Student Sponsorship: #1879 Jazmin Nohemi

Jazmin is a sweetheart!  They were one of the families that we gave a food basket to during the the service trip.  We also spent an afternoon with her, along with taking her family to lunch one afternoon.  It was probably the first time they had been in a restaurant - and there was no wasted food!  Jazmin would like to have the chance at continuing her education!

Jazmin Nohemi attends the Mayan Families pre-school program in San Andres.

She lives in San Andres Semebetaj with her mother, Angelica (30yrs old).


The father has abandoned the family to live with another woman. He does not support the family. 




Jazmin has three brothers and 1 sister.
They are:

•    Marco Josue Aaron (student #850) was born on April 26th, 2001. He is in 4th grade in 2011.

•    Pablo Timoteo (student #1404) is 6 years old. His birthday is October 5th. He is in kindergarten.

•    David is 4yrs old. He is not in school yet. David has a murmur in his heart and is waiting to have more medical treatment.

•    A sister born in April 2010.

Angelina weaves belts and traditional blouses and earns $16 US per week.


The money that she earns is not enough to cover all her costs.


The family does not have enough to eat. 
They children are in need of clothing and shoes.


They live in Angelina's mother's home.


The house is made of cement block.


The roof is tin sheeting.


The floor is cement.


The house has three rooms and a kitchen.
Angelina has two rooms in the house.


They have an onil stove that Mayan Families gave them.


They have a pila.


They have water connected and pay $0.50 cents US per month.

They are paying $2 US for trash collection.

They have two chairs.

They  have a table.

They have two beds.

One has a mattress and the other has bare boards.

They have one closet. 


They have electricity connected and pay $8 US per month.

Student Sponsorship: #1882 Sebastian

Sebastian is a special little boy.  His smile can light up the room, and I will always remember how excited he was to get a new pair of underwear!  It is clear his mother cares for him...she has a "caring, calmness" about her that you could "feel."  HIs mother is trying her best to work, and I think it is special that she is a teacher (when she can find work...). 

 

Sebastian is 5 yrs old. His birthdate is August 18, 2007.

Sebastian lives with his mother, Carmen (dob. June 25th, 1980) in San Andres.  Sebastian attends the Mayan Families/Mission Guatemala Pre-school in San Andres.

The father left before Sebastian was born. He does not support Sebastian nor does he visit him.

Sebastian has one sister, Esmeralda , 6yrs old.  dob. May 23, 2005.

She is in kindergarten in 2011.

The mother is a teacher and gives classes to teach reading and writing to adults.

She earns $50 US per week.

The work she has is only for short term contracts... she gets 3 months period at a time. When the contract finishes she works washing clothes by hand in private houses.

They own the house they live in, they are still paying it off to the bank.  Carmen pays $64 US per month for the loan...she has two more years to pay it off.

It has three rooms and a kitchen. It is made of cement block.

The roof is tin.

The floor is cement.

They have a wood burning stove.

They do not have a water filter.

They do not have a pila...a 2 sided sink. To wash her clothes, she takes them to her mother’s house and uses the pila there.

They have electricity connected and pay $8 US per month.

They do not have water connected. Carmen has to carry water from her mother’s house.

They have four chairs and two small tables.

They have one closet and one bed with a mattress that they all share.

Student Sponsorship: #1757 Berta Paola

Our group spent time with Berta and her mother this summer.  They have faced such adversity, but hopefully she will receive the gift of an education...providing more choices in life.  Berta looks so happy in her new traditional clothes that were donated to her!

Berta Paola was born on January 20th, 2006.
Berta is in the Mayan Families/Mission Guatemala pre-school in San Andres in 2011.

She lives in San Andres with her father, Juan, 41yrs old (dob. April 5th, 1969) and her mother, Maria, 44yrs old (dob. Dec. 4th, 1966).

Berta has five brothers and one sister.
 They are:


• ·      Domingo is 18yrs old. (dob. July 18, 1992). He went to school till 7th grade and now works as a cleaner in a hotel. He earns $23 US per week.

• ·      Elias is 17yrs old. (dob. May 23rd, 1994) . He went to school till 6th grade. He is unemployed right now but he collects firewood to sell and also for the home. He earns $4 US on the days when he is able to sell the firewood.

• ·      Jeremias is 13yrs old. (dob. August 5th, 1997). He is in 3rd grade.

• ·      Noe is 10yrs old. (dob. May 29th , 2000). He is in 3rd grade.

