OCTOBER 29, 2007:

This proud father is showing off his children's report cards. They have also written letters to their sponsors to thank them for their help this year.

The school year in Guatemala runs from January through to October.

This past week has been very busy with lots of graduation parties.
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TRADITIONAL CLOTHING - MAYAN WEAVING PROJECT:
A lot of babies wear a Guipil and a Corte, this is traditional but unfortunately, this tradition is dying out in favor
of cheaper, western baby clothes - but what happens then is that usually when a child starts to walk they put them in a Guipil and Corte. Or they get them for a special occasion. For example, Gloria, Julio and Sandra put in together to buy Aleeya a special Guipil and Corte for her birthday yesterday. ( Well - it is actually her birthday today but we celebrated it yesterday). Aleeya wears a Corte and Guipil for special occasions, as does Zoe when she feels like it, but usually they wear western clothes. So to answer your question - they start wearing them very young. The thing that I have noticed is that if the children do not get used to wearing Guipils and Cortés by the time they are five then they usually don't wear them ever. It is a shame because the women take a lot of pride in their traditional clothing.

Friday, Sandra, Gloria, Olga and I went to a cultural event at the Hotel Del Lago where they were releasing a book ( in Spanish) about all the people involved in keeping the cultural traditions alive around the lake. Obviously, it is mostly older people. We started talking about how the young girls are losing the art of weaving. Neither Gloria , Sandra or Olga know how to weave but all their mothers did. So we talked about the idea of giving each 6th grade graduate girl enough thread to weave her own Guipil. We also talked about having classes in weaving for the young girls at the (soon to be!) community centre in San Jorge.
The gift of thread is something that we would like to implement next year maybe if there is support for it.
 Sharon

OCTOBER 28, 2007: SOME OF OUR SPONSORED CHILDREN GRADUATE!
 

These are some of our sponsored children that graduated from 6th grade this year.  It was a very happy, proud day for the children and their families!

Thank you to the sponsors that make it possible for over 400 children that we have sponsored to go to school.

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MEDICAL CARE:

This man is one of the people who we sent to the medical clinic this week. He was suffering from a bad respiratory infection that we were afraid might be pneumonia and he was very dizzy.   Thank you to the people who donate towards the general fund and the medical fund - these funds enable us to treat people who need medical attention. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MORE WATER FILTERS BEING DELIVERED!
              

This week we gave out many more of the wonderful water filters that are enabling people to have fresh drinking water available for them and their families.

Thank you to Florence Rotary Club for making this fantastic project possible.

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The CHRISTMAS Present Wrapping Begins!!!!!!!!

We have started the wrapping of 3,000 more toys for Christmas this year!

Paula, one of our sponsored children, she has just graduated from 6th grade is volunteering. Patti Kelly who is staying in Panajachel for the next few months and who sponsors two children to go to school, is lending a helping hand with this mammoth project!  

These toys have been collected mostly by the Mayan Families Connection group who have done a fantastic job.  We have also had many toys donated from families who are in the process of adopting their children from Guatemala.

Thanks to all these wonderful people for making this Christmas a happy one for the children of the Highlands.

OCTOBER 27, 2007
I just want to let everyone know that the baby with the club foot will be on her way to the hospital in Antigua on Monday morning.   She will be assessed and hopefully, be operated on in December when the U.S. team comes down. The mother offered to go and sleep outside the hospital overnight so that she would be there in time.  But that is dangerous and very cold at this time of the year. So  they are leaving at 4.am.  and will be there approx. 6.am.  Julio will go with her to make sure that she is in the right place.  She speaks Spanish well so she will be o.k. to go through the rest of the process.  We will give her money for her breakfast , lunch , give her disposable diapers for the day and arrange her transport back to Panajachel.   The baby is four months old.  The family is so grateful for this help.  Thank you for making this possible.
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OCTOBER 26, 2007

This week we held a clinic in Panajachel. We try to hold them monthly so that we can spay and neuter animals.   The suffering of the animals here is enormous and we are trying to reduce the population of future animals.  This week we spayed and neutered 24 animals, that represents a lot of dogs that will not be giving birth to puppies in the near future.

The dog photographed, we named him Scrappy, he is old and blind. His owners tied him up and were basically starving him to death.  We rescued him, Selaine, fed him, gave him water spent a long time petting him and holding him and then we put him down.  We do not have the facilities to care for dogs- and especially one  who is blind and old. We did the best that we could for him. 

While doing the clinic we heard a horrendous story from one of the women. Her sister - in - law had several dogs. One of the dogs, a nursing mother, stole some of the chickens eggs, ( the dog was probably starving) to punish the dog and she said " to teach the other dogs a lesson" , they put up a noose and hung the dog, they then hung all the little puppies.

