Saturday, November 22, 2014

We are guests in El Hato: a room with a view and a school with a heart

My first week in Guatemala was grandma time.
My second week was learning lab.
This, my/our third week (with Sue),  was bucket list week.

After two days in Antigua

shopping,



eating wonderful meals liberally laced with avocado.

and two nights at the excellent Hotel Antigua,
(located right across from my language school and a block or so from Brian's bicycle shop).....



Brian checks out our room at Hotel Antigua, with working fireplace.


Brian and Denise (Stella and Juniper) guided us (Sue & Julie) 7 km uphill through the small pueblo of El Hato

and then the length of three+ football fields down a steep path (watch your FEET, not the sky...)







to a unique experience at Earth Lodge, a retreat/hostel/campground with a spectacular view and a steady stream of adventurous guests with tales to share. And really, really good food.

It was Sunday when we arrived, live music and lots of day guests. Stella and Junie were right at home!



Brian, Stella and kite that almost flew....

making friends, below

The lodge, overlooking the valley, with hammocks past this overhang and next to our cabin.









 morning view





the path to our lodging, Casa Buena Vista

Sue settles in.



Sue slept in this bed, I was on the left side of the half wall. Cool nights at this altitude, we were glad for the cozy blankets!  Our private shower & bathroom were a few paces away.



View from our front door. 
Roosters greeted the dawn, and the resident donkey (a player in transporting stores down the steep path) let us know it was time for his breakfast.



Staff included owners Drew and Brianna, people from the village (El Hato), travelers who came and stayed to work for room and board. The cook was incredible. and.. did I mention the food??



we left too early in the mornings for yoga, but they put out a special breakfast for us


and we were off -
     a hike back up the trail



on our way to the village, population between 800 and a thousand




past the pilas (communal laundries) filled with women washing clothes





past two small "convenience" stores where women were making tortillas, 
the tienda, and evidently an impromptu game. 

.....greeting men headed for work with implements on their shoulders.

By noon, when we returned, men and women would be coming back down 
from the hills above El Hato 
with loads of firewood on their heads, 
and the two pilas on our path would be humming with activity.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We were on our way to the school, where an amazing corollary NGO (non government organization) named Manos de Christina welcomed us to participate. 
That's Sue in the background, on the way through the village. 
This boy is off to enjoy his kite from the weekend Dia de los Muertes activities in his neighborhood.



the iglesia (church), next to the school, 
the center of the community.

and below, a photo of the school, or part of it. 
Sue is sitting outside the gate with students 
and a teacher intern, a young woman from the village......



 waiting for Salina and her car full of teachers and volunteers to arrive from Antigua, 
7 KM down the mountain, an intern working towards a career in teaching. 



A crew of happy feet stood lookout and greeted the blue Volkswagon.



the gate is opened for early arrivals.


The public school in El Hato has 217 children Kindergarten to grade 6. Families pay about $2 US to sign their child up for the year and then purchase school supplies in nearby Antigua that range from $20-30 depending on age. Average income for workers is about $200/month, with most families having one income and more than two generations under one roof. It is not uncommon to have 6 t0 12 children in one household. Some families send their children to school without supplies and the teachers try to solicit funds from Antigua businesses or the government. Many opt to keep their children at home to help with cooking, collecting firewood, cleaning and caring for younger siblings.  Some are kept at home while both parents go to work in Antigua. Some send their children to school only until they are able to read, write and do basic math, skills needed to find work in the future.
  
Los Manos de Christina augments the public school in El Hato, providing English instructors (children who learn that second language have enhanced educational and employment opportunities later), adding a library with computers, building and staffing a preschool, and raising money for scholarships and breakfast, vitamins and lunches
. Libraries are few and far between, and books must be read on the premises, so a school library with check-out privileges is a big deal for this community.

Sadly, tax money and foreign development aid going directly to the government rarely makes it to the people it is meant to serve. Both Isabel (my Mayan Spanish teacher) and Blanca (our Ladino hostess from Lions Club) said more than half of public money ends up in private pockets. Corruption at the top is a very serious impediment to the whole country. 

At any rate, it was wonderful to see first hand the people and organizations that involve Guatemalans in creating their own opportunities, and Manos de Christine is one of those.

This was a two-week "summer" break for the kids at El Hato school, with a daycamp underway. 

The older kids had a variety of options, from sports to learning a heritage dialect. We corresponded ahead of time with Salina Duncan, the director, to find out how we could contribute and stuffed a throw-away suitcase (and our own suitcases) with items on her wish list that couldn't be purchased in or mailed to Guatemala - including an adaptive bocce ball set for a new special-needs classroom, a long-reach paper punch, laminating supplies.  We came prepared to read some books, do art activities and speak English with preschoolers and with a group of grade 2-5 students. And we joined in with the preschoolers' morning activities, their choices based on a Montessori model. 