• ·      Floridalma is 8yrs old. (dob. June 25th, 2002) . She is in 2nd grade.

• ·      Eliseo is 6yrs old. (dob. Sept. 9th, 2004). He is in kindergarten.



The father works as a builders assistant. He earns $26 US per week.
He did not have the opportunity to go to school . He does not know how to read or write.


The mother works collecting firewood to sell and earns $7 US per week.
She did not have the chance to go to school. She does not know how to read or write.



They are living in a tent given to them by Shelterbox.  Their village was evacuated during Tropical Storm Agatha in 2010.  They are not allowed to return to their village. It is a permanent evacuation. The land has been greatly damaged by mudslides and it is unsafe to live there.

The govt. is eventually going to give them land so that they can build a house.



The father built a kitchen made of tin sheeting and built a block stove for his wife to cook over.



They do not have a water filter.


They do not have beds, they sleep on mattresses on the floor.


They have a small closet.
They have three chairs and one table.



They have electricity connected and the govt. is paying.


They have one toilet and one shower they are sharing with 21 families.


They have two sinks to wash their clothes and they are sharing these sinks with the 21 families also.

Linda's 1st Day of Service

Linda's first of many........

My first day "On the Job" so to speak was by far one of the toughest days of my life.  

It was Monday and we met that morning, then went to our first preschool to work. It was all sooo new to me.  So many little faces all cautiously curious about us. As we begin our morning with them the faces begin to smile, and then laugh.  We had fun.  Oh how rewarding, just to see how thankful they were to play with the neat toys we brought. To watch the excitement as they got their previously worn shoes (which to them they were new), to watch them cradle their clothes and new toothbrush was heartwarming. 

BUT...... on this day I was also given the opportunity to work in the elderly program.  My emotions took an all time low.  We cut up veggies in preparation to the meal we were to deliver them.  Oh yeah, try doing that with a huge butcher knife.  I hope we can get them some potato peelers.  As we begin to deliver these small bowls of soup, I began to see things that my words could never be able to adequately describe.  We went into homes that were dirt floors, no electricity, no running water,  they had almost nothing to speak of.  What they did have was mostly damp and muddy (we were there in the rainy season).   I had such a struggle going on in my heart.  We have sooo much here in the USA.  I obviously had been taking everything in my life sooo for granted.   I saw first hand what poor was that day.   I saw old people with bed sores the size of tennis balls still try to smile and say thank you.  These people are so appreciative of the simplest things.  I had many "firsts" on my trip to Guatemala, I only hope they are not my last.

  

John's Post Trip Thoughts (by John G.)

Nothing is easy when it is worth doing.

I got what I wanted from the trip to Guatemala:
 > a better understanding of my inner strengths, feelings and weaknesses

     o inner strengths

         - A deeper desire to help those that can not help themselves - children and adults

         - A deeper understanding of what giving is and how it is accomplished  - smiles and a simple nod

   

  o feelings 

         - One of happiness and being fortunate to participate with children and adults within members of the group

           as well as the residents of the country

         - One of sadness that I could not assist more - mentally, physically and financially

     o weaknesses 

         - emotional feelings that are hard to share with others become easy to share, exhibit and express 

         - physical capabilities that need to be in check and egos parked

Togetherness and team work and working with others in harmony.

Personal sense of accomplishment through group effort and leveraging other participants.

Children faces and loving smiles that want to learn but are handicapped by the financial limitations and lack of outside help. 

THE STEPS ARE SIMPLE: 

1)  I WAS NOT ASKED TO DO MORE THAN I COULD DO - PHYSICALLY AND/OR FINANCIALLY. 

2)  I WAS MADE AWARE OF THE NEEDS.

3)  I WAS ASKED TO PARTICIPATE,

4)  I ACCEPTED - NO STRINGS OR SURPRISES

5)  I PARTICIPATED

6)  I REAPED ALL THE BENEFITS

    --- GAVE A LITTLE BACK TO  THE WORLD I LIVE IN AND TAKE FOR GRANTED DAILY

Christi's Purpose (by Christi R.)

While in Guatemala, I decided to sponsor a child so that he/she could attend school. After seeing how the people live and what they endure, I thought in some small way I could improve someone's life.

When I met Cesar, he was very shy and apprehensive. He did not want to lose sight of his mother and held her hand tightly. He would hold my hand with his mother's encouragement, but was always checking to make sure she was there.  Two days later, we were able to meet again. Before loading the trucks to go to lunch, Cesar reached up and took my hand (on his own accord). I was accepted. I had a purpose.