Project ConstruCASA

Perhaps the highlight of our week was our visit to San Miguel Escobar (a local pueblo) with an NGO called ConstruCASA (http://www.construcasa.org/nuevo/index.php). ConstruCASA is similar to Habitat for Humanity, but focuses primarily on building homes for those in extreme poverty in Guatemala. They work with other local NGOs to identify families that would be a good fit to receive a house (e.g., own their land, are willing to work to pay off a quarter of the $3,000 house over time, and have kids who would benefit from improved living conditions). A member of the family is also required to help build the house with the ContruCASA team so they can understand what goes into the project. 

We were able to visit a family that is about to receive a house, and two families that recently got their houses. What we saw was indescribable. Just fifteen to twenty minutes outside of Antigua (one of the most well off cities in Guatemala), people are living in houses made from bamboo rods and corrugated metal. The floors of the house are dirt and often several families share one housing "compound." We visited one owned by a grandmother who said the land has been passed down in her family for generations. She shares the land now with her two daughters who are married and her son, who is still single. She apologized to us because the house wasn't "cleaned up" (mind you, the floor is dirt - even I couldn't keep that clean!) However, she showed a toothless grin and invited us in. 

Aaron walking into the grandmother's house, followed by a stream of kids. 

Inside a traditional house.

The grandmother talking to Aaron about her chickens.

Her family has 11 kids all very close in age. The kids played in the open air "courtyard" by the outdoor kitchen, using a simple rope for a tug-a-war type game. They were covered in dirt and many were ill from the amount of dust in the air. However, they were all very happy and loved having visitors.  

We walked about five steps up the hill to see the new ConstruCASA house that one of her daughters (with five children) received. The whole family used to sleep in one room together on a mattress on the dirt. Now they have two rooms (one for boys and one for girls, she informed us) with cement floors and they even have a shower. The shower is just a cold water spigot in a small cemented area big enough for one person, but the mother described how nice it is to shower alone and in private. The family also has a potable water tap now (foreigners would still have to filter it...). She was also proud to show us her cooking stove, which has proper ventilation to avoid CO2 poisoning that is common in this area when people cook over a fire in an enclosed area. 

The view from the new house, looking over the "old" family compound.

 One of the kids walking up to his new house with us.

 Brothers playing at the clean water spigot.

 Kids from the family that received the new house.

 Aaron at the build-site of a new house next door.

Walking out of town, some of the kids followed behind us. However, they were quickly called back to help wash clothes and prepare dinner. What a difference a house can make in the happiness and dreams of a family. I think the most important part, however, is teaching the family how to use their new land and leverage their living situation to promote good health - from growing some of their own food, to proper hand washing before preparing meals. This is not something that ConstruCASA works on. We are anxious to observe some of the other charities that ConstruCASA works with to provide this immensely important education. After all, the house does not guarantee a healthy environment and to come out of poverty, the families and children have to be healthy enough to be able to work and go to school. Such a complex equation. We are slowly putting the pieces together and determining where and how we can make a difference with similar communities in Bolivia.

The kids in front of their local "tienda" watching us walk back to the bus.

A proud mother with her kids in front of her house.

Meeting the People

Let me pause for a moment before I write about the last week and just talk about where I am right now. I am sitting in the most luxurious McDonalds I have ever seen. I'll have to post photos later. I never would have patronized a McDonalds in Guatemala except for the fact that SEVERAL locals have told us that they have the prettiest garden in the city. I have to say, it's true. There is an open patio area with outdoor furniture made from wood. The comfy seat cushions almost make you feel like you are at an upscale hotel....until you smell the frijoles and fried plantains. Symphony versions of American classic rock songs play overhead. A waitress just brought me a McCafe out in the courtyard and I am sitting by some women in typical dress (skirts banded with traditional fabrics) who are eating the Guatemalan version of fries. No wonder so many in this country have abandoned their traditional food for fast food (this city also has at least two Burger Kings and a Subway). I guess the US does export one thing...our eating habits. More on this topic in a different post.

This last week has been amazing for us. We've met so many local people and have learned so much more about the culture. We are now living with some local Guatemaltecos who live much closer to the city and hosted Aaron's parents when they were here three years ago for volunteer work. They have already enriched our experience immensely, conversing with us nightly about the people and culture and about our observations, and recommending things we should do, see or try. They truly are the quintessential exchange host mother and father. In addition to this change, we've gotten out a lot more in the last week (while still taking 4 hours a day of Spanish and working on endless homework). Below I have summarized some of our highlights.

