Hola!
This week has been an exciting and successful one! I have not only been taking one on one Spanish classes for 5 hours each day, but participating in two really cool projects. One of which was completed the other which was implemented.
We had a group of women come from the masters program in Social Work of Shippensburg University this week (one a professor and the other three being her students). They were a great group of women with such open hearts and minds. They were ready to learn and get their hands dirty! They worked in the community of Chuicavioc which is about a 20 minute car ride from the town I am living in. With only 4, they all worked in the same home building a stove. It was the home of Doña Josefina and her 4 children. The women circle that Doña Josefina belongs to elected her to receive the next stove that came available through Highland Support Project because with the rainy season coming a river would soon be running through her kitchen. The eminent rains would make cooking over an open fire extremely challenging if not impossible. What I loved most about leading this group through their stove building project was being able to listen to the comments that came from the family. The eldest daughter, who was very profound in her words, had the most encouraging things to say to the women that came. After the stove was completed and everyone was saying a tearful goodbye she said, "You have shown both the men and the women of this community that women are capable and thank you for that". Those words could not have made me more happy as I believe that it is just as important to build the stove as it is to show the women and the families of these rural communities that people care about their well being. This is a picture of Doña Josefina and her family!
At the end of the week we had a goodbye and thank you ceremony which consisted of the whole women circle coming and cooking a traditional Guatemalan meal of Pepian and tamolitos. I was in heaven. With the women came their babies. :) Look at her checks!! The most precious babe I have ever seen.
The other project that we really got off the ground this week was the medicinal herb garden that is located in the community of Llanos del Pinal (again, right outside of the town I am living in). The garden was planted on the land of the communities mid-wife who has the knowledge to use the medicinal herbs. This is so cool because with this garden will come the pride and resurgence of traditional Maya healing techniques. A lot of what this garden aims to do is provide these women with an affordable way of healing as opposed to paying a ton for western medicine. We aim to provide them with an education on how to balance the use of both as sometimes herbs might not cut it. The long term goal is to not only provide the community with a medicinal source, but to produce enough that the women have extra to make teas, salves, and tinctures for them to not only use but to sell at market as well. We have very high hopes for this project and the women are thrilled and extremely proud of the work they have accomplished so far.
At the end of the week we had a goodbye and thank you ceremony which consisted of the whole women circle coming and cooking a traditional Guatemalan meal of Pepian and tamolitos. I was in heaven. With the women came their babies. :) Look at her checks!! The most precious babe I have ever seen.
The other project that we really got off the ground this week was the medicinal herb garden that is located in the community of Llanos del Pinal (again, right outside of the town I am living in). The garden was planted on the land of the communities mid-wife who has the knowledge to use the medicinal herbs. This is so cool because with this garden will come the pride and resurgence of traditional Maya healing techniques. A lot of what this garden aims to do is provide these women with an affordable way of healing as opposed to paying a ton for western medicine. We aim to provide them with an education on how to balance the use of both as sometimes herbs might not cut it. The long term goal is to not only provide the community with a medicinal source, but to produce enough that the women have extra to make teas, salves, and tinctures for them to not only use but to sell at market as well. We have very high hopes for this project and the women are thrilled and extremely proud of the work they have accomplished so far.
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