November 30, 2007

After-Thanksgiving Visitors: Lewis family

After a visit from Courtney & Eric, we got to be hosts for another week for the long awaited visit from my brother and sister: Joey and Stacie. We had a great time, catching up with their lives and showing them around a few places we know in Guatemala. The highlight of the trip was the 3 days we spent in Salacuim, although we had some bad luck with heavy rains while they were here. We also had the chance to visit with our original host family (for the first 3 months of Peace Corps training, way back in January of 2006) and climb an active volcano. Here are some the pictures from their trip.

IMG_4116
Lewises at Sachicha Waterfall

100_3956
At our house in Salacuim

IMG_4110
With the kids from our original host family


Lewises on Pacaya Volcano

DSCN1359
Lewises at the Biotopo del Quetzal

November 24, 2007

Thanksgiving Visitors

Here are a few highlights from our Thanksgiving trip. Courtney and Eric came from San Diego to join us for a week in Guatemala. We spent most of our time in Salacuim, but we were able to do a few things that we have yet to do in our own site, including a very muddy hike through the jungle to the other side of the park. We celebrated Thanksgiving with amazing Cuban food in Cobán and enjoyed our time together catching up and sharing our experiences with them.

IMG_4066
welcome to Salacuim

IMG_4010
a muddy hike through the jungle to Rocja Pomtila

IMG_4051
Courtney and Maria (scholarship sponsor)

IMG_4057
spending time in Salacuim

November 9, 2007

Benpec el Castaño, Historic Day

Today the neighboring town to Salacuim, Benpec el Castaño, held a ceremony where the community members received titles to their land after a long and arduous process. This town is only a 30 minute walk or a short bike ride from Salacuim, and Kari & I often go there to visit the river for swimming or just to pass time. Our Peace Corps site-mate Nicole works with a womens group from Castaño that makes hand woven fabrics. I've worked with their community association this year to form a group that was trained in the principles of community tourism. So this community is really part of our Peace Corps "site"; we've made friends and memories there.

It was special to see a group of farmers that have never owned land, achieve something that will benefit them and their future generations. As Guatemala has a long, long history of land rights struggles, it's encouraging to see that at least some local farmers are receiving the basic necessity to build a better future for their families: a title deed to their land.

Here are the few of the details of the purchase:
  • 75 families received land, all as part of an farmers association
  • each family will receive about 12 "manzanas" of land (about 21 acres)
  • Each family will pay subsidized price of Q11,800 over a maximum of 8 years for their land (through the local association)
  • The community will also receive support with various production projects to help them get started (pineapple, cacao, reforestation, cattle, and tilapia)
  • Their are about 1500 acres in the community, and the sale price (from a private owner to the government) was Q2,400,852.50. This implies that the land is worth about $210/acre.
IMG_3886

Guatemalan Units of Measurement

Guatemalans use the metric system, but they are still kind of trapped between rural farmers who still use their traditional units of measurement and influence from US English units. You buy gas by the gallon, drive stretches of road in kilometers, and you plant corn by the cuerda. Below is a list of distance and area measurements used in Salacuim, Guatemala.

Untitled-1

November 8, 2007

Scholarship Exam

We had a great turnout for the scholarship test that was given this week to all students in Salacuim that had completed 6th grade and have the desire to continue studying in 7th grade next year. The reality is that about half of these students won't be able to go to school next year, and essentially all of them will have difficulties finding money to buy supplies or uniforms.
So for many of these kids, doing well on this test and winning a scholarship through this program is the only chance they have to study next year.

Although several scholarship students will be grandfathered in this year, new students will all come from this group. The program hopes to select about 5 new scholarship students, depending on the success of fund-raising.

We are especially proud of how much the community collaboration has developed in a year. Last year, Kari and I picked scholarship students based on personal relationships and perceived needs. Right now, we have the support of teachers, community organizations, and of course the small committee that will be in charge of management after we leave; all supporting the dream to create a small, sustainable program that will create opportunities for children and develop leaders.


IMG_3851


IMG_3860

November 2, 2007

Something to Think About

With only five months left of service, I find myself trying to understand the situation Guatemala is in and what my future role can be. There is a strange feeling in knowing that I will someday leave and go back to a fairly comfortable lifestyle. I often feel guilty and at times very excited. It's a difficult balance. After living in Salacuim for nearly 2 years, I truly feel concerned for the people of my community and wonder what their future holds.

Currently Guatemala has the highest percentage of people living below the poverty rate in all of Central America at 56.2%. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $1 a day and moderate poverty is less than $2 a day.

Here are some interesting comparisons between Guatemala and the U.S.

Guatemala/United States
Illiteracy rate: 30.9%/1%
Infant Mortality rate: 29.7 of 1,000/6.27 of 1,000
Fertility rate: 3.7 per woman/2.09 per woman
HIV prevalence: 1.1%/0.6%
Population below poverty level: 56.2%/12%
Age structure: 1-14(40.8%) 15-64(55.5%) 65+(3.6%)/
1-14(20.2%) 15-64(67.2%) 65+(12.6)

Other Guatemalan Facts...

Average duration of schooling is only 4 years
Only 3 of 10 children graduate from 6th grade
More than 2 million children do not attend school
(mostly indigenous girls in rural areas)
Infant mortality rate is the highest in Central America and the 3rd highest in the hemisphere
50% of Guatemalan women have given birth before the age of 19
20% have 2 or more children by their 18th birthday
Contraceptive prevalence is 43%, the 2nd lowest in the hemisphere
49% of Guatemalan children under the age of 5 are chronically malnourished
Only 41% of births are attended by a doctor or nurse, lowest in the hemisphere

information provided by www.cia.gov, www.usaid.gov