San Antonio Aguas Calientes
Last Thursday, we took the "public bus" up into the mountains to San Antonio Aguas Calientes - an indigenous pueblo with a women's weaving cooperative that not only weaves beautiful fabrics, but tries to preserve their language and culture. After hearing a traditional greeting in Cakchiquel, an ancient Mayan language, we talked to one of the women there about how they produce their local textiles. Many fabrics sold on the streets of big cities here are from China, so it is very important to understand what goes into making the authentic textiles. This women told us that it takes 8 hours a day, working for two months to make the long textiled wraps that are common for carrying babies or protecting oneself from the rain during the winters here (it's summer here right now). She dressed us up in the traditional wears so we could see how each piece of fabric is used and told us about the traditional wedding ceremonies in their village. Once engaged, the women spends nearly a year before the wedding weaving towels and other clothes to present to her mother-in-law (suegra) as a gift. It was very dark in their workshop, so the settings for our photos was not as clear as I'd hoped...but I am still including some:

One of the women from the cooperative working on a shawl.

Aaron looking "muy guapo" in the traditional men's dress in Guatemala. 

Note that while many women follow the traditional dress, men rarely do.

Me in traditional dress, right down to the "baby bundle" 

(since most women in rural areas have many children...)

 The extensive detail from the "brocaded" fabrics. 

One of the women from the cooperative preparing a traditional lunch.

Around Town in Antigua
Now that we've been here for two weeks, it's beginning to feel more local in town to us. We often see the same people around the town and we have favorite spots to hang out and study. One of our favorites is the "Parque Central". We love to watch all of the vendedores (sales people) running from tourist to tourist to sell something. Women here sell weavings (only some of which are authentic) and jewelry. Older men sell wooden masks and machetes. Young boys (as young as 5 up to adolescents) sell shoe shine services and/or drugs (yes, it is VERY odd to be asked by an eight year old boy if you want to buy some pot...it's even odder and sadder to tell them you don't smoke and have them suggest that you try it). A quick tangent - for anyone following global news right now, apparently a large drug bust occurred just a few days ago in Copan, a city a few hours north of where we are now. Sad to think that even little kids are involved in the chain...

At any rate, while we were in the park one day last week, a local woman came up to ask us if we wanted to buy a scarf. We responded to her in Spanish and she complimented our accents and sat down to chat a bit. She was a young widow with two children to support on her own. She travels every day from her pueblo about an hour away into Antigua to try to sell textiles. She said that some days she sells something and somedays she does not, but she has to keep trying. She told us of the struggles her friends with more children have - trying to make ends meet on so little. She also talked quietly about the challenges the women face in such a male-dominated society. When we asked her what would make her life better, she said speaking English (which would help her sell even more). An NGO sponsored her for a week of English classes in another village. She learned and retained a great deal considering that Spanish is not even her first language (she speaks a Mayan dialect). She dreams of a better life for her kids and encourages them to study and learn English, stay in school, and not have kids too young.
It was such a unique opportunity to talk to her candidly about her life and her dreams. Here's my photo with her below, as well as some photos of the young kids who sell things throughout town (supposedly only during their school vacation...).

Our new friend from the central park.

 A young girl and her mom selling textiles in the central park.

A local woman in the park in traditional dress....on her cell phone :)

Guatemala's Social Determinants of Health

I have been wanting to write a little bit about this beautiful and complex country that we are in. A lecture that we attended a few nights ago provided me with the perfect information to share and confirmed a lot of what we have observed in our short week here.

We went to a cafe to hear Sue Patterson, a previous Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia and a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer who served in Guatemala for a number of years during the height of the civil war here. After her final post in Italy, she decided to retire in Guatemala and started a non-profit called WINGS (http://wingsguate.org/) that works on reproductive rights and education for women (among other areas of health). Below are some of the highlights of what she shared with us. I have supplemented her talk with some other references as well. If you don't want to read this whole post - at least read the Maternal/Child health segment. It's fascinating information!

