Melissa Fleishman Veterinary Student, NC State University
I came to Guatemala because I wanted to learn about the country and practice Spanish while engaging in useful, socially beneficial work. Volunteering with the Animal Welfare program has been a great opportunity-- I have worked with local veterinarians, participated in two spay/neuter clinics, attended the national meeting of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and learned much about international animal welfare issues. I've also had the chance to help make an impact on the human Mayan community by assisting with visiting medical clinics and the distribution of food and supplies.
Community development work in Guatemala can be frustrating, chaotic, and, even with decent Spanish skills, at times bewildering. But working with Mayan Families has been a great way to participate in thoughtful community assistance at a very local level. The Mayan employees really know their stuff, and have given me a great perspective on developmental work. If you come, be sure to spend time with the women in the kitchen!
Brittany Smith Pre Med Student, NC State University
My experiences in Panajachel have been extraordinary. I have been able to improve my Spanish and connect with an Indigenous Guatemalan family, whom I lived with for 7 weeks. I was also able to make a difference in the community through my work at Mayan Families. I enjoy the work I did and was impressed by sacrifices the staff at Mayan Families made in order to help the community. My time with Mayan Families was an experience I will never forget and I would recommend a similar trip to everyone.
Stephanie Social Work Student, NC State University
I wouldn't change anything about my experience at Mayan Families. Whether it was the English speaking workers or the Mayan workers, everyone was accepting and patient. I learned so much about how Mayans live from day to day and why Mayan Families is such an important organization. I was humbled by the graciousness of all the families I helped and I feel as though I truly made a difference. My time in Guatemala changed my life and I am hopeful to someday return.
Lisa Mazzola, Environmental Science Teacher California
My experience with Mayan Families has provided me with the opportunity to work with many communities in and around Panajachel. In the past year I have returned to Guatemala to work with Mayan Families three times. Each time I have been able to assist the Mayan Families staff with a variety of projects such as installing stoves, delivering water filters, delivering food and chickens to a various communities around the lake, interviewing families to asses their needs and translating for visitors and sponsors. It has been so great working with the Mayan Families Staff and to have the opportunity to such an amazing an important program in action.
Currently I am working on developing an environmental education class through the arts for children in Panajachel.
Thalia Eschenbach High School Student
I came to Mayan Families never having worked (volunteered) in a foreign country before, but alter working with Mayan Families I would immediately do it all again. Mayan Families, a slightly crazy place at times, always opened it’s doors to me, In my time with Mayan Families the staff always found something for me to do (appropriate for my level of Spanish); from translating letters, administering the website, to sorting donated clothes. The staff were always patient and willing to answer all of my questions about Spanish and Guatemala in general. Thanks to all of you! You are wonderful Mayan Families.
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Stanford University Roteract Trip to Guatemala
Upon leaving for the Roteract trip to Guatemala, I was excited to discover a new country and get away for a while. However, I didn’t expect to be exposed to a different culture and different ideas about living and necessities. Every time we traveled from the more developed town where we were living, to the villages where we installed the stoves, the difference in wealth between the different classes in Guatemala became evident.
Often, in the villages, the families were living in conditions that were startling to me, a college student who sometimes takes the standard of living in the US for granted. In many of the homes, before receiving the stoves, the families cooked over an open fire indoors. This was dangerous not only because of the risk of burning, but because of the possibility of lung diseases for the children caused by the amount of smoke created and trapped in the building when the family cooked. Additionally, the lack of safe and well-made stoves led to a build-up of carbon on the ceilings and walls of the homes, leading to an uncleanliness that wasn’t hygienic for the children. These examples are of villagers who already had stoves in their homes, but in some instances this wasn’t the case. One of the villages we installed stoves in was a government-built village, created for families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Stan in 2005. Although the government had provided these people with homes, no extra amenities were included and therefore many of them did not have a stove on which to cook. For these people, the stoves helped them immensely and gave them a sense that their lives were returning to normal.
All of the people in Guatemala, particularly in the villages where we installed stoves, were courteous, gracious and receptive. Everyday as we were working, the families would bring us water, bottled soda and sometimes, even food, often offering us the best they had. Usually, the children of the family would be eager to help, carrying pieces of the stove and assisting if extra hands were needed. After we installed the stoves, the families who express their appreciation in words, with speeches telling us “thank you” and “the work you did affects us so much” and providing us with tokens of gratitude, including woven bracelets, necklaces and other treats.
These stoves will be extremely important to the lives of the villagers in the future and this is something that they recognized and thanked us for frequently. The stoves not only eliminate the danger of an open fire with no chimney, providing health benefits to the families, but also require a much smaller amount of wood to cook food than the open fires. This is important to the people because they value the environment around them and consider it an important part of their community and also helps preserve the natural beauty that Guatemala possesses. Furthermore, for the families who previously did not have a stove of their own, the stoves provide a way to cook food in the comfort of their own home, without having to intrude on someone else or wait in line for their turn to cook a meal.
These stoves are an incredible invention and the villagers made it known to us how much they would benefit from their installation. The project went smoothly and, by working with the local Mayan Families organization, we were able to use their knowledge of the area to focus the project where it would have the most impact. One future suggestion I would have is to combine the installation of the stoves with Rotary water filters, ensuring clean water and cooked food for the villagers.
