The Junkyard and CEDEPCA

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THE JUNKYARD
We were privileged to have a tour of the squatter housing at the junkyard led by Alta Gracia, who works as the cook at the Francisco Coll school. She and Emilio were our supervisors as we painted all the chairs. They both are involved with the same Catholic Church as the school director.

As I mentioned before, the squatters have put up tin sheds and refused to move when the government tried to force them off the land. They have no services—water, sewer, electricity, etc. But they do vote!

The new mayor did come through with his promise of improving the houses and built cinder block houses. We walked through the streets and ended up at Alta Gracia's garden. (The next day after the tour, her daughter delivered a baby girl. Congratulations!)

Life is precarious and definitely poverty ridden in this community. The school is very important, and when you look at the students, you see the drive to learn.

CEDEPCA
CEDEPCA was our host in Guatemala City. Our first educational program was with Hector about the history and current conditions in the country. It’s a war-torn history—36 years of civil war. There are several web sites where you can find the history; or check out the Guatemala guidebook by Lonely Planet.

The second part of the CEDEPCA educational programs was by the women’s initiative. In Guatemala the women are being organized through the churches. We participated in a sample workshop, that was about hand massages. We lined up and massaged each other’s hands. Our speakers told of the impact this simple act has on the women. Their hands are calloused from the hard work; they aren’t used to caring for their hands in a loving way, or sharing the caring with other women. After doing the hand exercise, the women would talk and share about the emotions and challenges coming from the massages. The overall goal of the women’s program is to improve self-esteem and confidence. Having been active in the US women’s movement for many years, I found this program exhilarating—and I wasn’t alone in our group.

Jackie, our group facilitator for this part of the trip, works part-time for the Latin America region of the World Association for Christian Communication (www.waccglobal.org). She told me about a world wide survey they did to monitor how women are portrayed in the media (www.whomakesthenews.org).

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Photos

subject to landslides
Tin houses, subject to landslides, no services

trucks
Interesting trucks

he posed for me
I indicated that I wanted to take his photo, so he posed for me.

recycling on the roof
Look at the recycling.

proud of house
This woman was friendly and very proud of her house.

rooftops
Look at the recycling and the laundry

tin and adobe
Most of the houses are tin and adobe.

produce market
Here's the produce market.

Ob Gyn office
We were glad to see this Ob Gyn and Pediatrician's office

oasis
Her garden is an oasis.

alta gracia's garden
Alta Gracia's garden. She also works at the Francisco Coll school.

Comments

[Taina]

I love these photos. They are like a little window into Guatemala. =)

[QK]

Good pictures
Susan, you did a very good job. These pictures are good materials about the life of Guatemala. I did not expect the people there are so poverty-stricken. But I wonder if all the people in Guatemala are so poor.

[Amy]

Thank you
Thank you Susan for the wonderful documentation of this journey!

[Spook]

Well, done, Susie!