La Cumbre and the Mayan People -

Education and jobs are essential ingredients in a society that is to have self respsect in my opinion. There is no doubt this is lacking everywhere in Guatemala. In the slums of Santa Lucia the lack of hope can be seen but you cant help feeling that the people here in La Cumbre are even more hopeless.
Generally I think people around the world are pretty much the same. naturally good natured. Also when you travel a bit you generally have to trust in the good nature of humans in general or you wouldnt leave your hostel. In the classrooms I see characters that remind me of when I was in school, the messer, the goodey two shoes etc..

Making some stars withsome wool and wreaths.....

Its the the same in the womens groups the jokes they make would remind you of a group of women back home. . So I do believe that everybody is the same basically, however here in La Cumbre, especially with the women and children, a lack of confidence is pretty evident.
The colour of the peoples skin is darker so you can clearly tell that they are from native decent rather than Spanish. Being from Myan decent I would have thought that they would be very proud. Although much of the Myan culture and knowledge is now lost, even with the simplest things like, actually inventing corn from cultivating everday grass, or building the largest Pyramid in the world, or the understanding of natural medicines, you would feel the Myan people have plenty to be proud of. The fact is they should. Why arent they then??

1492 - The Nina, The Pinta and the Santa Maria landed on the shores bringing with them 400 years of the "Great" Conquistadors. Desamating a great, and in many ways superior race so that the once proud people could be used as slaves to extract gold and silver from their own land.

1954 - A socialist Goverment, along with introducing many fair reforms for the poorest, tried to compulsary purchased land, not being used, by the United Fruit Company, at the price they stated on their tax returns. Trying to redistribute it to the poorest people. The final straw for the US government. In reponse a CIA (the new conquistadors) led coup installed a military leader to reverse the social justices introduced by the former elected government and allow the United Fruit Company extract all the profits from the land.

1960 - 1996 - A civil war started by left wing intellectuals and suffered by the Myan people engulfs the country for 36 years. 83% of the estimated 250,000 people killed are of indigenous decent.

2011 - A former general accused of many atrocities against the indigenous people is elected president in a country where 70% of the population is considered as being from indigenous decent. In fact Rigoberta Menchú who won a Noble peace prize for making the world aware of the plight of Guatemala's indigenous people, and had the support of a united left alliance, went out in the first round.
How you ask? Pretty simple, a combination of money and ignorance. General Otto Pérez Molina had the most money of all candidates. Most of the people in the poorest areas don't bother voting, as is typical throughout the world. The ones that did and had TV's probably voted for him because of the flashy add campaign. Most are illiterate and wouldnt be able to read about his past. Normally there is a campaign of free t shirts and hats or even water tanks or toilets before an election to persuade the illiterate into beleiving how genuine a potential leader is. Of course only a candidate with a lot of money in the first place can have huge add campaigns and free latreens. Normally a person with vested interests in keeping the country a capitalist haven.
The candidate who came second, Manuel Baldizon, spent the second most amount of money on his campaign. His father in law is a well known drug lord and one of his electoral promises was that he would make sure Guatemala were at the next world cup. I haven't seen a kid in Guatemala play with a proper football yet. They play with oversize ping pong balls, that bring a new meaning to the wind blowers of old. World cup?
The once proud Myan people seem truelly broken, and it is difficult to see how it is going to ever change. The worst stories are of families living on coffee and tortillas every day, with any extra money going to support the father of the family's drinking habit. Of people not being interested in helping themselves when they are given the tools and the support. A pure lack of self esteem.This is why Seeds of Help only help people who help themselves in some way. It seems harsh at first but thowing money at the poverty achieves nothing and actually has a negative affect on the society.

There are however a few phoenix's rising up through the ashes with a warm smile on their faces and confidence and hope in their eyes. Today I met a girl who is going into her last year of study to become a bi lingual primary school teacher. A Florentina a girl who Walter proudly informed me once could not look you in the eye and whispered and giggled like most other of the women in La Cumbre. She was wearing traditional embrodered dress made by herself and was giving a class to a number of women on weaving while on her summer holidays. The thinking is that the women in turn could bring the skill back to their villages and possibly make a few extra pound off it.

