Guatemalan School Gardens:
This is one of our most popular Seeds of Help activities. The Guatemalan children work with our staff in making compost, working the soil, planting the seeds, weeding and maintaining the crops, making and applying organic fertilizer and pesticides, harvesting, and preparing food—all done at their Guatemalan schools. Creating these school gardens introduces new crops and teaches all those involved the valuable skills for better practices in Central American farming.
Recycled Tire Gardens in Guatemala:
One of Seeds of Help’s recent projects is using recycled tires found as garbage all over Guatemala to make small movable gardens. This is a great way to get younger kids to participate in the garden projects. It introduces the Guatemalan children to new produce and teaches them to utilize a waste material in an attractive and easy to maintain way. It also helps them to develop a fundamental understanding of how nutrients, water and crops work.
Below are classic photos of our Peace Corps volunteers and employees on their “commute” to work in the Guatemalan highlands called the Cuchumantanes The weather on these Guatemalan highland walks can change within minutes from hot sun to cold rain. Depending on the season, the mud sticks to your feet or puffs out like moon dust with every step. Rivers must be crossed, and miles can go by without passing a single house or even another person. They bike when they can but sometimes the route is too rough or the weather too bad. Other times, they walk through a community with dozens of eyes peering at them from over a low wall. When they finally get to their destination, they have to teach a course for a few hours before they turn around and walk the hours back to their houses. (Oh, I almost forgot the steep, rocky mountains they are traversing are over 3000 meters above sea level.)
Thank you, Barrett, our current Peace Corp Volunteer for taking and sharing these amazing images with us!
Our hearts go out to the people of Japan. My very first trip after Peace Corps was a tour of temples and shrines all across Japan. One of Seeds former Peace Corps volunteers has called this beautiful island nation home for the past year while teaching English. Will Wheeler is safe and unharmed. He says he was well away from any area where there was trouble but he is still nervous and shaken.
The people of Japan have proven time and time again is how resilient they are and how they can bounce back from any obstacle stronger than they started. I am sure this will be no exception. – Walter
Inspired by the foods of Guatemala, our friends who make 240sweet Artisan Marshmallows are promoting Seeds of Help this January.
All members of the Marshmallow of the Month Club are receiving Coffee Chocolate Chip, Banana Cinnamon, Roasted Pineapple with Mango in their shipment this month. Limited amounts of Roasted Pineapple with Mango and Banana Cinnamon will be available at their Indy Winter Famers’ Market booth. For each bag of Coffee Chocolate Chip marshmallows purchased during January, they will donate $0.50 to Seeds of Help.
Check out their website at www.240sweet.com to learn where you can pick some up.
Below are some images taken by food photographer Stacy Able of 240sweet’s Gourmet Marshmallows
Volunteering abroad is a noble venture and a big decision that requires forethought. Whether you’re going for a two-week medical volunteerism stint administering vaccines, or thinking of committing to two years in the Peace Corps, there are a number of questions to ask yourself before you hop on the plane.
#1: Is the volunteer program reputable? You are likely traveling overseas with the aid of an NGO. If it is your first time visiting this particular country, or your first time working with the volunteer coordinators, it is important that you do your research. You should be able to contact former volunteers, view pictures, and read a concrete mission statement and financial analysis. A bit of Googling is a great first step to find out information about the organization.
#2: Do you have enough money? Though most volunteer programs provide an estimated budget for your volunteer work, including program fees, housing costs, and additional expenses, it is always a good idea to have more than you need. The cost of living may have increased, you may have to return home early, or you may choose to stay on longer. The last thing you want is to be stuck overseas without sufficient funds.
#3: Do you possess the right skills? Many volunteer organizations are flexible when it comes to their requirements. However, some roles are highly specialized and require expert experience. When sending in your application, be honest about the skills you possess.
#4: Are your intentions pure? Examining your intentions to volunteer is an extremely important aspect to consider. Are you volunteering to fluff your resume? Maybe you’re looking for recognition from others? You’ll most likely have a fulfilling experience if your intention to volunteer is to help people and make a positive difference.
#5: Are your expectations realistic? Your intentions may be pure, but how realistic are your expectations? Do you think that volunteering at an English school in Ghana will lead you to save all the children of Africa? Or that teaching Indian women handicraft skills will save them all from a life of poverty? A healthy dose of reality combined with optimism is the best approach.
#6: Does the work environment suit you? If your normal work involves interacting with people all day, you may be unhappy doing paperwork in an NGO’s office. If you spend most of your time indoors, you might quickly tire of building houses or planting crops. Being in an unsuitable alien environment will only exacerbate your anxiety and prevent you from doing the best volunteer work you can.
#7: Have you researched the country? Aside from the information your host NGO gives you, a bit of independent research will go a long way in your overall level of satisfaction. It’s important to arm yourself with knowledge regarding cultural etiquette, the country’s current political situation, and its internal and external history.
