It’s hard to believe that over a year has passed since two-thirds of Project MicroMundo left Guatemala. A lot has happened since then, both with the people you got to know through our travels, as well as with us. A short blog post wouldn’t do justice to all the updates in Guatemala, but I’ll get to that later. As for us, Steph has been braving the law school trenches, Jess has been working in the Latin America sector of her marketing company and teaching English as a second language on weekends, and I’ve been working at a consulting firm and studying dance.

On to the punch line, though. As you’ve probably already guessed by now, I’m going for a visit! This time the trip will be just two weeks long, and two musketeers short. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am thrilled and in gear to get some work done! I am leaving this Saturday and will be spending first a week in Panajachel with Mayan Families, and then a week in San Andrés with the host family and the English/French/dance students.

I will do my best to revisit the people you’ve come to know and that we’ve come to deeply care about. Inevitably there will be new people to meet and more stories to share. Sure, two weeks is not much, but the things that we achieved last time—thanks to your virtual company—give me a lot of optimism.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Please stay tuned, and don’t forget to subscribe! ¡Hasta luego amigos!

… And as a sneak peak/refresher, here are some of the people and things I am looking forward to:

The Chiquirin family, whom Mayan Families helps out a lot

the view from the Chable host family home in San Andrés

and of course Pedro and the rest of the ancianos in the Elderly Care Program:

Pedro in his new room, funded by the generosity of MicroMundo.org readers

And here is one thing I am not looking forward to (alongside cold showers):

San Andrés streets.

A Lake Atitlan sunset. (Photo credit--Carolina Uechi)

I didn’t really know Elyda.  By the time I met her, she was already mostly hidden beneath a white sheet, too weak to respond to our questions on her own.  After she died, her husband described her to me as ‘la mujer generosa,’ so that’s how I like to think of her–the generous woman.  Just a few weeks earlier, she had been a healthy young wife and mother, pregnant for the second time.  She and her husband, Marco, appeared to have been doing everything right.  They didn’t have much, but they had saved their money and planned their family so that Marco’s salary as a carpenter would be enough to support them and their 7 year old son, Josias, and they were ready for another baby.

When Elyda became a little jaundiced and doctors told her she had a gallstone, they emptied their small savings to take her to a private clinic for the surgery–they didn’t want to take their chances in a public hospital.  The surgeon, a supposed specialist, made a series of mistakes during the surgery, and Elyda’s baby died.  The surgeon knew the extent of the damage, and that the baby had not survived, but he chose not to tell Elyda or Marco, and sent her home as planned.  When they called later that day, he told them that the pain she was experiencing was normal.

Elyda's husband, Marco, and son Josias

Frustrated and worried, they went to a different doctor, who performed surgery to try to fix the very serious damage.  Afterwards, she needed an Intensive Care Unit.  Instead, she was sent home the next day, without follow up or proper medication.  That’s when I met her.  Though she looked bad, the doctor had assured everyone that she was on the road to recovery. Her family followed his instructions to the letter, unaware that we were wasting precious days waiting for a recovery that both surgeons knew wasn’t going to happen on its own.

When she took a sudden turn for the worse and we realized something needed to be done, she was already too weak to survive the several-hour trip to an ICU.  A clinic here in Pana treated her around the clock for several days, and performed multiple surgeries to try to save her life.  Her husband and her sister took turns at her side.  We organized emergency blood donors, funding, and a specialist to come and consult with the doctor here.  Everyone involved fought with everything they had, including Elyda; she survived, seemingly on sheer force of will, long after most of her body had shut down.

I will never, ever forget Marco’s voice on the phone, early on a weekend morning, telling me that she had died.  It was his pain that left such a strong impression on my memory.  For the first time, I felt truly powerless.  We had done everything we could, used every tool that we had, and we lost.  Marco had done everything right, from before his wife got sick until the day that she died, and it wasn’t enough.  And this wasn’t a case of the universe deciding that it was her time to go.  She didn’t have terminal cancer.  She didn’t have a sudden stroke.  She had a treatable, routine problem, and she should still be alive.  The reason she isn’t is because of irresponsible individuals working within a system that was never designed to protect patients like Elyda.  The circumstances–the man-made, unjust circumstances–were just too much to overcome, and nobody with any power to change that equation was on her side.

