This past week, we spent some time between studies (we're taking 5 to 6 hours of Spanish classes every day to get our language up to speed) to visit with an NGO called Familias de Esperanza. They provide a lot of the social service support to families in poor pueblos in the department of Sacatepequez (where we are living). We had heard a lot about their work and were excited to visit the organization, talk with the families they work with, and see their library and clinic.
We went to the village of San Pedro with a local employee from the organization. We were "lucky" enough to arrive in the midst of a traditional funeral - which is very rare to see in the more developed area where we live. The entire village seemed to be participating, carrying a brownish gold casket though the streets of the town to the church (which is usually located in the village center by the public washing areas). A small band including a tuba and some horns (very old looking instruments) followed in the back of the procession. All traffic through the city was stopped until the procession completed. In traditional ceremonies like this, anyone can join the procession and the church service for the funeral is open to anyone from the town. As our host dad here explained to us, "If you happen upon a funeral, you can walk in, see if you know the family, and give them your blessings." The type of procession takes place after a "sitting" in the house of the family which lasts nine days. Again, anyone is welcome to attend the sitting, though it usually comprises extended family.
A discrete view of the front of the procession.
The church in this small village. Note that many churches here are yellowish in color and the churches are ALWAYS the much more lavish than anything else in the area.
After respectfully letting the procession pass and watching them enter the church, we learned more about the work that Familias de Esperanza does in this town. Poor families with four children or more can fill out and application at the nearby clinic/library office to receive social support from Familias. After their application has been received, Familias assesses the family's situation (how many children they have, how many are school age, what their housing and food needs are, etc.) and provides qualified families with regular visits from a Guatemalteco social worker who has been trained to help identify ways the organization can help the family. Social workers facilitate housing requests (simple houses are built for qualifying families by both ConstruCasa and by Familias de Esperanza). Families are required to "pay for" houses, efficient stoves, and other supplies they receive by volunteering a certain number of hours with the NGO (usually helping to clean the clinic, library, daycare, etc.).
We visited a family that received a house three years ago and continues to receive social service visits to check on the wellbeing of the family/children. They house was very clean. The couple (with only two kids currently at home) works baking bread for others in the city. This provides a small wage so they can keep their children in school and maintain their one-room house. (I will comment further on the school situation here in another post). The proud father allowed us to see the room they live in. It had two single beds, one for the couple, one for the two kids. There were no windows, but the father was excited to tell us that they were one of the only families in the city with electricity. They still do not have clean water though.
What struck me when we went in the house was that one of the few shelves they had inside was filled with about twenty packs of cigarettes. Here this family can barely get by and the father smokes. In so many ways it was similar to what I have seen in poor families in the US. If their is any addiction, be it smoking, drinking, etc., it takes money away from food. Unfortunately, Familias de Esperanza does not address smoking or drinking among the males in the Guatemaleco population. Addressing behavior change in this culture is especially have in part due to the "machismo" attitude that males traditionally have...In addition, I have observed that interventions to help people quit smoking or drinking often take a back seat to more "immediate" problems like housing and clean water. Though clearly both addictions take a lot of money from families that don't have money to spend. However, when rural families selling crafts, produce or (in this case) bread make an average of 25 Quetzales per day and a pack of cigarettes costs about 30 Quetzales...you can see the problem.
The house of the family that we visited with.
(Notice that their neighbors behind them have the traditional house made of cane/bamboo).
The couple with in their bread store.
The local social worker discussing the date for the next visit.
After visiting the family, we went to see the main Familias de Esperanza location, which includes a playground, a health clinic, a library, and a daycare. All facilities are basic and simple, but clean. A number of women were waiting with their children to see the doctor on staff. The clinic offers regular check ups (though I do not believe they are mandated for any families receiving support). They also provide acute care. I asked the doctor about family planning discussions and he said they do not provide much because often it is a challenge enough to get the men in the family to allow the women to come in for check ups. They don't want to lose the opportunity to provide basic services. The center also has a small library with books and a volunteer on hand to help kids learn to read, as well as a daycare to support parents who work daily and have small children.
The clinic at Familias de Esperanza.
Women waiting outside the clinic.
Front desk of the clinic (and the doctor on staff).
One of the patient rooms.
One of the most interesting things we learned about were the efficient "safety stoves" that the "build crew" helps supply to families. They had several models, from mobil stoves (consisting of a number of cinder blocks and a metal heating area, to stoves that must be permanently assembled as part of the house. Such a simple idea that can make such a difference. It not only prevents heightened CO2 exposure inside houses where families cook, it also saves them money because they need so much less wood.
Aaron checking out the "build" area where cement was drying for houses.
Efficient safety stove models.
The library at the center.
While we were impressed with a lot of the work Familias for Esperanza is doing, there is always room for improvement (more prevention, family planning, and support helping families find and maintain jobs could make a difference here...). Interestingly enough, while we would have liked to volunteer with the organization during the last couple weeks that we are here, they were more interested in talking to us about donating to sponsor a child, family, etc. This has been a trend we have observed in almost all of the NGOs we have talked to in this department in Guatemala. While most could benefit greatly from having volunteers that understand community development and can help them assess and create future plans for their delivery of services, they are all more interested in money. This may result from reduced support both from donors abroad and from the government (similar to what we see happening in the US).
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