Guatemala2014- Blog

Day 17 - We are coming home !

6/19/2014

As the GRACE project 2014 trip to Guatemala draws to a close it's time to make sure we say thank you. First, of course, to Dr. Genelle Grant whose tireless commitment to social justice is a guiding light to so many here in Guatemala and in the United States.

The team thanks Gloria Catalan in Santa Elena and Rita Chajil de Sicay in San Lucas Toliman for making the arrangements for the workshop spaces, food and supplies. Thanks to the facilitators who were all talented and well informed and fun. Thanks to all those working in the hotels and restaurants and kitchens who kept us comfortable and well-fed and the drivers who got us where we were going safely. I personally thank Genelle and Linda for being great traveling companions and very special friends. I thank all of you who helped in the preparation and with financial support. Thanks to the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva and The Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft. Myers for your continued support that makes the work of GRACE possible. And finally thanks to our followers who travelled with us day by day. Many of you we will see soon. It was - once again - an unforgettable journey.

Thanks Rita !

Thanks Gloria!

Below is a slide show of the photographs that don't fit elsewhere.

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Day 15 - Campaign to protect children - a postive

6/18/2014

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As I write we are beginning our last full day in Guatemala. It will be a day of packing, shopping, wandering and savoring.

So today's post will be a reflection on the national campaign to protect children. In airports and other public places one is greeted with these signs in both English and Spanish. They are VERY visible and that certainly can be considered a positive. One day walking the road in El Remate we came upon the sight below. A gathering of school children led by government officials. There were the signs which were being presented and explained to the students. They were then asked to stand - raise their hands and to pledge to protect themselves and other children.

This national campaign and our Leyes Para la Paz (Laws for Peace) program including the 5000 cards that are now dispersed through schools, offices and homes in Guatemala complement each other. Laws for Peace goes many steps further to include the right to family planning, the right to safety from child abuse both sexual and physical and the right to sexual and physical safety in general and the right to equality of husband and wife in a marriage. Anna Rodrigez worked with the government to get these laws passed. A number of our facilitators were not aware that the laws existed !! We have been asked and I will provide the file for the rack cards so that more can be printed here in Guatemala. The laws will be downloadable in English and Spanish at www.LeyesParalaPaz.com and www.LawsForPeace.com

These campaigns will impact so many women, men and children. Progress !

Click here to read the laws

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Day 14 - Earthquakes and cooking

6/16/2014

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Monday the day started at 4:03 am with the bed shaking - the picture on the left shows us at the purple dot. The yellow dot was the earthquake we felt on Friday am and the orange on Monday. My reaction was to get up, put on my jeans, find my bag with passport, money and a flash light and get back in bed to experience the experience. Genelle said she thought about how the building had withstood many worse earthquakes with no damage.
Monday was a travel to La Antigua day and a shopping day. We are back in the very familar San Jorge (yes George ) Hotel in La Antigua.

Now I'd like to take the opportunity to write about cooking. Each time we had a workshop, there was a morning snack and lunch that was prepared at the site. At the location of our second workshop in El Remate, I got to observe the women cooking from the very beginning. I was struck once again with the similarities around the world - this time between groups of woman preparing a meal for a large group of people. I was reminded of the women in Malaysia preparing the wedding feast. Both meal creations appeared carefully and strategically choreographed with the dancers easily moving around each other - anticipating each others needs and next steps while sometimes talking, laughing or keeping silent. In each case it was beautiful to observe.

Permanent fire pit - blocks at end can be removed or replaced to vary air flow. Fire is started with plastic soda or water bottles and plastic shopping bags that the chicken was brought in.

Right: Mid morning snacks for 60 - pouches containing vegetables topped with cheese.
Below: At the end of the day we gave each of the women a sewing kit that had been donated by Zontians. They did a great job.

First step vegetables are roasted in a flat wok like pan. They'll be used as the base of an incredible pepian sauce for the pollo at lunch.

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Day 13 - a day of Rest and Relaxation at Las Fuentes Georginas - hot springs that eminate from the Zunil volcano.

6/15/2014

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An 8 km climb up the volcano - past some of the most fertile fields I have ever seen. Men, women and children harvesting carrots, beets, cabbages, onions. We were told the people we saw were working their own land and that much of the produce is sent to Honduras and Costa Rica. They work on Sunday because the vegetables are trucked out on Monday. There were also large fields of gorgeous deep pink long stem chrysanthemums. I did not take my camera with me so the photos are either from the web or Linda's camera.

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Day 12 - last workshop Totonicapon

6/14/2014

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