#8: Are you emotionally mature? On your volunteer abroad trip, you are going to witness some harsh realities. You may be confronted with poverty, abused children, unfair social structures, and a host of other societal ailments. To be the most effective, you’ll need to be emotionally solid.
#9: Are you high maintenance? It’s likely that your new accommodation will be less than glamorous and your food choices limited. You may have to share a cold shower with 20 other people, combat mosquitoes at night, or deal with unbearable heat with no air conditioning. Will you be able to work through these minor inconveniences?
#10: Are you prone to homesickness? A full volunteer work schedule may not allow you the time to spend three hours on a video call with your boyfriend at home or the ability to receive texts from your friends on your iphone. Some people find being overseas for an extended period of time away from loved ones unbearable. You won’t be a successful volunteer if you’re wallowing in depression due to homesickness.
Jasmine Stephenson is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on online career training for the Guide to Career Education.
Below are some photos of Seeds of Help Volunteer Val in Guatemala
Brenda shared this story with me. I will try to tell it as best I can.
We were getting ready to begin a water tank project in the community of Los Alisos. 15 tanks for 15 families were planned.
Brenda had the supplies from the city of Huehue loaded up into a large truck and delivery planned one afternoon. As they were approaching the community on a newly cleared dirt road, they noticed a large group of about 50 men blocking the road ahead.
As they approached they flagged down the delivery truck and said that they had to pay a toll. It seems that the alcalde who helped the community clear the road (that still seemed to be little more than dirt and rocks) supplied the equipment but the community was responsible for paying for the diesel. So to raise money they decided to close the road and charge a toll till they could raise enough money.
Well the driver and Brenda were not about to pay the exorbitant fee (Q100 or about $12). And so there was lots of back and forth between Brenda and the men. Several people in the group wanted to let the truck through since they were, after all, delivering things to their community for the good of the community. Specifically about 15 of the men, whose wives were part of the project, felt this way. The other men in the group felt that it wasn’t fair since they weren’t going to get anything of out if. The solution they presented was for the truck to leave its cargo at the bridge about 2 miles away and then to have someone carry them in by hand.
At last Brenda realized that they had reached an impasse and Brenda said that she was going to call the women (who were assembled and waiting for the delivery) and let them know the problem. The men acted as if Brenda had pulled a gun on them. They quickly spoke up and said “no no, you don’t need to call them”. And “now now we can talk about this”. As it turns out, even the men whose spouses were not a part of the group had family of some kind in the group and not one of them wanted to go up against a sister, mother, or wife. They quickly decided that they could pass and that no one would speak of the incident and that the women in the group didn’t need to know about this incident.
So when Brenda arrived with the materials and told the women the story they got a good laugh out of it. Several women stomped of to let the men know that they were not to interfere in their business. Several others got a good laugh at the whole incident and said that Brenda should have just left the materials at the bridge and they would have had the “burros” that were blocking the road haul things back to their houses.
In the end the materials were delivered, the project went on well and we saw yet another example that the men are not as “machismo” as they pretend.
After working in the Cumbre again last week, we had the chance to venture to Antigua last weekend. We were almost to our bus stop in Chimaltenango (where we were going to change buses), when we came across a “sister” bus headed the opposite direction that had broken down. Fluid was all over the ground, and a group of about twelve Guatemalan men (including, eventually, our bus driver) stood around staring at the engine’s parts. I was suddenly reminded of a bus problem I witnessed on a recent trip to Costa Rica. The bus wouldn’t start, and we were soon startled by a loud sound. The bus driver was hitting the engine with a large wooden stick…
Our Guatemalan bus driver (the ring leader of the attempt to fix the sister bus) toyed with things until the bus started and was turned around. He returned to our bus, announcing that we were switching to the defective bus. We filed off the bus…one passenger took note of our foreign status, saying, “It’s American bus,” in our direction, chuckling at his cleverness. Knowing we were between 2 & 5 kilometers from our stop, we opted to take the trek on foot. It worked out in our favor in the end…we never did see that bus pass by.
Needless to say, Antigua was worth the trek. I know it isn’t “real Guatemala”; it is expensive and more full of foreigners than Guatemalans. But you can walk the whole town, and there seems to be a breath-taking church everywhere you turn. It has cobblestone streets, and a beautiful park (and church) in its center.
As a side note, I almost didn’t make it out of Antigua. I had scheduled a shuttle out of town for 5 a.m.—the only safe way to avoid hiring a private shuttle driver to bring me to my destination. The “night watch” employee at my hotel knocked on my door at 4:30 a.m. to tell me my shuttle had arrived. Turns out we started driving to Guatemala City…we had to turn around.
I am happy to be safe and sound, back with the kiddies….who were happily working on their homework, sprawled out in the dirt after school today. They still ask me to take their picture sometimes—I try to curb this as much as possible to avoid distractions. But they are warming up more each day—they seem to welcome the “guest appearances” of volunteers, and the new energy and faces.