We also heard another woman tell someone else that she had another dog at home that had puppies and that she was going to starve the dog and the puppies to death. She said that she was sick of puppies.   

This is the reason that we do the spay and neuter clinics.  This is also the reason that in January we are starting animal education classes in some of the schools in Panajachel. We will be teaching the children that animals have needs, they need food , water and shelter. We will be teaching them that their is a way  to be kind to animals.  We hope, one day, little by little that  this will make a difference.  

We are in urgent need of funds to be able to continue these clinics.  It costs us $20 US to spay or neuter a dog or cat.  If you could help with paying for just one animal to be done - we would be very grateful.
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RAPE VICTIM: Today we helped a woman , a single mother of four children, she is in her late 30's.   She had been abducted off the street around 6p.m.last night by five masked men.  They covered her eyes and drove her to an isolated place an hour from here.  They all raped her and threatened to kill her. They robbed her of her money, her cell phone and her earrings. They eventually left her on a mountainside in the dark. They threatened her that if she talks that they will get her daughter.   She had to walk two hours in the dark through the wet, muddy roads until she managed to get a ride back to her house. 

She does not want to go to the police. We have arranged medical care for her. She needed medication to calm her down and be able to sleep.  She needed painkillers.  She will be going back to the doctor in 2 weeks for a pregnancy test and a HIV test.  We are trying to get her treatment with a psychologist.   

This woman struggles to make a living for her family. She sells clothing on the street.   She will be unable to work for the next few weeks. We need funding to provide her family with food for the next few weeks and to pay for her medical treatments.   Any donations would be very gratefully received.

OCTOBER 24, 2007 

BABY WITH CLUB FOOT.

We are very fortunate to have Jo in Antigua and she has found out that there will be an orthopedic team from the U.S. arriving in December.

But we need to send this baby and the family to Antigua. They have to be there very early on Monday morning to be assessed.  If they do not get an assessment - the baby will not be able to be operated on.

We need to send them by private van so that they get there in time. We are nearly 3 hours away from Antigua and on a public bus they will not get there in time. If they don't get there very early in the morning then they will not get an number to be assessed and it will have been a waste of time for them to go. The cost of doing that is $70.   We are asking for donations to help with the cost of this van. If anyone could help - we would greatly appreciate it.
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ADOPT A VILLAGE PROPOSAL:  We have, I guess, basically been doing that in San Jorge.  We have now given out -by today - 800 water filters (potable drinking water) in San Jorge, approx. 400 Onil Fuel Efficient stoves have gone into San Jorge, we have 160 children sponsored to go to school, we have painted the washing facilities, given water filters to the school, thank you to  wonderful donations - we will shortly be able to provide a gas stove to the school for cooking, there is a playground coming in January.  We just put in bookshelves in all the classrooms. We have a donation from Rotary to put electricity into the general washing area - unfortunately after the donation was approved, we then found out the wood was rotten to install the electricity  -so we are at a standstill on that project until we get funding to replace the wood,  as you all know we have bought the land for the community centre.  We have given out many micro loans in San Jorge and have been running the sewing classes very successfully for two years. We have built five houses there and restored parts of many others.

I really like your idea of finishing one village and then moving on.  We have many schools asking for help but I would really like to see San Jorge and Tierra Linda have all their needs met before we take on any more schools.

I am really excited that you would be interested in taking on a village.  I would definitely vote for Tierra Linda as well - they have not had a stove project , we have not taken the water filters there - yet - we have the land for the community centre and some interest from a Canadian group who may want to build the centre next year.  But there is much to be done in that village.  One of the many things that they need is an ambulance - there is no way to get to the hospital if you are sick or in labor.

Panabaj needs a lot of help too but until they move it is hard to do more than water filters and school sponsorship.  Our problem in Panabaj is that they have water filters and all the filters now need replacing - we are working on how we can do that.

We gave out water filters to the 12 families that did  not have them in Panabaj.

OCTOBER 23, 2007
EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLIES:

Glendi and her siblings receive a weekly supply of food from their sponsor. Their mother is a single mother, the father abandoned the family five years ago. Their mother has cancer and is unable to work.

The family has not had enough food to eat.  Thank you to their sponsor, they now have sufficient food and their mother has the medication that she needs.
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The Graduates from our latest Sewing Class!

This is the current graduating class from our sewing classes. They have finished four months of classes. They have been attending classes twice a week, four hours a session for the past four months. They are now in graduate class and attending the class once a week. They are very proficient at sewing and very anxious to keep going. We have had enough sewing machines donated to us that they will all receive a sewing machine after the graduate classes finish.  Thank you to the people who have donated sewing machines - these women will have the chance to be more self sufficient.

