Feb. 16
Our Guatemala adventure with Sharing the Dream began with a great
breakfast prepared by our gracious, intelligent hostess, beautiful
guide and interpreter, Diana. She works full time for STDG and is also
attending college. Spanish is her second language and English is her
third. We then met Virginia who moved to Guatemala 14 years ago from
England. She works part time for STDG helping the groups design and
market their products. She is extremely knowledgeable about the history
of Guatemala and also shared background information about the formation
of the Sharing the Dream organization and how it is a relationship
model not a mission where there are only givers and receivers. One of
their goals is to listen to the indigenous people and empower them to
so they can provide a sustainable living for their families. STDG works
with 60 different groups with 15 to 20 women in each group. It is
amazing to consider how many lives Diane and the organization have
touched since it was started in 1996. When the groups make a profit
from their sales they sometimes choose to use the money for cement
floors or a stove or a roof for one of the members. The women’s dream
is to sell their products so they can feed and educate their children.
STDG has been very successful empowering the women and helping them
believe in themselves and their dreams.
After our orientation,
we headed downtown in our van to visit Casa Guatemala which is part of
Casa Guatemala, the orphanage that STDG supports. A free medical
clinic is located in the lower level of the building and on the second
floor is a very clean, sparsely furnished facility for children 3
and under. Currently there are thirteen adorable children living
at Casa Guatemala and Carlos, who is a severely deformed 24 year old
with a horrible brittle bone disease who has lived at the orphanage his
entire life. Even though he spends his entire life lying on a mat on
the floor, his face immediately lit up with a bright smile when he saw
Diane. Carlos touched all our hearts in a very special way. We were all
very impressed with the warm, loving interactions between the staff and
the children. It is obvious that even though their resources are
limited, the caregivers are very gentle and nurturing with the
children. The giggles of the toddlers delighted all of us when we took
their pictures with our digital cameras and then showed them. They
would touch the screen and point at their tummies identifying their tee
shirts and laugh. It was difficult to put the babies down and leave
them behind. We all agree that Guatemalan children are very beautiful.
After
we reluctantly left, we walked to the city center to experience some of
the culture of Guatemala and see the city park and the Gerrardi,
memorial monument. We then enjoyed a delicious lunch and met Debra who
works for Mayan Hands, another fair trade organization which is
connected with STDG. She is a very impressive woman who ended up in
Guatemala after joining the Peace Corps at the age of 40. Both
nonprofits have greatly benefited from their teamwork.
We then
headed back to the STDG Center where we spent time with Isabel, the
very first scholarship recipient of STDG. Currently 39 students are
continuing their education and benefiting from scholarships ranging
from $200 to $500 a year for primary through college levels sponsored
by individuals in the US. Isabel is a gracious, beautiful
young woman who chose the career path of accounting in high school and
is now in college trying to get a degree. She talked about her dreams
to get an education and a good job. Her parents and siblings are very
supportive of her even though she is changing family traditions. We
were so impressed with her courage to leave her family and move to a
big city where indigenous people are discriminated against. Isabel
inspired all of us and touched our hearts deeply.
The evening
was spent watching the video, “When Mountains Tremble” which was an
emotional and educational movie about the 40 years of fighting in
Guatemala. We learned so much about the devastation and losses of
indigenous people that lasted until 1996 when the Peace Accord was
signed. It was very disturbing to learn of our government’s involvement
in the war. During our sharing time that followed the video, it was
hard to articulate all of our emotions and feelings about our first
full day in Guatemala which was packed full of experiences and
education.
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