A year ago, this little girl couldn't even roll over, and with an abusive mother, her future didn't look too bright. Today, because social services and Mayan Families were on her side, she is running with her big sister.

One of the fundamental disagreements in politics–and it really goes beyond politics–revolves around this issue.  There are many who believe that anyone at the bottom of the ladder can, if they try hard enough and do things right, overcome all obstacles and eventually climb up the ladder.  The people who think this way–who are often those who might have the power to change things–refuse to accept or admit that circumstances are ever ‘just too much to overcome,’ and they use that as a justification for remaining on the side of broken systems, rather than standing up for the people that are victimized by them.

The only things that could reasonably have changed the outcome in Elyda’s case are 1) If the doctors had decided to be honest and responsible; 2) If the medical system was designed to better protect patients; or 3) If the legal system were effective enough to punish and deter malpractice.  Marco and Elyda had no control over any of those things; to survive, she needed someone with some power on her side, whether it was one of the doctors that she dealt with directly, or some hospital administrator or national legislator that she never met. Yet too many people in positions of power refuse to side with the Elydas of the world.

As a literate citizen of the developed world, you are in a position of power.  Whether it is with your vote, your dollar, or your life’s work, the decisions you make affect those less fortunate than you are, whether that’s in your home town or halfway across the world.  Be on their side.

I grew up in America.  I love the ideal of the self-made (wo)man, pulling him/herself up by the bootstraps.  I’m not saying it can’t happen or that we shouldn’t strive for it.  But please, please, don’t be fooled by the myth that it’s always possible.  Some circumstances are insurmountable, and sometimes people are truly powerless in the face of the systems society has created.  If we don’t want their stories to end–to continue ending–in tragedies like Elyda’s, we have to acknowledge that fact, and accept our responsibility to help.  We have to be on their side.

Lucas, with his characteristic smile, a few months ago.

There’s Lucas, who passed away at just 24 after fighting stomach cancer for over a year.  He only had pain medicine on a handful of occasions, but he never, ever complained, and rarely even admitted that he was in pain.  He remained positive, hopeful, and faithful until the end, and he only expressed sadness or regret about the hardship that his illness had caused his family. The entire world has something to learn from Lucas.

The Valentine's day card Dilson made for Mayan Families staff while he was in good spirits after his first day back at school.

There’s Dilson, a 13 year old boy who has suffered from chronic kidney failure for nearly three years.  He insisted on going to school this year.  Doctors warned him against it, and it may have cost him dearly–he is now very sick with pneumonia–but he was determined to get back a piece of normal life, even if he still had to travel to the capital for 30 hour dialysis sessions every Friday.  His smile and enthusiasm after his first day back in the classroom are things I won’t forget–he reminded me we’re lucky, even on normal days.

Celestina and her husband in their room. You can see that Celestina is holding herself upright for the photograph.

Celestina’s spine is bent nearly double, and it costs her an enormous amount of pain and effort to walk.  Every day, she walks from her small home in San Jorge up a long, steep hill, to get a hot meal from Mayan Families’ Elderly Feeding program.  She picks up lunch for herself and her husband, who is blind and mostly bedridden, and brings it back down the hill to eat.  This Wednesday, Celestina climbed the hill in the morning to go to a medical clinic arranged by Mayan Families, hoping to have a doctor look at her back.  The lines were so long that she was still waiting when the doctors took a break for lunch, and Celestina went over to the Elderly Care kitchen to pick up the meal for herself and her husband.  Knowing she’d have to climb the hill again to see the doctors in the afternoon, I offered to run the lunch down to her husband, so she wouldn’t have to walk all the way down just to come back up.  She said no–she didn’t want him to eat alone.

A lot of this week was heartbreaking–a lot of this job is heartbreaking–but it’s still a privilege to be here, for many reasons, but especially for the chance to know people who so perfectly embody courage, selflessness, determination, and love.