I had wondered how effective the childrens or womens groups were when I first arrived but I now see how inportant they are. They are the only way that the lives of people will improve in La Cumbre, Through education there is a chance.

About this picture. For one day we though the kids to build pretty basic houses. This girl went home and built this mansion for herself. The detail is unbelievable, she has tortillas on the kitchen table and a tv. Really really cool to see.

La Cumbre - Seeds of Help

Brenda on left Walter on Right

Right so I arrived in Chinatla on Monday night and met up with Walter, the founder, and Brenda who deals with the day to day running of the Seeds of Help Charity (http://www.seedsofhelp.org/) The charity I will be working with for the next few months. On Tuesday we drove up to La Cumbre. 1km straight up into the Cuchumontanas mountains. After driving through the clouds we reached the plataue called La Cumbre ("the top" in English), and home for me at least, until April. On first impressions its not too far off the Wicklow Gap on a summers day : )

Air is a good bit thinner, meaning that its pretty hard to breath and Im told the sun is really dangerous for the same reason. Its also cold pretty much all the time even though the sun is warm. This means that you need about three layers of clothes at all times and you are constantly putting them on and off. I am so happy that I decided to buy a sleeping bag the day before I came. At night it is Baltic, and they havent heard of insulation here so a sheet of plastic and galvinised above it, is whats keepin my room, warm at night.

Tuesday morning we drove to my new house. I met Roberto a local guy who works for Seeds of Help full time and will be my closest colleague in my time here in La Cumbre. I also met with another volunteer from America, of which there is two at the minute, who is here with the peace corps. There is also a German guy Stefan, who is here for a month. By chance Roberto and George were holding a class for the local kids at my new house. Have to admit at this stage, between the light headedness and the the culture shock I was a little bewildered. After a while, I got envolved with the class because I didnt really know what else I was supposed to do, to be honest. As it turns out I was right.

12 Houses in 4 hours. Not bad for my first days work?

As I later found out, the typical routine for the volunteers and Roberto is, a kids club in the morning and a womens club in the afternoon. The kids club could envolve making houses from cardboard like in the picture and the womens club topics range from family planning to hygeine in the house. I cant honestly give a definitive account of how effective either is. I suppose as regards the kids club, as they are on summer holidays it keeps them busy, and their brains active, along with that of the volunteers. Also I suppose its similar to summer camps in Ireland the goals would be to help the kids develop socially and build self esteem.
The womans group obviously allows the women vent their concerns and possibly topics which might seem tabboo or innapropriate are discussed which might not have been in the past.
There are about 12 different "villages" that they work with so the 2 peace corp workers split up and go to different villages every day. It is a policy of Seeds of Help that the local people always contribute to whatever activity is happening. For instance the kids all brought their own card board and glue for these classes, building houses. This is very important to the philosophy of Seeds of Help, and justifiably so.

Today I seen another aspect of the work that Seeds of Help do, and to where some of the project fee I paid goes I would like to think. We went to visit a family of whome the eldest girl is being sponsored for further education. It is pretty typical that most kids leave school well before they reach 12, in fact it is not untypical for girls to be married at 12. The reasons for this are simply, 1- it is not enforced by law,  2 - their family need them to work and 3 - it normally costs money to continue after 12 in a private school. For the kids that dont go on to further education they normally work with their families or also have the option of working with a local farmer for 1 euro a day, in the fields. Seeds of Help sponsor children that show both aptitude and willingness to work hard and also come from the poorest families. The school they attend is normally a Technical bording school (also a charity) down the mountain in Chiantla, and they usually study for a further 3 years here inititally before possibly going on to University. Of the success stories they can claim 2 teachers and a student studying to be a Doctor, so far. The bording school is charity run but does require fees. The school has typical classes but also woodworking, typing, mechanics amongst others. Including fees, supplies and boarding the usual cost of sponsorship per year is 700 dollars. As well as giving a chance in life to someone who normally wouldnt have one, the idea is that these sponsored children will show the importance of education to the rest of their community and will also return and teach what they have learnt. By no means do I think I know the solution to poverty but from talking to a few people that have a good idea they always emphasise the part education has to play.

