Advertisement
Published: June 27th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Hello everyone,
I finally made it back to Xela yesterday from two weeks at the mountain school. I spent this past weekend in Tilapa Beach (near the border of Mexico) doing a volunteer project. More about that later though.
The mountain school is about 1.5 hrs southwest of Xela. It was developed in 1997 as a sister school to Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco in Xela. The mountain school is within two communites- Fatima and Nueva San Jose. Both of these communities are very poor, and the mountain school serves as a means of income for these families. These communities have a very interesting history, but I only know the history of Neuva San Jose from a conference that we had the other night. Abelino gave us the conference (he is the uncle of my host mother) and we had Timothy (the student-teacher coordinator) translate the conference for us.
The community of Nuevo San Jose initially was a community of people (Mam speaking Mayan's) working on a finca (farm) called Nuevo San Jose. The campesinos (workers) of the finca had worked there for many generations. The owner of the finca treated them very well, and the workers felt very satisfied
Piedad (my host grandmother)
This is where my family cooked all of their meals. They made tortillas every meal on top of this stove. I liked these tortillas more than the ones in Xela. and content. They never thought that they would leave. Eventually, the owner passed away and the finca was run by the son. The workers of the finca were paid twice a month- every other Thursday (or maybe Friday). One time, the workers did not receive their pay from the owner, but they were not worried. They had extra food saved, and they trusted that the owner-son would give them their wages. Some time passed and they did not receive their pay- but they were not very concerned. Eventually, they received their wages three months later. They let the issue pass. For the next couple of years, they encountered small problems, but these problems were easily resolved.
Then another time they did not receive their pay. Thinking again that they would be paid, they were not very concerned. They continued to work and they had food reserves. A year passed, and they had not been paid and no sight of the owner for that year. Abelino and other people of the finca became concerned and began to talk about what they could do. Families and children were starting to show signs of malnourishment and sickness. Abelino gathered together a group
Eunice, me, Alex, and Anna
Eunice was my first week teacher at the mountain school. She is 21 years of age. of people to go to Xela (the main city of their district) and went to a union office for farm workers. When they reached the office, they filed a complaint against the owner of the finca. However, they did not have the documentation to show as their defense. They decided to contact a lawyer to help them with their case.
Time passed, while the people of the finca continued to work. Some workers joined Abelino in his efforts against the owner, while others chose to stay out of the case. Abelino and his companeros protested against the owner, and eventually won back their entire wages. It was then decided that 27 families would start a community of their own. They pooled together their resources and received assistance church from the Catholic church. In 1993, they bought the land that they live on today. They also received assistance from the Spanish Red Cross to build block houses, install a water system, and dig a drainage system. They also had a school built with support from an organization in Spain.
I stayed with a host family from Nuevo San Jose for my first week at the mountain school. My host
Man collecting wood
It is very common to see men carrying wood in this fashion. I also see women carrying bundles of goods on top of their heads. grandmother was Piedad (sister to Abelino), and her daughter's name was Lili. Lili was 30 years old, but looked to be in her 40's. I had two host sisters; Lilian (8) and Ebelyn (5). The father is no longer with the family; he was irresponsible and left the family a couple of years ago.
My family was incredibly friendly and hospitable. My host mother cooked on a stove that she fed with wood, and she balanced the pots on a concrete type of surface. We ate many different soups with vegetables, and tortillas with every meal. Once I had chicken, and another time sausage. Meat is very expensive, and they do not have fridges to store the meat in. Every morning, I would have eggs from one of the chickens in the yard. A couple of times I had soy meat, which is soy product and vaguely represents meat. It has a very chewy consistency.
Every morning at 5:00, there is a bus that comes to pick up the men and take them to Xela (90 minutes away) or San Marcos (60 minutes away) for construction work. Sometimes, the men are not needed, so they do not receive
Glendi and I
Glendi was my instructor for the 2nd week. She is 28 years old. work for that day. The grandfather of my house, works everyday at a farm. I think he is somewhere in his 50's, but he appears to be older. He wakes up everyday at 4:00 am for work. He is usually home in the afternoon- sleeping or doing other household chores (bringing in wood or looking after the house). My host mother works every Sunday cleaning the school with other women of the community. The families in Fatima and Nuevo San Jose, rotate having students. One week a family will have a student, and the next week they will not. I think the families earn about $30 a week when they have a student.
The mountain school definitely has a presence in the community, but not an overbearing presence. They offer some economic support to the community, and also have scholarship programs set up for middle and high school students. I think they are supporting two students in college. Guatemala has private middle and high schools, and often times it is too expensive for a family to send their children all of the way through school. Many times, children stop going to school after middle school. There is a primary
Mis Amigos
Una foto! Una foto! This was frequently heard when we went on our walks. These kids were playing a game of futbol in the street beforehand. and secondary school in the community, but for high school, students travel to Xela (90 minutes) or Coatepeque (50 minutes).
The school also holds Cultural Noche on Wednesday night- with games, singing, or dancing. Also, Saturday morning there is an opportunity for students to do artwork at the school.
I would like to contribute to the school after I return to the US. If anyone else is interested, please let me know.
I have more to write about, but I will have to catch up tomorrow.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.147s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 49; dbt: 0.1141s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Dad
non-member comment
Hauling Wood
What a rich experience you are having Becky. You are seeing and experiencing things many Americans have no clue about. Your compassion realy comes through and I really enjoy reading about your experiences. I see that photo of that guy hauling wood on his back. I assume it's firewood. Is the terrain too rough for wheelbarrows or can they not afford them?