(And that, to answer a question that I’ve been asked more than once, is why I don’t just crawl in bed and hide.)

Alex taking a little break in Pixabaj during his first trip out in the field with Mayan Families

First, a bit of catch-up:  The better 2/3 of MicroMundo is still in the States.  Ronnie and Jess are both in the Baltimore/DC area, traipsing through the job search jungle.  Good luck to them.  I, on the other hand, plan on waiting several years before I start pretending to be an adult, and I’ve got a few more months to play with before law school in the fall.  So here I am.  I am not, however, completely alone–this time I have Alex Eaton, an old friend from Westminster, as a traveling companion.  Alex is also volunteering with Mayan Families; he has been working in the woodshop as well as doing some photography.  You’ll hopefully be hearing from him on here a bit, too.

We’ve got a great place to live–Mayan Families managers (and strong contenders for my Coolest People Ever award) Julio and Gloria have rented us the house they used to live in, complete with everything we need–dishes, pots and pans, furniture, etc.–right down to the disney princess sheets on my bed.  Now that Jess and Ronnie are safely at home (and therefore the risk of giving their parents an actual, life-threatening heart attack is minimal) I think I can safely share the reason that Gloria and Julio no longer live in this house: it’s RIGHT on the river.  Last year it almost fell into the river.  This will probably become an issue during rainy season, but for now it just means that we have an amazing view of the volcanoes when we walk out the door.  It’s in a little compound (Guatemalan-style) with 5 other houses, all of which are occupied by other MF employees and their families, so we won’t have any trouble borrowing a cup of sugar.

The Mayan Families crew at the summit.

The weekend before last, we went with some of our MF coworkers to climb Volcán Tajumulco, which is the highest point in Central America.  It was pretty awesome.  We went with an organization called Quetzal Trekkers, which guides climbs as a way to raise money for a school for street kids and a boarding house for children in need.  (They did a great job–I definitely recommend them if anybody’s interested.)  The first day, we climbed up to an altitude of 4,000 meters, 200 vertical meters below the summit, and camped there for the night.  It was high enough that it was tough to breathe–Alex even got a touch of altitude sickness–and it was COLD.  Then we got up at 4:30 and climbed the rest of the way to the summit in the dark, so we could watch the sunrise from the top.  It was freezing–there was frost forming on our sleeping bags, which we brought to keep warm–but totally worth it.

Watching the sun rise from the top.

A few months ago, this little girl could hardly sit up on her own, but her family couldn't afford therapy. Now she's running, under the watchful eye of her big sister, thanks to help she got through the Family Aid program.

Alright, it’s time for me to get back to my weekend cleaning.  One note before I do: I’m going to try to keep MicroMundo from turning into the Family Aid Blog (which is where we put the stories of everyone we’re trying to find help for), but I encourage you to check it out on your own.  Donations of $10 or $20 can literally change lives, and life-saving medical care is often under $100.  If you need a little perspective on what you have, or if you’re feeling pretty lucky and you want to give something back, or (for my family) if you’re just wondering what I do every day, that’s the place to go. The people you’ll read about are, for the most part, ordinary parents–the kind of people you would like if you met them–struggling against very long odds.  A little hand up during a difficult time can make all the difference, especially for their children.

Pedro gets some donated clothing. Ancianos like Pedro, sponsored students, and people in the Family Aid Program benefit from donated goods.

Hey, Steph again.  As I mentioned before, I’ll be heading back to Guatemala at the end of the month.  When I return, I’d like to take back a load of donations for Mayan Families, so if you’ve been planning to clean out your closets, send that extra stuff with me! We’re looking for clothes and shoes (for babies, children, and adults), primarily, but let me know if you’ve got something else you think will be useful.  I’m happy to pick things up if you’re within reasonable driving distance (I’m back and forth between Westminster, MD, and College Park).

Some guidelines:

1) Used stuff is awesome, as long as it has a little use left in it.  We want to help people feel confident in school, at work, or in the hunt for a job, and clothes that are badly ripped or stained won’t do that.