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PANABAJ: I don't know if the school is being used.  I will have to find out.  A lot of schools have already closed for the year so it may have just been empty for that reason.   I know children have been going to school. 
I sent Gloria, Julio and Juan over to interview the families and see what the story was.  Gloria came back and said that it was a very sad situation there and that they needed help. The disaster was just enormous with a whole village being wiped out by the mud slide. Our problem is that we are in the process of renewing sponsorship for the children who were sponsored last year. We have a responsibility to these children to keep them in school. I am sure there will be some children whose sponsors will not be able to re-sponsor them this year so we have to find sponsors for them first.  After that we will start to put the Panabaj children on the website. So if you know of anyone who has been thinking of sponsoring - please spread the word.

OCTOBER 22, 2007

Wouldn't that be a wonderful idea if every family reading this sponsored a family in need.

The changes that this group has brought about into the families of Guatemala is wonderful and miraculous.

They may seem small  - like buying a bed - but if you don't have one and you are sleeping on the floor - then that is a huge change for you.   The stress for the kids and parents, not having their school supplies is enormous.  I hate the thought in January that we will have many more desperate people at our door that we just cannot help.

I just would like everyone to know how much I appreciate all that you have done here for the families, these people are so appreciative, they have never received help before and they cannot believe that there are people willing to help them.   The medical attention, the food supplies, the clothing and the shoes, the school sponsorship - it is just absolutely wonderful.

I am so proud to be part of this group and to know you all. Best wishes, Sharon

OCTOBER 15, 2007: THE HOUSES OF PANAJBAJ:
         
One of the beautiful traditional blouses from Santiago.
The people of Panabaj receiving donations.
         

The Housing that is standing Abandoned.

Yesterday, we went to deliver clothing, shoes and much needed medicines to the community of Panabaj. This is across the lake from Panajachel - it is part of Santiago.

This is the community that was devastated by Hurricane Stan two years ago this month, October, 2005.

Many, many people lost their lives in mudslides that came in the early hours of the mornings.

Many children have been left orphans, being raised by elderly grandparents or siblings who are struggling to keep families together.

The community is now living in tin sheds that were donated by the government - others are still living in plastic wrapped wooden frame houses. 

  The government has built many cement block houses there, almost completed except for the roof. These houses are standing abandoned because of funding problems, the people are not allowed to move into them and so they stay living in sheds while these houses stand abandoned. 

These people were desperate for clothing and shoes, blankets etc.  It was not easy distributing to them because the idea of standing in line and waiting your turn is not popular!

We had so many people pushing and shoving that several times we had to close down until people moved back.  I was concerned about children and babies being hurt in the rush to receive donations.

The people were very grateful to receive these clothes and especially the rain capes.  It has been raining a lot there and just last week 2 more people lost their lives in another small landslide.

The doctor was very pleased to receive the medicines, he had none of the medicines that we provided.  He was hoping for antibiotics but unfortunately we did not have any.

We gave out 11 water filters there to families that had not received them.   Many of the people there had received water filters two years ago after the devastation of their village. Now the ceramic filters inside the water filter need to be replaced but there is no money to do so.   

We need $30 per family to purchase the two filter replacements each filter needs.  If anyone would like to donate clean drinking water to a family in Panabaj please send a donation to us marked water filter replacements. 
OCTOBER 15, 2007:
Most of you are aware that we do a great deal of work with the animals of Lake Atitlan.

We are very fortunate to have Selaine working on the Mayan Families Healthy Pets Project. We are very active in spaying and neutering animals to reduce the amount of puppies - kittens left to suffer and starve in the streets.  We also rescue animals that have been injured. Presently, the Vet clinic that we work with is completely full of rescued animals, Selaine is busy finding foster and permanent homes for them. She has one dog being adopted to Phoenix, Arizona and this very lucky dog is leaving on Wednesday.

Miguel, the vet we are working with is doing a great job.  One of the biggest problems we have is that he does not have an X-ray machine.  We have been working on getting one for him. 

 We have just had a wonderful offer from the U.S. organization Best Friends - they will give us $1,900 of the needed $3,800 if we can match the funds. 

 So we are asking all animal lovers to help, if you can.

This is a critical need item for the clinic and all of the animals who live around Panajachel. Please donate towards the purchase if you can and ask friends if they will help, too. Every dollar will count in this immediate need and opportunity! The sooner we have the x-ray machine, the faster we can alleviate suffering!

Sharon
The community of Panabaj.
Out of the boxes. !!!!!!!
                                             

OCTOBER 14, 2007: