Photos from Pacaya Volcano Hike

On Wednesday, March 24 we visited a village outside of Antigua where the women have formed a weaving cooperative. They weave textiles by hand, with girls as young as six years old working alongside their mother and grandmothers.

In the afternoon, we traveled to the Pacaya Volcano which we climbed and then descended in total darkness.

Photos from Cooperative--Guatemala City

On Friday we visited the Safe Passage site, and were privileged to purchase jewelry from the cooperative that has been formed by women who work in the garbage dump. Many of the materials for the jewelry are culled from the dump itself. Note the cooperative members using their business skills to create receipts, track inventory, etc.

Taking off from Guatemala

Sitting on the runway at Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, I have much to reflect on. Looking across the dusty tarmac I see gleaming office buildings and close by their flanks, shacks. As we roll down the runway and lift into the hazy sky, I glimpse open warehouses filled with luxury cars, and just beyond, gray cinderblock dwellings clinging to the sides of steep ravines. The airport has been completely renovated since my last visit more than a decade ago, and the sleek duty-free shops and cafes inside belie the smoggy air and crime that plague this city. As a Safe Passage employee said at our farewell dinner last night in Antigua, as horrific as life can be for the guajeros, there are others in Guatemala City suffering even more dire living conditions in drug-and-gang-ridden areas with no employment opportunities, where working the dump would be an advancement.

I suspect that my reflection process will take some time as I make sense of these past nine days. As one of my companions on this trip mentioned a few hours ago, the challenge will be to avoid sounding self-righteous when speaking of this week with friends and colleagues in the US. My goals in embarking on this journey were to serve those in need, but also to draw attention to the Safe Passage project and the many ways--large and small--that those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to contribute can do so. Serving others, whether in this project or another, does not require international travel or large sums of money. I feel fortunate to be in the position to have gone on this journey, and blessed to have support systems at work and at home.

Friday was our final day at the Safe Passage site in the capital. We visited the adult literacy project (formerly all women but now several men have joined as well). In addition to the empowerment and opportunity that come with learning to read and write, these women--ranging in age from 14 to more than 70--have created a jewelry-making cooperative. Using materials culled from the Zone 3 garbage dump, the women create beautiful jewelry items for sale. In addition to benefiting individually from the sale of their creations, women working in this project learn business skills that will serve them in the future if they move into the formal workplace environment. In the short term, the income from jewelry sales has permitted several of the women to reduce the hours spent working in the dump, and even leave the dump altogether. If handled properly--the cooperative has a board of directors drawn from its membership, and there is discussion of teaching the women financial literacy and money management skills--the jewelry money will likely have a direct and dramatic impact on many families' quality of life.

Yesterday (Saturday) we accompanied twelve of the elementary students to an amusement park/zoo/water park in Guatemala City. On the way we stopped at McDonald's where students ate breakfast and climbed on the indoor play structures. Seeing the bright plastic tubes and bubbles and slides of the playground, one boy shouted, "Look at all these colors!" At the amusement park, students swam, rode a model train and mini-rollercoaster, and ate lunch. I noticed that many students finished only part of their lunch, carefully packing the rest away to take home. During the entire day trip I didn't hear any students complain, even when a boy was not permitted to enter the pool area due to lack of appropriate bathing suit, or when a girl cut her head exiting the rollercoaster. There are many lessons to be learned from these kids' outlooks on life.

Last night we attended our farewell dinner, which included having each service team member present a written note to another member whose name they had drawn from a hat the day before. The comments were thoughtful, comical, and moving, and each of us is returning home to the US with a small but significant reminder of the kind words of friends.