2) People in Guatemala are generally a bit smaller than people in the US.  Hand-me-downs from the very tall will probably go to waste.  Same goes for shoes–it’ll be hard to find feet for ladies shoes bigger than size 7, or mens shoes bigger than size 10.

A little boy receives a pair of donated shoes.

3) When I was there, I noticed a special need for sweaters/sweat shirts/jackets for girls and women.  The shirts that are a part of the traditional clothing are short-sleeved, so girls and women need an extra layer to keep warm.  Zip up is better than pullover, but both are great.

4) Shoe-wise, we especially need footwear for bigger kids and teenagers.   Flip flops, crocs, and jellies are great, since they’re waterproof (a big plus during the rainy season), and girls can wear them with traditional skirts (girls who wear traje don’t wear tennis shoes).  Small heels are OK, but keep in mind that streets are cobblestone and many areas aren’t paved at all.

5) Short shorts, mini skirts, and tank-tops aren’t culturally appropriate.  Also, since most of Mayan Families’ female clients (especially the adults) wear traje, there isn’t much demand for women’s pants.

If you’ve got stuff you’d like to send, email me at slwolf10(at)gmail(dot)com and I’ll arrange to get it before I go. If you’ve got a pile of stuff and you don’t have time to sort through it, I’ll do it for you (and donate the rest locally).  If you’re closer to Jess (Ellicott City) or Ronnie (Bethesda), I can arrange to pick things up from them, too.  Thank you again!

MicroMundo is back in the USA.  Jess and I (Steph) flew in a few days before Christmas, and found both our families and a Baltimore winter waiting for us when we landed (needless to say, we were happier to see our families than to see the snow that was on the ground).  Ronnie was a few days behind us coming from Petén, but she’s back home now, too.

Saying goodbye

For Jess, this marks the end of her Central American travels, at least for a while–she’ll be staying in the States and looking for a job in social marketing.  For me, this is a slightly extended Christmas vacation.  I’ll be returning to Guatemala at the end of the month to work with Mayan Families and the Family Aid program again.  While I’m here, I’m going to try to organize some clothing/shoe drives, so stay tuned for more info on those, especially if you’re looking to clean out your closets for the new year.  Though we still have some work left to do, this seems like a good time to send out a huge and heartfelt thanks for everything that you’ve done and all you’ve given over the course of this project.  The generosity that we’ve seen in response to these stories has been incredible, and has made a real difference to a lot of people.  We can’t thank you enough.

Tamale basket packing

Our last few days in Panajachel were jam-packed.  All of Mayan Families was in high gear trying to get Christmas gifts distributed and tamale baskets packed and ready to go, and preparing for two staff members to get married (to each other).  On top of that, Jess and I were busy trying to finish up some Family Aid cases and bring Anna—the new employee who will continue working on the Family Aid and Elderly Care Programs—up to speed. In the middle of all that, we barely had time to think, much less write—that’s why the blog has been so quiet.  Now that we’re home, though, and the initial rush of holidays and visits is over, I’ll try to do a little public reflection on the trip.  Here goes.

It’s hard to really believe that one place is real when you’re in the other.  When we were in Guatemala, the US seemed like a dream world.  Sometimes it was a dream world like Disneyland—the kind of place you can’t wait to get to, because it seems infinitely better than where you are.  Most of the time, though, it was just an idea that was almost impossible to really wrap my brain around: when you get into your car at 6am in Febuary and you’re sitting there shivering, waiting for the heat to kick in, can you really imagine what it’s like to lay on hot sand and get a sunburn in July?  I can’t—everything I’m actually seeing and feeling is just too different, and too strong, to allow the beach to stay in my head for more than a few seconds at a time.  That’s what it’s like to think about America when you’re in a place like Pana, with so much poverty and suffering, and institutions (like the police, healthcare system, and courts) that are completely unprepared to help.  It’s just as hard to really imagine Guatemala while you’re sitting in The Green Turtle with a plate full of food, surrounded by 20 flatscreens all playing different sporting events.

 

One of the views from the middle of town, which I thought might help to illustrate why the US seems surreal when you're there, and visa versa.