Background:As I previously described, one of the primary reasons that we chose to study Spanish and volunteer in Guatemala is because of the vast needs of the poor people in this country. The WHO, UN and other organizations measure the disparity between rich and poor through something called the Gini Coefficient index. This index measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. Guatemala's Gini Coefficient ranks them 13th in the world for income inequality. Significant research demonstrates that a disparity between rich and poor causes poorer health for everyone in the society (not just those at the bottom) (Sources: The Spirit Level, Wilkinson & Picket, 2009). Sue Patterson shared some thoughts on why this is the case.

Indiginous Peoples:
Nearly 40% of the population in Guatemala are indigenous. Over 23 Mayan languages are still spoken in pueblos in the country and many rural people (especially women) only speak their indigenous language. The problem is that most education in the country is only offered in Spanish. Therefore, a large percentage of people in rural areas are also illiterate or uneducated. This leads to a challenging political landscape (among other issues). Sue noted that while many people are 100% Mayan, if they have a western style of life, they do not consider themselves to be indigenous. The term (as I will use it in this post and as she used it) refers to both the genetic lineage and the way of life (often rural).

Maternal Child Health:
Guatemala has one of the fastest growing and youngest populations in Latin America. The average number of children per Guatemalan family is about 5.6 (Source: UN Habitat). Guatemala ranks 6th in the world for the percent of their population under the age of 15 (43%, source: world population data sheet). Family planning and the use of birth control are rare. According to Sue Patterson, by the age of 19, 50% of women in Guatemala have at least one child. About 50% of children under the age of 5 in Guatemala are mal-nourised. A phenomenon that results from a lack of clean water, families that continue to be large in rural areas, and devalued agricultural industries. Agricultural work has been replaced by other industries (like tourism), thus the income of a rural farmer is no longer even close to enough to feed a family. Clean water is not readily available in this country. Upper class families seem to drink exclusively bottled water (from El Salvador) that most in this country cannot afford to buy. 

Sue described how she often visits rural pueblos and sees healthy babies right at birth (however, it should be noted that maternal mortality is high in Guatemala since obgyn services do not exist outside of big cities). When she returns 8 to 9 months later, the babies are typically no longer nursing since the mother may be pregnant again or is malnourished herself. She explained that she finds them thin and malnourised, eating tortillas and drinking local water. This can have a spiraling effect as it dramatically impacts cognitive development. Children reach school age and either don´t understand what they are beginning to learn in school or cannot concentrate. They return home and often tell their parents they are not interested in learning. Families, who struggle to make ends meet in agricultural settings, then remove the child from school and bring them out into the field to help with agricultural work. You can see from this cycle that no one here intends for their children to become mal nourised or to work at such an early age. It is a vicious circle. 

So what is the solution?


Sue´s organization believes that educating women and men about reproductive health and family planning options can aid a lot. While still challenging, $2 a day goes much farther in a family a 4 (for example) compared to a family of 10. The majority of rural and indiginous people here do not talk about family planning, reproduction or gynocological issues, both for religious reasons (highly Catholic country) and because it is somewhat taboo to speak openly about this topic. Sue noted that the number one cause of death for rural women in Guatemala is not heart disease or breast cancer, but cervical cancer. Because people only visit the doctor here when they are very sick (there is no national healthcare and doctor´s visits are expensive), HPV and cervical cancer are not detected and treated early on. 

Sue´s organization "Wings" works using a promotora model wherein they train local champions from the pueblo to provide education about family planning and reproductive health, starting slowly with questions about what the locals might want to know but have not been able to ask (note that rural and even many urban populations here only go to the doctor when they are very sick due to the cost). Her organization has had early successes both in education (of women AND men who are often the decision makers) and in treatment. They provide screening for HPV and have provided hundreds of tubal ligation to mothers who already have multiple children. 


What Else Contributes to the Problem?

Politics:
Guatemala has elections every 4 years and is considered a democratic state. Similar to many other countries in this area, corruption is still present and hard to trace. In the last election, Guatemala had candidates from 14 different political parties. According to Sue Patterson, only about three of those parties still exist. Many parties are formed by one individual without a true platform or vision (these parties don´t last). This means that there are not truly political parties in Guatemala. In the elections they have had since their establishment as a democratic state, they have never elected the same president OR party to another term. As Sue explained, each time a new individual assumes office, they bring in all new people (not just a new cabinet). This has made it challenging to keep social or educational programs going for more than one term (the people who manage them leave with the outgoing president) and to keep any type of ongoing foreign relationships strong. As a result, programs start and end and problems are rarely addressed in a continuous way though governmental means. 