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Stanford University:
Going to Guatemala on this trip was extremely educational. The community that impacted me the most was the first. Government built, the residents had all lost their homes to a relatively recent hurricane, and as a result were forced to move and forge a new community. Despite these obstacles, they had large plans to make the village a tourist destination to bring in income, hoped to be environmentally friendly, and to educate their children. Finding such hope in a community that had been so recently devastated as individuals, and so recently brought together was inspiring. However, it was not simply inspiration I received from this project, but also a better understanding of a very unique people, who are proud of their heritage and despite being viewed by their society as outcasts wear their cultural clothes daily and with pride. A very gracious people, everyone opened their homes to us gladly, and offering food or drink, and even presents. Small offerings, but considering their circumstances they were often small sacrifices as well. Learning about the civil war was only a small insight into how the current generation was raised in a culture of fear and violence, but beneficial nonetheless.
Some of the homes were so depressing that I wondered how these families could live there, and still seem happy with their smiling children running afoot. Some of the houses we went into were completely covered in black soot, that often looked to be several layers thick causing one to wonder if the lungs of the inhabitants were as covered. Many of them were light by only one light bulb, which in certain homes was practically pointless it gave so little light. However, often, the rooms were tidy, and an attempt to keep them clean could be seen. These people obviously cared for their homes, but simply had little or no choice. The stoves that they were using were often simply a pile of bricks with a grate over it, or even a hole in the backyard with a flimsy piece of plywood leaning over it to block the wind. The need for a stove was so obvious in most of these homes, and the families’ gratitude was very evident. They realized the effect that these stoves could have on their lives, and often that they could never afford them on their own. As a result, they were beyond grateful and I hope that as you read this you realize that you have improved a families life, their breathing conditions, their lower risk of injury due to fire, and even their economic battle not just for a day, a week, but for years and years to come. And these families, especially those in the government village, plan on using those improvements and the extra time they have from not collecting firewood, to improve their community, and especially their children. These stoves are not simply solving one problem; they have very important impacts on health, wealth, and the lives of these women and their families.
The only suggestion that I would have for future projects is pairing this one with a water filtration system project. These homes will definitely benefit from these stoves, but besides a select few, none had access to clean water. Water-filtration projects are already occurring in the area, but by pairing the two we could really impact these families, providing them with stoves and clean water, two essentials for their health.
-- Michelle Nii
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Kelly Cheng
7/11/09
Notes for Precourt Institute
-How did you benefit from the trip (i.e. culturally, etc.)?
The service learning was the most important aspect of the trip. Working with Mayan Families was an extremely valuable learning opportunity. The NGO brought in knowledgeable and helpful installation supervisors, whose technical knowledge about the ONIL stoves complemented their service-oriented attitude toward each stove recipient. Together we were able to partner with the leaders of each village and explain the ecological, economic, and health improvements achieved through each stove installation.
I personally learned a lot about the level economic and health impacts of various community issues, such as sanitation, education, pre-natal care, and environmental degradation. Specific problems still had international implications, as we learned about immigration issues, government corruption and the marginalization of MMayan ethnic groups post-Civil War and recently.
-What were the conditions of the families and homes before we installed the stoves?
The families of the government-built village seemed to have the most modern facilities, but even then they were generally working with only a few light bulbs as their main use of electricity. Their homes were newer since they were recently built to government specifications, but they were generally crammed right next to many neighbors based on how “streets” were divided. They all had metal sheet roofs that seemed to lack insulation and appeared to let in many insects. Farm animals generally ran throughout each home, while most children seemed to lack shoes and/or clean clothing. Kitchens were generally outside in their backyards near their septic tanks. The older villages were generally adobe, less electrically lit, much muddier, and much smokier. The houses were very spread out, so the children frequently ran around barefoot over refuse and landfill-like backyards. They did not have the government-subsidized cement sinks that the government village had. Running water was usually present but in the form of a spigot.
-How did the families receive the stoves?
We loaded trucks with the exact amount of stove parts to each recipient of each village. Upon arriving in the village, village leaders would call the names of recipients and we would assist many families (though some were able to independently move their stove pieces) to bring each part into their home. Once each family had every necessary material in their house, we proceeded with stove installations.
-What do you think that impact of the stoves will be?
As previously explained, the village leaders recognized the importance of energy efficient stoves due to their immense improvement for each family. Economically, and environmentally, families can save on wood costs, and the time to obtain wood, so they can improve their own economic productivity. As a health issue, child mortality and adult respiratory illnesses can decrease, based on the amount of smoke we experienced prior to installing the ONIL stoves and thereafter. One village leader mentioned the ecological importance of the stoves, because she planned to increase ecotourism around the village to boost their economy. She felt that the huge reduction in wood usage and deforestation would improve this economic goal.
-What suggestions do you have for improving the project in the future?
The project was extremely well organized. Mayan Families was a great NGO to work with. I think in the future, partnering with additional Rotary clubs would be helpful. The Guatemala Sur Rotaractors that hosted us and worked side by side with us in the villages were great friends to help translate and also to improve the amount of cultural exchange during our service time. I also think having stove installations all day during the first week would have freed up more time in the second week for travel and to possibly visit additional NGOs and learn about their needs. Our sessions meeting with the head of UNICEF, as well as mayan women about issues like ethnic cleansing and immigration to the U.S. were extremely valuable, and we could have fit in more of those talks.