The girl in the green jumper Maria, is getting sponsored for school next year. Their house consists of one room the building to the rear is another family's

I hear you ask where do I come in. Well I would be lying if I hadnt thought a bit about that myself over the last few days. If I am honest, I have enjoyed helping out with the kids and I wouldn't like to stop it altogether but I think I can be more effective in other ways. Alas there is a plan. Partly formulated by myself but given the green light today by the powers that be (Walter/Brenda), and the promise of help by the other volunteers and Roberto. There are two parts really:
The first envolves water tanks, a major part of Seeds of Help's work. Seeds of Help provide the cement, steel and the knowledge to build a water tank. The community or family are expected to provide the sand and the man power. The reasoning behind this is one the people learn how to build more tanks when needed and two they dont get reliant on charity. After the new year I will be envolved with a number of tanks hopefully, but before that I need to finish off the tank for a school including wash hand basins and soak away, and repair two tanks that aren't working properly. My role here will always be to carry out anything that Seeds of Help require of me. After all I am passing through and they have the experience and local knowledge to know what is best for the community, but there is also an aspect of self motivation to anything that is going to get done up here.
The other part of my work here will be promoting the up grading of the houses. I have only been here for a week or so but I havent seen a house yet that is fit for purpose. They have no insulation or waterproofing of walls. For such a cold and wet climate (in rainy season) it is no suprise there are so many health issues. The plan is that Roberto, myself and the other volunteers (when possible), along with anyone else who are interested, are going to up grade Roberto's house. Roberto lives in a relatively new earth block house with a clay tile roof. It is simple and typical of the region. With similar problems such as being cold, dark and having rough surfaces everywhere holding bacteria.
The possible up grades are to include, sheeps wool insulation to underside of roof, draft proofing, lime render to outside of house (lime produced locally), earth plaster and lime wash to inside, resurfacing with earth and lin seed oil to floor, back boiler and shower installed. Probably a few more we will think of, but I am not sure how much can be achieved yet either.
The reason for all of this is simple. All of these improvements are simple, cheap and effective ways of improving the health of the occupants of these types of houses and can be carried out by the occupants themselves. For example, because the sheep up here are mainly reared for meat their wool is considered worthless. This means there are stockpiles of unwanted wool everywhere. (hopefully) Apparently they use a soap up here that contains Borax. A natural insectiside. When the wool is washed with Borax it is an ideal roof insulation. Wool actually gets warm when wet and it can hold up to 30 percent moisture without effecting its insulating qualities. Good solution I think, for a start anyway.
By working with the peace core volunteers, who are here for two years, and Roberto, who is here for life, these techniques can in turn be passed on to other families. The idea is that I will act as foreman on the first project but will take a role as labourer and Roberto as foreman for the next one. The persons house who the second project is for will work on the thrid and so on...
Now I have to admit even though I know the theory behind this work and have some experience with sheeps wool and lime, there is a lot of this that I will be doing for the first time myself. But sure its not my house what : )
On a serious note, just how much the house can be improved I am going to measure. By recording, the temperature, humidity and moisture levels in Roberto's house, hif fathers which is identical and next door and the outside over a period of 6 months or so we will be able to gauge how effective the improvements are. Also as Roberto is going to be living in the house I hope to get good feedback form him and his wife thrrough surveys etc..
Although Roberto is getting a decent deal, he is also going to have to put up with his house being turned into a class room whenever needed in the future, and put up with us tinkering with his house for the coming months. Seeds of Help also inisisted that he pay for the sheeps wool himself. To be honest I couldnt argue with Brenda as she has been working here for years and knows how to play things right and fairly.
In case your wondering I will be using some of the money that was raised by everyone before I left. Thanks again everybody. I hope you think it is as worthwhile as I do and I wont be disapointing anybody. Seeds of Help have a set budget already and to be fair this really is my baby but I know it wouldnt be happening without them, with the support and knowledge they have already provided.

An "Adobe" or earth block house typical of the region.

Although I will be busy with my own stuff I also hope to get envolved with the Peace Core volunteers in agricultural projects they are interested in. Something I know absolutley nothing about but would like to. Projects such as constructing a smoker to preserve meat and others concerning growing different vegetables. School starts back in mid January so when my Spanish is good enough I would also like to get envolved with some teaching. The kids are currently teaching me so I probably owe them : )

I am very excited at the minute. Keep you up dated anyways...