The government itself has much to address (beyond health) just in working to make the country safer. Nearly 50 people per day are murdered in Guatemala (which is a small country of about 13 million people - smaller than Shanghai, China and slightly bigger than New York City and the surrounding suburbs). The judicial system is unable to investigate many of the murders for reasons that are too complex to address in this post. Gangs are increasingly prevalent in big cities and drug trafficking often hits Guatemala as "products" are moved up to Mexico and the US from Colombia. 

While the number one source of income in Guatemala used to be agriculture, it is now "outside aid" from Guatemalan workers in the US. They send about $10 million dollars EACH DAY back to family members. This has created a reliance on the outside workforce and, in many ways, has led to an upper class in Guatemala. Sue noted (and we have observed) that much of this money goes towards "things" like car improvements, televisions, stereo systems, etc. This is not much different than the US, but in such a poor country, you can see how the money might be better used for basics like healthy food, educational improvement, etc. Interesting to see how societal "perception" influences even those who live in deep poverty. I believe this is similar (or perhaps even worse) among the poor populations in industrialized countries. 


Here are some photos from the work that WINGS has done (note, these are not my photos).

Rattled Windows But a Happy Virgen

Este es Aaron. I finally decided to jump on here to post as spanish-versions of Offspring play above me in the Internet Cafe.

Who knew that a day for a virgin would involve so much bass, fireworks and fried food? Sunday was the day for the Virgen de Guadelupe (essentially, the Virgin Mary). It´s a Catholic holiday started in Mexico in the 1600s and is mainly celebrated in Central and some Southern American countries.

"Mary´s Stage"

Well, just our luck, the house we´re staying in happens to be on the same street as the"Casa de la Virgen de Guadalupe". So, on Saturday the community built a huge stage in the street with a wall dedicated to Mary, and in front of that stage was a gigantic stage with top-of-the-line audio and video equipment. Quite an interesting contrast and no different than setting up a Rolling Stones-style concert in front of a church.

  You´ll see them soon on "America´s Best Dance Crew"

That night the music began at 6 and didn´t end until well past 12 or 1am, transitioning from a smorgasbord of American pop hits (Justin Beiber anyone) to more traditional Guatemalan style music later on. The scene included everything from break-dancing 5 year olds (who were very impressive) to a group of 30 or so kids in santa claus suits with halloween masks  doing choreographed dances. The masks are a continuation from a holiday the week prior that is related to the devil (who acts similar to Santa, only instead of being on a naughty or nice list, you´re sent up to heaven or you´re taken with him to hell).

We fell asleep to the sound of rattling windows, moved by the beat of some strong bass with an occassional boom from the miriad of illegal chinese fireworks getting shot off through-out the city.

Emerging from our house the next morning, we heard that a big ¨procesion¨ for the Virgen was going to happen around 4 that afternoon at the La Merced church. So off we wandered, in search of who knows what.
For the procession, it´s common for families to dress their young kids (under 5) in traditional clothing and paint mustaches on the boys while munching on a variety of street-vended food in the square.

I know how I would want to spend my Sunday if I were one years old

There were some delicious options from fried corn/egg dough pastries to pupusas (cheese-filled tortillas with toppings), but with this being the age of globalization, there was a little Domino´s stand selling pizza, which many of the kids of course preferred.

  Un pequenito heart-attack for under a buck

After an hour or so of waiting for the procession, "it" finally came through, consisting of a large table with Mary on top being carried along the street with families following behind. We´ve learned to expect to be surprised everyday we´re here.

Walking back to our house, we found an even larger stage being constructed a few houses down, and much later that night, (to the familiar tune of fireworks with a Lady Gaga musical backdrop) we fell asleep exhausted but content that the Virgen de Guadalupe was being shown quite the night on the town.