This was Sue's photo, and one of her favorite moments, watching little boys doing exactly the same things her grandsons love to do, a half a world away.





paper weaving and stickers




Cutting triangles for arbole de Navidad cards, trees from green paint samples 
with the hole-punch ornamentation. 





Butterflies and caterpillars from the delightful book "Charlie" Sue's friend sent,




Salina, program director



using pipe cleaners, colored pencils, 
the very popular stencils,  thank you Don...



and that fabulous giant box of crayons, the fun stuff donated by Don Eells from Creartivity. 

and glue. lots of glue. 





We read the book "Caps for Sale" and made lots of colorful caps to act out the story.








The older kids went big for tissue paper poinsettia cards, based on the story, "The Legend of the Poinsettia." Back in Iowa when we were planning this, we had no idea when how experienced some families are with tissue paper (think kites...). But we noticed craft supplies for sale in even the most humble villages, everywhere we went.





We tried our hands at oil crayons and overlaid paint for wax resist roosters in honor of Miso de Gallo, the mass of the rooster, a Christmas tradition. That's Nicole on the right, their real (and really wonderful) English teacher. 

The kids took plenty of cards home, but a few were saved to sell at Earth Lodge. I wish I'd thought to commission my Christmas cards, theirs were so colorful and fresh. 


We made Five Little Monkeys for Jumping on the Bed...
well, one fell off and bumped his head, but you get the idea:


And we tried some Christmas tree chains, bigger versions of those old gum wrapper chains we made as kids.  

I love this stuff. Any excuse to mess around with kids and art supplies. 
The time went too fast for me.

We also brought along a new projector for the school that Salina drop-shipped to my house. It couldn't be trusted to arrive via the postal service. Apparently "postal service" is a misnomer in Guatemala. Packages arrive empty, or not at all. In this case, the projector was serendipitous. Salina let me borrow it for my own purposes one wild night, but more about that in my next and final post.

For now, we'll share the goodbyes, and link you to Manos de Christine's website where you can read about their program and  about sponsorship, should you be so inclined.  Many times you have no idea whether a cause you support actually gets the money and actually makes a difference with those dollars. This is one small situation where Sue and I were first-hand observers, both of us with some appreciation for quality education as former educators ourselves, so there you have it. This is good stuff.  A big thanks to Salina, Nicole, and everyone at El Hato school for letting us play. 
read on!





 "......we work with the intention of eventually making ourselves obsolete.... "  http://www.lasmanosdc.org/home


Las Manos's current project is in Aldea El Hato, a small village in the mountains above Antigua, and is in collaboration with the public school and a neighboring guesthouse, Earth Lodge.  In truth, Bryant has great rapport with the owners/operators of Earth Lodge, "Bri" Havey and "Drew" Shankman, who have spent the past several years sponsoring the school, assisting them in acquiring every thing from breakfast fare to a computer lab.  Las Manos began working with the local school in April 2010 by providing an English and art program. In 2012, Las Manos expanded it's programs in El Hato to include an after school library and a much needed preschool program.
The
 Explanation 

Instruction in English might not seem the most useful thing you could give to a disadvantaged child. However, we believe that the best way to fight poverty in the long term is through education, particularly in a marketable skill such as English. Speaking English gives access to higher education, scholarships, business opportunities, and to stable and well-paying jobs in international companies, tourism, service industries, and education. When Las Manos children graduate and enter the job market they are better equipped to compete with their peers who have had access to a private bilingual education. By being competitive participants in a global economy our students can build careers without the limitations they might have had from growing up with the restrictions of poverty. By becoming bilingual they significantly increase their chances of breaking themselves and their families out of the cycle of poverty.


We administer quality educational support by providing good resources and professional teachers to institutions already engaged in education. By instilling a sound and localized curriculum for our students, providing all the materials needed for successful courses, and developing a culturally applicable basis for learning English, we work with the intention of eventually making ourselves obsolete.  That is, we hope to leave our host institutions with all the means and know-how to direct their own English and educational courses without reliance on outside sources, ultimately leaving behind sustainable programs in the school that can be administrated locally and taught by local teachers. 

We take on ou
mission both respecting and recognizing that all cultures (including our own myriad of "Western" backgrounds) have value, worthwhile customs, and still room for conscience expansion.  Each student and community is treated as individual and beyond statistics and stereotypes, owners of different circumstances, expectations, and methodologies, so we cooperate with and value local teachers, parents, and the government to provide and develop the program, salting to their taste, so to speak.  Ultimately, we aim to help students to realize their ability to act as the difference they'd like to see in their community, country, and the world. Las Manos does not want to replace one culture or set of values with another, but give these children a tool to be able to celebrate and share their culture with the rest of the world.






1 comment:

  1. what a fun informative blog....with great photos. i think, julie, you posted the one of the little girl in pink one time earlier. love it. love all the photos. the cobbled sts. the mts. the view. etc. etc. such a good connection and with lions...i have used lions and rotary for help when in foreign countries before. one time i called the president and said: please have us for supper! jet lag is so bad, we three need help and pronto! we got it. peace, kay

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