Magdalena - Bit of work?

Ok so last Wednesday Hilmar asked me was I interested in going doing a bit of work with his brother and a few lads who were starting to build a house for a family in Magdalena. You expect the men over here to be animals for work. Animals and the rest..... Basicaly we arrived on site about 8 o clock. Set out the foot print of the foundations and then levels. All using a hose pipe, a square, some fishing line, and the 3/4/5 rule. Right job none of your fancy total stations here. This was the calm before the storm.

The building is about 9 metres by 7 metres with 23 metres of internal walls. 55 l/m in total of foundations about 450 wide and approx 700mm deep. I here you ask "bring out the digger" in response "we were the diggers". 2 shovels, 2 picks and away we went. In fairness I had to keep up for prides sake and ye couldnt have them thinkin that Irish were soft but my God am I in bits after it. Say a few people who have worked with me reading this now doin some laughing. My spanish teacher asked me the next day was I used to that kind of work. So I told her honestly normally im the lad standing there giving moral support and looking important : ) Nowhere to hide now from Monday though. To be fair I enjoyed every bit of it was great exercise and the boys were good craic. They were handy out at the setting out too. Builders over here know how to do everything from foundations to putting the roof on. I know its a good bit more basic but i checked the lines for square for curiosities sake and they were bang on. 

Currently home of the family we were digging the foundations for new house. 5 kids and parents.

RFI anybody? Go on with yourself now.... (Say Mullett would love these get a weeks work out of it)

The 3 boys I was working with. Johnny on left, its gonna be his house. Thats Hilmars brother dennis in middle. Few photos of me to follow with a wet t shirt wrapped round me head dont worry be here soon.

Dona Lily - Santa Tomas

For my time in Guatemala I have been staying with a small family in Santa Tomas. Inlex organised the home stay and I have to say I couldnt have wished for more. Dona Lily and her daughter Astrid are two of the most genuinely pleasant and happy people I have ever met. My spanish is still only so so but we still always manage to have a bit of craic all the same. The house is scrubbed about 20 times a day and Dona Lily really couldnt do anything more for me.

The house is modest but beyond first impressions I can guarantee you will not find a spec of dust anywhere. There was once running water because there is shower etc plumbed in. However due to water shortages the mains is generally only turned on for about an hour 4 or 5 times a week. So what Dona Lily does is fill up a large barrel of water when the mains is turned on and then use this to wash clean etc. The story with the shower is simple. Boil a pot in the kitchen, mix it with cold water in a large basin. Pour warm water over body with a smaller basin. Sounds like a lot more work then it actually is.
There main income is from a little peice of land beside the house (1/2 acre maybe) which is used for subsistence farming really. Astrid also has work occasionally in Guatemale and then when Inlex organise a room for somebody like myself they recieve a fee of about 150 euro a month for lodging and two meals a day. Believe me it is worth every penny because in a month I dont think I have eatin the same dinner twice, I have always enjoyed it, which is a lot for fussy lad here and she even gives me fruit every day for my lunch. Spoilt I am sure.
I am really happy that I stayed with Dona Lily for these reasons but also one a little more important. I know she really needs the money. One more than one occasion she has somewhat nervously lied, telling me that she had a big lunch that day or didnt feel like meat tonight when she noticed me comparing our plates. I try to get the clothes washed a bit more than needs be but were talkin 2.50 or 3 euro a go never gonna make her rich. Have to say though I think Dona Lily and Astrid have just about enough, nothing extra besides.

Main Street Santa Tomas.....

Dona Lily's House......

My Bedroom

I need to get a rant off my chest too im afraid... Another volunteer I know is staying with a family a little bit more well off. They own a small shop, have TV and internet, dress a bit more trendy etc.... Would anybody be suprised if I told them that most nights she got beans and eggs for dinner and that 5 euros was the charge for getting clothes washed? The normal price is 2euro by the way. I know I am proabably being a little pedantic, but you have to admit it is universal that the people with less tend to give you more. Now if im honest the absolute majority of people in Guatemala I have met are genuinely friendly. Not necessarily because they are interested in your money, but interested in why you are here. So dont let this little rant influence you in your opinions of Guatemalan people in any way.

