Melissa Fleishman                                                                                                               Veterinary Student, NC State University

I came to Guatemala because I wanted to learn about the country andpractice Spanish while engaging in useful, socially beneficial work.Volunteering with the Animal Welfare program has been a greatopportunity-- I have worked with local veterinarians, participated intwo spay/neuter clinics, attended the national meeting of the WorldSociety for the Protection of Animals, and  learned  much aboutinternational animal welfare issues.  I've also had the chance to helpmake an impact on the human Mayan community by assisting with visitingmedical 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 workingwith Mayan Families has been a great way to participate in thoughtfulcommunity assistance at a very local level.  The Mayan employees reallyknow their stuff, and have given me a great perspective on developmentalwork.  If you come, be sure to spend time with the women in thekitchen!

Brittany SmithPre Med Student, NC State University 

My experiences in Panajachel have been extraordinary. I have beenable to improve my Spanish and connect with an Indigenous Guatemalanfamily, whom I lived with for 7 weeks. I was also able to make adifference in the community through my work at Mayan Families. I enjoyed the work I did and was impressed by sacrifices the staff at MayanFamilies made in order to help the community. My time with MayanFamilies was an experience I will never forget and I would recommend asimilar trip to everyone.

StephanieSocial 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 Mayanslive from day to day and why Mayan Families is such an importantorganization.  I was humbled by the graciousness of all the families Ihelped and I feel as though I truly made a difference.  My time inGuatemala changed my life and I am hopeful to someday return.

Lisa Mazzola, Environmental ScienceTeacherCalifornia

My experience with Mayan Families has provided me with theopportunity to work with many communities in and around Panajachel. Inthe past year I have returned to Guatemala to work with Mayan Familiesthree times. Each time I have been able to assist the Mayan Familiesstaff with a variety of projects such as installing stoves, deliveringwater filters, delivering food and chickens to a various communitiesaround the lake, interviewing families to assess their needs andtranslating for visitors and sponsors. It has been so great working withthe Mayan Families Staff and to have the opportunity to such an amazingan important program in action.

Currently I am working on developing an environmental education class through the arts for children in Panajachel.

Thalia EschenbachHigh School Student

I came to Mayan Families never having worked (volunteered) in aforeign country before, but alter working with Mayan Families I wouldimmediately do it all again. Mayan Families, a slightly crazy place attimes, always opened it’s doors to me, In my time with Mayan Familiesthe staff always found something for me to do (appropriate for my levelof Spanish); from translating letters, administering the website, tosorting donated clothes. The staff were always patient and willing toanswer 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 todiscover a new country and get away for a while. However, I didn’texpect to be exposed to a different culture and different ideas aboutliving and necessities. Every time we traveled from the more developedtown where we were living, to the villages where we installed thestoves, the difference in wealth between the different classes inGuatemala became evident.

Often, in the villages, the families were living in conditions thatwere startling to me, a college student who sometimes takes the standardof living in the US for granted. In many of the homes, before receivingthe stoves, the families cooked over an open fire indoors. This wasdangerous not only because of the risk of burning, but because of thepossibility of lung diseases for the children caused by the amount ofsmoke created and trapped in the building when the family cooked.Additionally, the lack of safe and well-made stoves led to a build-up ofcarbon on the ceilings and walls of the homes, leading to anuncleanliness that wasn’t hygienic for the children. These examples areof villagers who already had stoves in their homes, but in someinstances this wasn’t the case. One of the villages we installed stovesin was a government-built village, created for families whose homes weredestroyed by Hurricane Stan in 2005. Although the government hadprovided these people with homes, no extra amenities were included andtherefore many of them did not have a stove on which to cook. For thesepeople, the stoves helped them immensely and gave them a sense thattheir lives were returning to normal.

All of the people in Guatemala, particularly in the villages where weinstalled stoves, were courteous, gracious and receptive. Everyday aswe were working, the families would bring us water, bottled soda andsometimes, even food, often offering us the best they had. Usually, thechildren of the family would be eager to help, carrying pieces of thestove and assisting if extra hands were needed. After we installed thestoves, the families who express their appreciation in words, withspeeches telling us “thank you” and “the work you did affects us somuch” and providing us with tokens of gratitude, including wovenbracelets, necklaces and other treats.

These stoves will be extremely important to the lives of thevillagers in the future and this is something that they recognized andthanked us for frequently. The stoves not only eliminate the danger ofan open fire with no chimney, providing health benefits to the families,but also require a much smaller amount of wood to cook food than theopen fires. This is important to the people because they value theenvironment around them and consider it an important part of theircommunity and also helps preserve the natural beauty that Guatemalapossesses. Furthermore, for the families who previously did not have astove of their own, the stoves provide a way to cook food in the comfortof their own home, without having to intrude on someone else or wait inline for their turn to cook a meal.