Work at Safe Passage office and Antigua Tour

Even though we didn't get a chance to visit the Guatemala City site of Safe Passage today due to security concerns, the yesterday was a productive learning process for me.  In the morning we walked the 15 minutes to the Antigua office of Safe Passage, where we started the day with several videos that have been made by various people including Safe Passage volunteers that address the everyday realities of the guajeros.  Perhaps the most impressive of these for me was one that dealt with the adult literacy project.  The power of learning to read and write after a lifetime of illiteracy came across so clearly in the eyes of the women who were interviewed for the film.  One of the interview subjects was a 75-year-old woman who decided to commit herself to learning to read after seeing one of her fellow guajeros learn to read--at the tender age of 95.

After viewing the videos, I worked in the volunteer office for several hours translating letters Safe Passage students had written to their US sponsors.  Invariably, students mentioned that they were doing well in school, that they were happy at home, that they had many new friends, and that they loved their sponsors and hoped to meet them soon.  Reading and translating these messages into English was a humbling experience for me.

In the afternoon, we took a guided walking tour of Antigua.  We visited the municipal headquarters and learned much about the history of this breathtaking city.  Our guide called the architecture here "earthquake baroque" because it was built to withstand the frequent seismic activity.  For me one of the most informative parts of the tour was our visit to the ruins of the cathedral.  We descended into the subterranean catacombs where the bodies of commoners were left to decompose until the bones were exposed and could be deposited in another interior chamber.  These chambers are also part of a weekly "ghosts of Antigua" tour.  We also saw a monument to the burial of such historic characters as Pedro de Alvarado (Spanish conquistador) and Bernal Diaz (who accompanied Alvarado and wrote much of the Spanish perspective on the conquest of Mexico).

In a few minutes we head back into Guatemala City for our final day at the Safe Passage site.  We have heard that the violence in the capital has died down, so we will proceed with caution but everything should be fine.

Have a great Friday everyone!

DS

Another day away from Guatemala City--Thursday March 26

Today dawns sunny and bright in Antigua, but there is a cloud of violence hanging over the capital Guatemala City.  Last night we learned of several more bus drivers and passengers being shot and killed in the capital, and the project directors decided for the second day in a row to keep our service team away from Safe Passage.  I am disappointed in this decision since my reason for traveling to Guatemala was to serve others.  I also understand and appreciate the need to keep everyone safe.  It appears that some of the Guatemalan staff will be traveling to the project in order that the children receive food and services today.  Without Safe Passage, many of them do not eat.  I am hopeful that we will be able to return to Guatemala City tomorrow (Friday).  We will be doing volunteer work here in the Antigua Safe Passage office--I am slated to translate some documents which will be interesting and I hope a bit helpful.  In the afternoon we are going to take a tour of historic landmarks in Antigua.

As I mentioned earlier, we hiked the active volcano Pacaya yesterday afternoon.  What an incredible experience!  After driving for about an hour, our shuttle dropped us at the base of the mountain.  Our guide Carlos was knowledgeable and helpful, and 

Another day away from Guatemala City...

Today dawns sunny and bright in Antigua, but a cloud of brutal violence hangs over capital Guatemala City.  Last night we learned of several more bus drivers and passengers being shot and killed in the capital, and the project directors decided for the second day to keep our service team away from Safe Passage.  I am disappointed in this decision since my reason for traveling to Guatemala was to serve others.  I also understand and appreciate the need to keep everyone safe.  It appears that some of the Guatemalan staff will be traveling to the project in order that children receive food and services.  Without Safe Passage, many of them do not eat.  I am hopeful we will return to Guatemala City tomorrow (Friday).  We will do volunteer work here in the Antigua Safe Passage office--I am slated to translate some documents which will be interesting and I hope helpful.  In the afternoon we are slated to take a tour of historic landmarks in Antigua.

As I mentioned earlier, we hiked the active volcano Pacaya yesterday afternoon.  What an incredible experience!  After driving for about an hour, our shuttle dropped us at the base of the mountain.  Several of us bought walking sticks from a group of young boys who swarmed around as we stepped from the shuttle. Our guide Carlos was knowledgeable and helpful, and we started up the mountain with the idea that it would be a 'modest hike.'  