I went to church with Dona Lily last night. I am not a reformed Christian so dont start ok, I was interested though for curiosities sake and it meant a lot to her because other host families has brought volunteers a few weeks and she was very proud of the church. I am not going to give my opinion here just going to mention the things I noticed that were different from say a Church back home.
- Mass was held in a large galvinised shed
- Just outside the entrance there was a stall selling taco's and donuts
- Mass started with about an hour of singing and dancing, complete with one male solo singet, two backing singers, drummer, keyboard, guitar, zaxaphone, and 6 dancers wearing glittery gowns with tamborines.
- During this first hour or the following hour and a half people came and went as they pleased to the toilet for food etc.
- The format of "mass" proper was like this. The preacher handed out snipets from the bible on small cards to people in the congregation. Somebody read there card out aloud over a mike then the preacher made a few comments. The topic was then up for discussion to all to debate etc. This went on for a bout an hour.
 - Last have hour was more singing but this time with the preacher as the main act.

Christmas Party - Santa Lucia

Some of you may have noticed an appeal that has started on Facebook. Thanks to everyone who has already pledged money already I really appreciate it and the kids in Santa Lucia will appreciate it ten times more. To be honest it has kind of snow balled since I first mentioned it on Facebook and I got caught on the hop by the swift and genorous response from everyone. So just so that there is no confusion, in my own head first and foremost this is the plan.
All volunteers both Guatemalan and European are to meet up on St.Stephen's day at the centre. Here teams will be made and specific tasks allocated so that in the week between Christmas and New Year the follwing is made possible.

The 150 kids who attend the centre are to be given 2 tickets on xmas day or the day before along with a measurement of coat/shoe size being taken.

The first ticket is for a trip to the Zoo, possibly on Wenesday 28th
A trip to the Zoo for the 150 kids > 80 e
Snacks and a drink on trip > 60 e

The Second is for a Party in the Centre on Friday the 30th
A special festive dinner > 100 e (usual price 35e)
After dinner gifts for each child. Either a
coat or a pair of sandals/ shoes depending
on money raised and deal to be done > 800e
After dinner games and activities such as
pinata's > 130

We have a grand total target of about 1200 euros. I think with the repsonse already recieved from home, as well as volunteers over here donating this target is more than achievable. If we fall below the 1200 mark then I will have no problem in all good consciounce taking a little from more from the Chiantle fund.

However, hopefully the 1200 target will be exceeded. In this case it is pretty simple. The money will get spent on the week mentioned whether it be on warmer coats then first budgeted for, or coats and a pair of sandals or more pinata's......

It would be nice also to buy some more games
or activities for the children such as a basket
ball hoop, some footballs (they currently play
with oversize ping pong balls) some board games etc.......

If you are wondering how you can donate then hopefully in the next few days it will be possible to leave money in envelopes or in a cash bucket in either Ernie's Bar in Wicklow Town. If this is not possible then it is possible to lodge money into my own account but I cannot send my account information over the internet for obvious reasons. Unfortunately it is not really viable to do a money transfer from Ireland to Guatemala in time for Christmas at least.

Thanks to Viv and Shar for giving the idea some life, to Ashford National School, Ashford GAA, Elaine Cullen, Sally Cullen, Aunty Mary, Mammy Liz, Joe Nolan, Una McMahon, Emma Nolan, and Louise Doyle who have already pledged money and to anybody else planning on doing so. Also thanks to Marisa (and her two daughters) and Alex from Inlex gt.inlexca.org , Hilmar, Eli, Michael Dempsey and to any other volunteers who are thinking of getting involved.