I’m not saying that America is a day at the beach–life here has its own challenges–and I don’t mean to paint Guatemala as a miserable February morning–I love it there, and there is plenty that we would do well to learn from it.

General Holiday Card JPEG

General Holiday Card:

This card can be used for any donation type or amount. To make a donation or to see the donation types available, go to the Mayan Families Donate Now page.

<– Click on the photo to the left to open the full-size image in a new window. Then right-click the photo and select “Save File As” to save it to your documents. You can also download the card as a PDF file by clicking here.

.

.

.

.

.

Easy to Print Holiday Card

Easy to Print General Card:

This card can also be used for any donation type or amount, but will use less ink than the other general card. To make a donation or to see the donation types available, go to the Mayan Families Donate Now page.

<– Click on the photo to the left to open the full-size image in a new window. Then right-click the photo and select “Save File As” to save it to your documents. You can also download the card as a PDF file by clicking here.

.

.

.

The following four cards are for specific donation types:

 

Holiday Card for Bed Donations

Bed Donation Holiday Card:

This card is specifically designed for a bed donation. A complete bed and mattress donation costs $170. To donate a bed, go to the Mayan Families Donate Now page, enter the donation amount in the Other box, and in the Extra Details box specify “Bed donation — where most needed.” Or, choose a specific family in need of a bed from the Family Aid Blog.

<– Click on the photo to the left to open the full-size image in a new window. Then right-click the photo and select “Save File As” to save it to your documents. You can also download the card as a PDF file by clicking here.

.

.

Tamale Basket Holiday Card

Holiday Tamale Basket Card

This card is designed for holiday tamale basket donations specifically. A tamale basket provides enough food for a traditional Guatemalan Christmas feast for up to twelve people, and costs $35. To donate a tamale basket, go to the Mayan Families Donate Now page, enter your donation in the General box, and write “General Tamale Basket Donation” in the Extra Notes section. You can also send a basket for a family specifically — read about families in need on the Family Aid Blog.

<– Click on the photo to the left to open the full-size image in a new window. Then right-click the photo and select “Save File As” to save it to your documents. You can also download the card as a PDF file by clicking here.

.

.

Water Filter Holiday Card

Water Filter Holiday Card

This card is specifically designed for water filter donations. A water filter donation costs $50. To donate, go to the Mayan Families Donate Now page, enter in your donation in the Other box, and write “Water Filter — where most needed” in the Extra Notes box. You can also choose a specific family to receive a filter from the Family Aid blog.

<– Click on the photo to the left to open the full-size image in a new window. Then right-click the photo and select “Save File As” to save it to your documents. You can also download the card as a PDF file by clicking here.

.

.

Stove Holiday Card

Stove Donation Holiday Card

This card is specifically designed for a donation of a fuel-efficient stove, which costs $160. To donate a stove, go to the Mayan Families Donate Now page, enter your donation amount in the Other box, and write “Stove — where most needed” in the Extra Notes box. You can also donate a stove to a specific family — read about families in need on the Family Aid Blog.

<– Click on the photo to the left to open the full-size image in a new window. Then right-click the photo and select “Save File As” to save it to your documents. You can also download the card as a PDF file by clicking here.

.

Please leave a comment and let us know if you have any trouble downloading the files. Happy Holidays!

Esther receiving medicine

First, the Elderly Care Program (for my first post about it, click here). It has really made great strides this month. We´ve added seven new members to the daily lunch run (started off with 18 members) and have received some extremely helpful onetime donations for the ancianos (elderly people). In the past couple of weeks, we´ve given out food, clothes, towels, blankets, sheets, and soap to many in the program (see more photos here), and we were even able to bring new beds to four of our neediest ancianos. One of those people was 91-year-old Francisca, who was in desperate need of a bed. Fransisca broke her leg and had to be taken to the hospital. When we brought her home and asked where we could lay her down, we were told that for years she had been sleeping curled up on a tiny bit of floor, directly behind the door. A onetime donation brought her a new bed, and she can finally sleep soundly and heal properly. We´ve also received donations for a year of rent for a new room for Fransisca, 8 to 12 months of food and medical support for two other members, a new fully-furnished home for Pedro, as well as quality medical care for Esther, an anciana who has been suffering intense pain for over 13 years.