It started storming in Chiantla yesterday—this is unusual for this time of year, as rainy season (here, the beginning of winter) isn’t expected until May or so. The rain has been nice—it is much-needed, and it makes the roads less dusty. The Cumbre is already turning from brown to green. Although I prefer the brown hue. (I have been known to root for the underdog.)
I can’t say these last couple of weeks have been more of the same…no one day here is ever like the next. At first I saw this as frustrating and unstructured; now it makes me feel free. Two weekends ago I ventured to Panajachel; my “charter bus” driver dropped me off at a major freeway intersection in a town called Los Encuentros, shouting “Panajachel!” in my direction. (He seemed to assume that with my coloring, I couldn’t possibly be headed anywhere but to this tourist town.) As the bus sped away, I surveyed the scene. It didn’t look like the major bus stop I was told could be found in Los Encuentros. (My surroundings included major freeway, a small tienda selling snacks and drinks, an unenclosed area that looked like a bus stop, and an old school bus that people over the average age of students seemed to be getting into without hesitation.) I asked the man standing outside the school bus whether it was headed to Pana. No. Where was it headed? To Sololá. Was there a direct bus from here to Pana? Yes. At what time? At 12-something, in 90 minutes. I could wait for that bus here. (I surveyed my surroundings again.) If I took this bus to Sololá now, could I catch a bus from Sololá to Pana? Yes. How long was each bus ride? About 25 minutes each. (I got on the bus, confused by the lack of logic in his suggestions.)
Once I found my hotel in Pana, I relaxed. I found a nice dinner spot, walked around, and bartered for handmade bracelets. This went on until I got scammed by a five-year-old who was trying to sell me unnecessary items. He was relentless, despite my insistence that I didn’t, in fact, NEED a device that would allow me to eat pizza and store my remote control simultaneously (okay—this is a bit of an exaggeration.) I insisted time and time again that though his goods were lovely, I had no need for them. He went in for the kill, telling me he was hungry. (He must have sensed my bleeding heart for small, cute Guatemalan children looking helpless.) I told him again that I didn’t need anything, but that if he was truly hungry, I would buy him some food. He silently marched next to me for the next few blocks….this confused me, until he marched me right up to a local food vendor, mumbling “pollo” under his breath. I sheepishly handed my money over to the vendor, and handed the to-go box full of fried chicken and French fries over to the boy. Naturally, this unusual scene attracted more child vendors—one of whom aggressively demanded I buy her mangoes, and then moved on to demanding pollo. All this eventually lead me back to the safety of my hotel room. I got told by a five-year-old.
After my trip to Pana, I happily ventured back “home” to the Chiantla/Cuchumatanes region (where the children may stare, but will not call you out). Our group of volunteers was greeted last Thursday with Nuevo Progreso’s students yelling, “Gringos!” in an uproar. We sang songs, played games, and caused general havoc for their teachers. The kids tried to teach us Guatemala’s national anthem, I sang parts of ours for them, and our German friend, Clemen, attempted to teach them Germany’s. We met with a women’s group in the Cumbre last week, where Señora Coni spoke about the importance of self-esteem. We are working with the preschoolers at Escuela Cuchumatanes on their colors, shapes, and numbers, as well as general practice of motor skills to prepare them for primary school. The new preschool teacher is encountering some problems with students with separation anxiety…Cicabel, their original teacher, is out on maternity leave for a few weeks. (This has resulted in behavioral issues in one student in particular, who attempted to lock us in the classroom with a padlock last week. He went on to tell us he was sick, and when we tried to walk him home, he ran away from us. We started to run after him, until we realized that all of his neighbors were staring…and how this must have looked.)
Part II coming soon…
Late February 2010, Seeds President, Walter Able left Columbus, Indiana for his semi-annual visit for Seeds of Help. On the trip he met up with our new volunteer Val who will be living with Brenda for 5 weeks.. She will be hosting a guest blog in the coming weeks within the Seeds of Help blog. You can see her first post below this one.
Stacy Able, our roving photographer went along and took photos to help spread the word visually. Below are a few of the many photos. You can see the full gallery at: http://stacyable.com/seedsofhelp2010/index.html
If you would like any more information or to purchase photos you may do so by contacting us at info@seedsofhelp.org and all proceeds go directly towards children’s scholarships.
Girls from a school where Seeds of Help works.
Seeds of Help has a new volunteer in Guatemala. Her name is Valerie and she will be our guest blogger for these next couple of weeks. Her voice will be the day to day activities of what one volunteer with Seeds of Help experiences. Below is her first weeks thoughts and observations as well a photo of Val with Brenda and two Seeds sponsored girls. Both girls speak an indigenous language, Mam, and wove their own clothes. Mirabel (between Brenda and Valerie) will be helping some of our women’s groups by teaching them to weave.
by Stacy
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