good morning. The children, while often observing us quizzically are quick to smile and respond when greeted.

I have seen the power of touch in the community as well as with the families we have visited. Greetings - both coming and going - are typically hugs, some of the women will kiss gently on the cheek when they hug. If the men shake hands they also pat a shoulder with their other hand. However, men embrace as much as women.

In observing the families living in extreme poverty that touch more - holding hands, patting, embracing - they expressed more joy - smiling, laughing, teasing and telling jokes. The children in the families that had more physical contact also were more willing to engage with us and be playful. These families also appeared to spend more time, and put greater care into the upkeep in and around their home.

I'm interested in continuing to observe the value of touch within the families we meet. It seems to increase bonding and connection which in turn increases the families overall sense of well-being.

Emily: This was our last day of visiting the families from the past and it was joyful. We went to Don Chepe's home and his kids came running down the mountain hugging us. I remember one of the children having a heavy hand when we played tag and he definitely became stronger within six months! We also had the chance to visit another household just up the mountain. His mother whom is 82 years old was weaving a basket with hay outside. We had the chance to buy one and it was one of the highlights of the day! We asked to take a picture of her and the basket and she couldn't stop smiling. She was glad that we bought her baskets and even offered us one for free but we had already bought one and would have declined. I'll show a picture later on.

Another highlight was jumping up and down like a trampoline on the pickup truck when we were stuck in the mud. It's the little things in life that make it special.

Tomorrow is going to be different as we assess the new families. It'll be an emotional roller coaster but until then, nos vemos.

Franco: Thank you for following and reading our team blog as we continue our humanitarian work in Sibinal, San Marcos, Guatemala.