These stoves are an incredible invention and the villagers made itknown to us how much they would benefit from their installation. Theproject went smoothly and, by working with the local Mayan Familiesorganization, we were able to use their knowledge of the area to focusthe project where it would have the most impact. One future suggestion Iwould have is to combine the installation of the stoves with Rotarywater 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.  Governmentbuilt, the residents had all lost their homes to a relatively recenthurricane, and as a result were forced to move and forge a newcommunity.  Despite these obstacles, they had large plans to make thevillage a tourist destination to bring in income, hoped to beenvironmentally friendly, and to educate their children.  Finding suchhope in a community that had been so recently devastated as individuals,and so recently brought together was inspiring.  However, it was notsimply inspiration I received from this project, but also a betterunderstanding of a very unique people, who are proud of their heritageand despite being viewed by their society as outcasts wear theircultural clothes daily and with pride.  A very gracious people, everyoneopened their homes to us gladly, and offering food or drink, and evenpresents.  Small offerings, but considering their circumstances theywere often small sacrifices as well.  Learning about the civil war wasonly a small insight into how the current generation was raised in aculture of fear and violence, but beneficial nonetheless.             

            Some of the homes were so depressing that I wondered howthese families could live there, and still seem happy with their smilingchildren running afoot.  Some of the houses we went into werecompletely covered in black soot, that often looked to be several layersthick causing one to wonder if the lungs of the inhabitants were ascovered.  Many of them were light by only one light bulb, which incertain homes was practically pointless it gave so little light.However, often, the rooms were tidy, and an attempt to keep them cleancould be seen.  These people obviously cared for their homes, but simplyhad little or no choice.  The stoves that they were using were oftensimply a pile of bricks with a grate over it, or even a hole in thebackyard with a flimsy piece of plywood leaning over it to block thewind.  The need for a stove was so obvious in most of these homes, andthe families’ gratitude was very evident.  They realized the effect thatthese stoves could have on their lives, and often that they could neverafford them on their own.  As a result, they were beyond grateful and Ihope that as you read this you realize that you have improved afamilies life, their breathing conditions, their lower risk of injurydue 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 thosein the government village, plan on using those improvements and theextra time they have from not collecting firewood, to improve theircommunity, and especially their children.  These stoves are not simplysolving 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 projectsis pairing this one with a water filtration system project.  Thesehomes will definitely benefit from these stoves, but besides a selectfew, none had access to clean water.  Water-filtration projects arealready occurring in the area, but by pairing the two we could reallyimpact these families, providing them with stoves and clean water, twoessentials 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 learningopportunity. The NGO brought in knowledgeable and helpful installationsupervisors, whose technical knowledge about the ONIL stovescomplemented their service-oriented attitude toward each stoverecipient. Together we were able to partner with the leaders of eachvillage and explain the ecological, economic, and health improvementsachieved through each stove installation.

I personally learned a lot about the level economic and healthimpacts of various community issues, such as sanitation, education,pre-natal care, and environmental degradation. Specific problems stillhad international implications, as we learned about immigration issues,government corruption and the marginalization of MMayan ethnic groupspost-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 mostmodern facilities, but even then they were generally working with only afew light bulbs as their main use of electricity. Their homes werenewer since they were recently built to government specifications, butthey were generally crammed right next to many neighbors based on how“streets” were divided. They all had metal sheet roofs that seemed tolack insulation and appeared to let in many insects. Farm animalsgenerally ran throughout each home, while most children seemed to lackshoes and/or clean clothing. Kitchens were generally outside in theirbackyards near their septic tanks. The older villages were generallyadobe, less electrically lit, much muddier, and much smokier.  Thehouses were very spread out, so the children frequently ran aroundbarefoot over refuse and landfill-like backyards. They did not have thegovernment-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 eachrecipient of each village. Upon arriving in the village, village leaderswould call the names of recipients and we would assist many families(though some were able to independently move their stove pieces) tobring each part into their home. Once each family had every necessarymaterial 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 theimportance of energy efficient stoves due to their immense improvementfor each family. Economically, and environmentally, families can save onwood costs, and the time to obtain wood, so they can improve their owneconomic productivity. As a health issue, child mortality and adultrespiratory illnesses can decrease, based on the amount of smoke weexperienced prior to installing the ONIL stoves and thereafter. Onevillage leader mentioned the ecological importance of the stoves,because she planned to increase ecotourism around the village to boosttheir economy. She felt that the huge reduction in wood usage anddeforestation 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 greatNGO to work with. I think in the future, partnering with additionalRotary clubs would be helpful. The Guatemala Sur Rotaractors that hostedus and worked side by side with us in the villages were great friendsto help translate and also to improve the amount of cultural exchangeduring our service time. I also think having stove installations all dayduring the first week would have freed up more time in the second weekfor travel and to possibly visit additional NGOs and learn about theirneeds. Our sessions meeting with the head of UNICEF, as well as mayanwomen about issues like ethnic cleansing and immigration to the U.S.were extremely valuable, and we could have fit in more of those talks.