After about 45 minutes of hiking on dusty wooded trails, we emerged onto what can only be described as a moonscape.  Black volcanic sand and rock stretched before us, split by a narrow walking trail that nonetheless accommodated not only hikers but also riders on horseback. 

We dashed down a short slope of sand, the sensation much like skiing in deep powder, without the cold.  Beyond this we began a slow ascent to the peak, scrambling and sliding and trying not to get cut on the sharp lava rocks or collide with the other groups of hikers and horses ascending and descending the trail.  Some in our group stopped short of the summit; those of us who pushed on saw pockets of slow-moving lava, red-hot against the black surrounding rock.  We intended to roast marshmallows in the lava, but as we approached we were told that in a short time the lava would be flowing down toward us and that it would be unsafe.  A European tourist did roast marshmallows, but I was content to take a few photos and head down to meet the rest of our group since the sun was setting and a thick, wet cloud cover had blanketed the mountain.

We descended in total darkness, thankful for our headlamps and flashlights and hungry and tired from the hours of hiking.  I was exhilarated by the experience, however.  We had the privilege of observing the power of nature up close, of hiking into the clouds and returning to earth at the end of the day.  This experience was a rare treat and one I won't soon forget.

As we walked into the tiny village that clings to Pacaya's base, a group of small children ran towards us.  I recognized the boys who had sold us walking sticks.  Without saying a word, they grabbed the sticks from our hands and turned a darted into the darkness.  I guess we had only rented these sticks, not purchased them!  This was evidence for me of the creativity born of economic necessity  in a country where young children must work to support their families and to feed themselves.  As I dragged my tired body into the shuttle bus, I wondered if these boys were among the roughly 80% of Guatemalans who would never graduate from elementary school.  Sadly, I think I know the answer.

In a few minutes I am off to the Safe Passage local office to translate documents.  This afternoon, after the tour, I will upload the volcano photos as well as some from the tour today.

Note: I am having some technical difficulty with moderating the comments on this blog.  I have received some emails stating that not everyone can see all of the comments.  If you are among these I apologize; I will try to work on a solution this afternoon.

Best regards.

DS

A Turn of Events

Late last night we learned that due to increased violence in Guatemala City we would not be permitted to visit the project today (Wednesday).  Reading the newspapers and watching the somewhat limited Guatemalan television news, it appears that there has been a wave of attacks on urban bus drivers, with between two and three deaths, depending on which source you believe.  Though the students who attend Safe Passage live in the immediate area and arrive on foot, the employees (Guatemalan nationals) take urban buses to work every day.  Because of the attacks, bus service in the capital has been affected, and the directors of Safe Passage decided to close the project for one day.  While this decision will keep employees safe, it also means that there are students who may not eat today.  I don't envy the Safe Passage administration who have to make this agonizing decision.  As for our volunteer team, since we travel in private shuttle we are not impacted in the same way.  However, there is talk that there may be mass street protests against the violence in the capital, which could very well snarl traffic for hours and hours.  I am sad to not be able to volunteer at Safe Passage today; on the other hand, we are going to visit a local indigenous village that specializes in beautiful weavings and later today we will hike a volcano and watch the sunset from the summit.  There is a rumor that we will even be roasting marshmallows in the lava, so stay tuned for updates!

I would like to thank the many AEA teachers and students who have so kindly followed this blog and posted comments and questions.  Since the internet service here is so spotty, I am hurrying to today to post this and include photos; I will attempt to answer individual questions in the next day or so, as well as address the lists of questions that were submitted to me in advance by students.  I have not ignored your questions and truly value your interest in this endeavor. 

 

  

  

 

  

  

  

  

  

The photos in this post show some classroom activities we did with students yesterday, as well as the oasis quality of the Safe Passage site (note the beauty of the gardens, etc.)  I also included some photos from the streets of Guatemala City.

I hope to post more soon....tonight's hike should provide some interesting images.

Abrazos desde Guatemala.

DS