Mayan Families

MAYAN FAMILIES STORIES

Urgent News

Leonel Culan is 37 years old. On December 3rd while he was working as a builders assistant he fell 3 meters off a rock wall.
His life changed forever and he became a parapalegic.
Leonel is in the hospital in Solola.
He is depressed about his own situation and terribly worried about how his family will survive.
He lives in San Lucas Toliman and has seven children.
They are:
Claudia Estela is 14yrs old. She works as a domestic in a private house. She earns $15 US per month. She went to school till 3rd grade.
Vidalia Susana is 13yrs old. She stays at home helping the mother at home. She went to school till 2nd grade.
Mynor Leonel is 12yrs old. He went to school only till 1st grade. He has been working since helping the family. He is working cutting and picking coffee. He earns $5 US per week.
Luis is 11yrs old. He is in first grade.
Mayly is 5yrs old. She is in kindergarten.
Marta Elisa is 4yrs old.
Wilson David is 13 months old.
The mother is Marta Elisa , 33yrs old. She did not have the chance to go to school and does not know how to read or write.
She washes clothes by hand in private houses and earns $8 US per week when she can get the work.
The money that the family is now earning is not enough for them to cover their costs.
Often they have to go into the mountains and find herbs to eat. Their main diet now is tortillas with salt.
They own the house they live in. It is in very bad shape. They have one room made of cement block. They have one dilapidated kitchen made of tin ...photographed above.

They pay $7 US per month for electricity.\
They do not have water connected and have to go to the lake to bring drinking water and wash their clothes.
The lake is now suffering pollution and people are advised not to drink from it but this family cannot afford to buy drinking water.
They do not have an onil stove.
They cook over a wood burning stove.
They have two chairs.
They have one table.
They have two beds but it is a hard plank bed that does not have a mattress. The other bed is a wire base but they do not have any mattress . This is the one the children are sitting on.
The floor is dirt.
They do not have drainage.
They have not been able to afford to connect the water or to buy a pila, which is a 2 sided sink and an essential part of a Guatemalan household.
The father will be released from the hospital shortly and his situation is very desperate.
The family does not have enough to eat. The living conditions are very unsanitary.
They need beds, food, clothing, the floor needs cementing, they need the water connected and they need to have a water filter. The father will need medical support if he is going to be able to survive with the care that he will receive at home.
This family was living very hand to mouth before this accident but now their situation is very, very difficult.
If anyone can help with any of these needs for this family, it would be a huge blessing for them.

Guatemalans celebrate Semana Santa ( Easter) eating fragrant sweet breads and drinking hot chocolate.
Malnutrition and hunger are huge problems for the indigenous Mayan communities.
The families that we work with do not have enough to eat nor can they afford the traditional foods that are eaten at this time of the year. Easter (Semana Santa) is a time of sharing in Guatemala -- Please consider giving a food basket to a hungry family to share in Semana Santa.
This basket will include*:
A chicken.
Carrots.
Squash.
Incaparina - a fortified cereal.
Oatmeal - to make the customary drink of "mosh."
Sugar.
Sweetbreads.
A block of chocolate to make cocoa.
(All in a large, re-usable plastic basket that has many uses in a Guatemalan household)
*Some food items may be substituted due to availability.
Your food basket donation may make the difference between hunger and a joyous celebration. Any donation you can send will help to relieve the crushing poverty that these children and families endure.
If you would like to give a basket of food to your sponsored student or a needy family, please send a donation of $35 to the Community Aid Project at Mayan Families,
either through our website, www.mayanfamilies.org/DonateOnline
or by check to:Mayan FamiliesP.O. Box 52Claremont, N.C. 28610
Please send your donations before March 28th for the Semana Santa baskets.
If you would like to nominate a sponsored student or a particular family to receive your basket, please send us their name AND number as a note with your payment, or you can email us instructions at info@mayanfamilies.org
If you would like to give this gift "In Honor Of" someone special, please send us an email including the details, and we will put them on our IN HONOR OF web page. If you would like to include a photo of your "someone special" we will also post their photo -- To have an e-mail sent to the person you are honoring, please send us their email address.
(Please remember that we accept donations for much needed food and our many other projects year round. No donation is too small.)
To help as many families as possible receive food, please forward this email to your family and friends. Please post it on your personal blogs, social networking sites and websites....together we can make a difference.
Wishing you and your loved ones a happy Spring,

History

Mayan Families was founded by Patricia Mort and Sharon Smart-Poage. They have been living and working with the Maya indigenous communities of the Atitlan region of Guatemala for over twenty years.

Patti, a mother of two and a grandmother to five, has lived in Panajachel for the past 22 years. She is a well-known member of the community and a successful businesswoman. Her business, Casa Alegre, has been in operation for 20 years. A devoted animal lover, Patti lives with her 2 dogs and 4 cats, all rescued animals.

Sharon, originally from Australia, met her husband Dwight in Guatemala. Together they lived in Panajachel from 1987-1995, where they worked with indigenous co-operatives, manufacturing and exporting clothing, textiles and handicrafts.

After adopting their daughter Zoe, Sharon and Dwight moved back to the United States but kept their close ties to the indigenous community through school sponsorship and frequent visits. In 2004, Sharon and Zoe moved back to Guatemala and adopted their second daughter, Aleeya. Sharon, Zoe and Aleeya shared their home with numerous rescued dogs and a cat.

Due to career commitments, Dwight remained in San Diego to help raise funds and manage many Mayan Families business affairs. Dwight continues to make frequent trips to be with his family in Guatemala and be close to the work in the communities. Since August 2009, Dwight has now moved permanently to be with his family and continue the great work of Mayan Families in Guatemala.

In 2005 hurricane Stan attacked the Lake Atitlan region and the effects were enormous. Many lives and homes were destroyed. Countless people survived with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Because of the overwhelming devastation, Sharon, Patti, and Dwight decided to formalize their personal commitments and thus Mayan Families was formed.

After Hurricane Stan, there existed a massive amount of need within Panajachel and other indigenous communities surrounding the lake area. Both Sharon and Patti were committed to seeking solutions. They embarked upon fundraisers seeking support from the local regions and other countries, as well. Donations began coming in and eventually they were able to hire a small staff of indigenous locals to help.

In 2006 they met Bonnie who initiated and continues to moderate the Mayan Families Connections Yahoo group, an information web site for a growing community of donors and sponsors.

Many other enthusiastic people also started actively helping Mayan Families. Needed skills and energetic support came together and grew to help impoverished people get a hand up, and help them to develop their communities and villages.

In June 2007, Mayan Families acquired its Official 501.c.3 Declaration from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Mayan Families is now a formally recognized non-profit organization, which provides assistance and opportunities to people in need through nutrition, education, health, construction, and other valuable services.