Hilmar and his work in Santa Lucia - Part Two

If you read the first blog on Hilmar... you will see I mentioned a young couple with a sick 2 month old baby. Hilmar told me today that the baby died last night. Have to say it really got at me as I was holding the baby this time last week and I cant help thinking it was preventable.
When I think about it, yes it is expected that babies could die in Guatemala but I dont think it makes it any easier on the parents. Just because people have no money doesnt mean that there hearts are broken any less than say a person in Ireland. One aspect is probably worse in fact. In Ireland any normal parent would sell everything they own and get a lend of as much money as was needed to pay for there 2 month olds health. This simply wasn't an option.
I went to the house with Hilmar to drop off some food and it was the exact same as a wake in Ireland would be it just happened to be in a Galvinised shack on the side of a hill. All neighbours and family sitting around talking trying to console as much as they could.
If possible I will try to end on a poitive note. I was talking to Hilmar afterwards and basically asking him how he copes with it all. Really what I got from him was that he realises that he is never going to change everything but he keeps trying nonetheless because sometimes the work he does makes a difference and thats worth it.

Going digging a foundation by hand with him tomorrow. Say I wont have many welts tomorrow night though....

Hilmar and his work in Santa Lucia

This is a project run in Santa Lucia to give the kids in the area 2 decent meals a week. Basically every Tuesday and Thursday the kids are fed with a high protein meal (which also happens to be delicious I must say) in a purpose built canteen. The project also has a church with mass being said about 5 times a week, and a roof garden with some veg and some chickens.

Guatemala is the 4th worst country in the world for malnurishment in children and these children are among the poorest so it is very unlikely that they are getting anything close to what they need. As you can see in the photos the children are all small. This is not necessarily because they are young but because of the lack of a proper diet. There is a small black haired girl in a lot of the photos that looks about 4 at the most but is actually 8. Only about 5 percent of people in Guatemala actually own their own property. This shanty town of about 30 houses is built in a steep valley. Basically nobody would normally build here because of the treat from landslides and the difficulty getting materials in and out but the people here have no other option it is as simple as that. The area has the typical problems associated with poverty such as drug abuse, low self esteem, alcoholism, teenage pregnancy all of which Hilmar is trying to tackle by showing the kids that anything is possible if you keep trying. We had the chance to walk around the town and meet some of the families. For example one family was one that the 4 kids were under 11 (one being the little girl who looks 4) living in a one bedroom house with the mother and father both working when they can but never enough and the kids left to fend for themselves whenever both parents were lucky enough to have work. This family was lucky enough in that they had a well built concrete structure provided by the same people as the community centre. The young couple next door are living in a structure made of some timber and galvanized sheeting. It gets cold here in Guatemala at night because of the altitude and with the risk of landslides on the site I really wouldn’t spending a night there never mind raising a family. The young couple had a two month old baby who was sick but as neither of the parents had been working for over a month they were finding it very hard to pay for medicine. There is no social welfare or free health care in Guatemala.
Basically myself and Denise (class mate in Spanish school) go here at 12.30 and play with the kids for about an hour or so and then help dish out the food and clean up afterwards. Gonna hopefully do a bit of construction and maintenance work before I leave too. We are by no means vital in anyway to the project but I do think the kids really appreciate it to be fair and it is really enjoyable. Before I left I raised some money, thanks to all involved again, and the total sum was 2,100. Initially I planned on bringing it all to Chiantla but after spending some time here I decided to donate a 100 euro to the project. I did this for two reasons, one it is definitely a worthy cause and the other is simply that the project didn’t have enough money to open the first week we were there. It costs about 30 euro to feed the 100 or so kids that turn up on any given day so this money has paid for about 300 dinners in total. Pretty good financing on the part of the project.
The project itself is run by a pretty remarkable person. Hilmar is a local man who about 3 years ago decided that he wanted to do something to help the people of his community. When he started feeding the kids they were sitting on the ground with some food. In the space of only 3 years he has managed to raise enough money to build the community centre and church, feed the kids on a regular basis within this time along with building numerous houses and spreading the project into other communities. He is pretty inspirational to be fair and so positive even though he has the worries of 30 or so families. When people need something they go to Hilmar. He has managed to build up relationships with Christian organizations in Guatemala and in Canada and the US who help with the financing but when he started out there was none of this. In the best possible way a meeting with him really makes you take a look at yourself. Hilmar is not a priest or a missionary in fact as well as looking after the 100 kids in the project he manages to raise his own 3 kids, the youngest 8 months and provide for his wife too. gt.inlexca.org