El Volcan Fuego does its part to honor Mary

Chicken Buses and Internet Cafes

People are especially proud of a few things in Guatemala - their churches and their buses. The 'chicken buses' as they are often called provide transporation from main city areas to the rural pueblos. They are essentially old school buses retired here from the United States. Each driver takes special pride in decorating their bus. Yesterday, we took one of these public buses to San Juan - a small rural pueblo in the mountains. As is typical, the interior had a huge crucifix, along wtih some 'pimped out' stickers and a small electric transformer character that lit up when the driver hit the breaks (funny how they prioritize their electricity here...). As expected, the bus quickly packed with people, three to a seat during the rush hour!

One of the most interesting things about the rural pueblos in Guatemala is that no matter how poor they are, they all seem to have an internet cafe where local youth 'jovenes' can connect to the world. Almost directly across from a communal washing area (photo below) where people have washed their clothes in the open the same way for hundreds of years was an unmarked internet cafe. Go figure....

We spent the day visiting local artisans and learning about their efforts to bring a higher quality of life to their families. I was especially touched by a man who makes wine from nispero (a local fruit here - I don´t think it exists in the US...). He invited us into his two room house. He and his wife sleep with both of their children in one room. The kitchen is used for his craft of wine-making and he has invested any small amount of money he has made from wine back into improving his equipment (he was proud to show us a new refrigerator to keep the beverages) and making official labels. He was so honored to have us in his home that he had set up a small display using his best glasses for us to tast the wine. He strains the juice from the fruit and funnels it through a small plastic coke bottle into another plastic bin to ferment for two years (you can see this contraption in the back of the photo below).

During his explanation of wine-making, his wife was sewing some clothing and we could hear the local neighborhood kids laughing as they played outside. They explained to me that they were playing with a small pinata they had made from a plastic bag and some candies (see it suspended in the tree in the photo above). Notice how happy they all are! There is something to the simplicity of their lives....

Guatemala and Probigua

We arrived here safely yesterday and were met at the airport by the director of the school/NGO that we are working with (Probigua). We took a long winding drive through the backroads out of Guatemala City to Antigua, inhaling diesel fumes the whole way from the school buses that are used for mass transportation here. As we have learned is customary of the families who host students and volunteers here, our host family is also hosting three other people (from Germany) who are studying and volunteering here. While it is not quite what we expected from a homestay, our host father Thomas, who is the assistant director of Probigua, has a very good heart and has already conversed with us about how the organization got started over 16 years ago. Probigua works with remote pueblos to provide educational opportunities for kids. They have more than a dozen libraries that they have created in rural areas, provide scholarships for kids to get a better education, and run a few computer labs for rural kids in the pueblos.

After a traditional breakfast (tamales and a special christmas punch) with the maestras (teachers) at our school, we spent today wandering the city and working on our Spanish. We met up with some friends in the evening (who also happen to be here at the same time!) and Aaron managed to lose his bag within the first 24 hours. Fortunately, the local pub had it for him when he ran back. Tomorrow we will travel to one of the pueblos with the school. Since email is fairly prevalent in the youth hostels here, we will be able to provide some updates on our first few weeks here. More to come!

Some photos from our first 24 hours...

At the airport with all of our stuff.

Traditional punch for Christmas/Navidad

The center square in the village.

Friends in Antigua!

En Tránsito

As stated by the American novelist Charles Dudley Warner, "There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it."

As I sit here in Houston en route (in tránsito) at the beginning of our adventure, I am reminded why we decided set out on this journey. A few years ago, I heard Dr. David Flemming, the Director and Public Health Officer of King County Public Health speak at a conference. He came to King County after over a decade of work with the Gates Foundation. As he talked about his global projects, he remarked that many of the same problems exist in our own local environments. He had gained unique skills from observing these issues abroad and could creatively work on the issues in his own county. This speech awakened my desire to experience other cultures, learn from them and ultimately gain a better understanding of the problems that exist, hidden away in parts of our own country.

Aaron and I have always enjoyed traveling together, seeing different cultures and meeting new people. We took our honeymoon in China while most people recommended Hawaii. Alas, the extent to which we understand and learn from a culture is directly related to both the time spent in the country and the exposures provided. While Aaron and I could undoubtedly have an enriching experience through a couple of weeks of volunteerism, we want to come to know and appreciate these countries on a deeper level. We want to see some impact from our work there....For this reason, we are about to embark on two long term cultural exchanges and volunteering projects - one in Guatemala and one in Bolivia.

So, here's to the start of our journey. This blog will serve as a place for our reflections on all that we hope to learn. Thanks for reading!