Oasis

Today was my first opportunity to actually do some volunteer work at the Safe Passage project in Guatemala City, as yesterday was an orientation.  Our Bowdoin College alumni service team was broken up into small groups, and we spent the morning working as assistants in elementary and middle school rooms during English class.  I was impressed by the students' eagerness to learn English, and by their cheerfulness and energy despite the conditions in which they live.  It may seem strange to think of these students studying English, but as we learned yesterday, if students pass an English proficiency test this fact alone can double or triple their potential incomes when they apply for jobs.  In Guatemala an elementary school education (up through 6th grade), has roughly the same impact on a person's earning potential as a GED degree does in the US.  One of the goals of Safe Passage is to support students that they may graduate from elementary school and then move on, including to the university level.

After assisting in English class we worked on two art projects: creating plaster masks of each student's face (later to be decorated as an expression of identity), as well as making wooden birdhouses.  After a day spent in the classrooms at Safe Passage, I am again struck by the feeling of spending time on an oasis.  Looking out from the second story classrooms, as far as the eye can see lie ramshackle grey cement dwellings, with an occasional white-washed wall.  The streets are dusty, littered with trash, and in desperate need of repair.  In contrast, within Safe Passage there is great attention to aesthetic beauty.  Color, light, and love abound, and the center of the site is a garden where students and volunteers can relax around a bubbling fountain.  Spending time at the site, if you don't look outside the walls, you would never guess where it is located, nor the stories that lie behind each child's smiling eyes. 

At AEACMS much of our work is focused on creating and maintaining a positive and supportive school culture.  Safe Passage and its tireless employees and volunteers has managed to accomplish this and much more, against seemingly impossible odds.

I am in the process of uploading today's photos and will have them posted to the blog soon.

Thanks again for your interest and support during this venture.

DS