In terms of physical resources and meeting basic necessities, the Elderly Care Program has really improved the lots of these people. But more than that, it has provided them with something that some of them have never (or for many years haven´t) had: caring. The fact that someone cares about how they are feeling, whether they´ve eaten, if they´re comfortable and happy, etc—It means a great deal to many of these ancianos. Many of our members have been abandoned or neglected by their families. Some, like Pedro, never had families. Pedro was orphaned as a small child. He never had a decent place to live—until now—and he never had someone looking after him like now. Mayan Families in some ways really is like family to our elderly program members.

Manuel, very excited about his new blanket, clothes, towels, and soap!

All of this became especially clear to me when I said my goodbyes to the ancianos—which brings me to a more personal update: I´ve decided to go back to San Andres for a while in order to continue teaching dance, as well as English and French. The success of the dance program and the close contact that the students had been keeping with me after my departure convinced me to come back, at least through Christmas.

Ronnie and Ana

Of course the Elderly Care Program will keep running. Mayan Families expanded Ana, the fantastic ECP cook and my co-food deliverer, from part-time to full-time, so that she can fill most of my functions (minus the blogging, since Ana cannot speak English). Ana and I became very good friends, as well as a great team, through our work together. She is a very caring and responsible person, not to mention an excellent cook. She also has a much better memory than mine (mine being nothing to brag about), and was often reminding me that I had already given this or that anciana her vitamins for the week. Before I left I made up a few documents with all the information that she and other Mayan Families staff need, including profiles (in both Spanish and English) on each anciano, and I showed Ana everything that I did. We´re also keeping in touch on a daily basis, mainly so that she can update me on what I need to put up on the Elderly Care Program Blog. Sharon, the MF director, already told me that Ana is doing great.

As I was saying, my departure from Panajachel (filled with hugs and tears) made me realize just how truly Mayan Families and their clients are family. For me, although I already have the fortune of having a wonderful family, this was an incredible gift. I can only imagine how much it means to our clients who are otherwise alone.

I encourage you all to go visit the elderly in your own communities.  You certainly don’t have to go all the way to Guatemala to find—and fill—such needs. A small time commitment from you could change their worlds. I know you hear that a lot from us these days, but it´s true. I honestly had no idea how much this all meant to the ancianos until I saw the reaction from those to whom we´d just been delivering lunch (as opposed to those, like Pedro and Fransisca, who had gotten much more substantial aid).

Yes, the 3 of us at Project MicroMundo are sadly splitting up for now. Jess and Steph are going to stay in Pana to continue work with Mayan Families´ Family Aid Program and Christmas donation handouts (a rather chaotic endeavor), while I´ll be teaching dance and blogging for the ECP here in Peten. On the bright side, you´ll be getting updates from not just one, but two, corners of the world! Thank you so much for your ongoing support. And Happy Hannukah!

Carlos will be able to stay in school next year thanks to his new sponsor!

Steph here, with some good news!  The last few weeks have been busy ones for all three of us, and we haven’t had a chance to tally up the fundraising totals for a while.  This morning, we caught up on what we’d missed, and discovered we’ve hit a milestone–over $15,000 in donations!

The total comes to $15,328.50, and that’s just the one-time donations–there’s also $100/month in ongoing sponsorships!

There have been gifts of all sizes, and for a variety of different causes, but we’d like to take a minute to say thank you to everyone for all the support you’ve given over the past few months.  To keep track of our fundraising progress in the future, and see a breakdown of where the money has gone, use our Funds Raised page (it’s one of the tabs at the top of the site).

Many of these donations have come from readers of MicroMundo.org, but we’ve been conducting broader fundraising campaigns for the Family Aid and Elderly Care programs since arriving at Mayan Families.  Because of the way blogs work–one story can be re-posted in several places–it’s difficult to separate out what came from where, so we aren’t going to try.  These totals include any money that’s come in as a result of our writing, regardless of whose readers it came from.  Other blogs that have been a part of these efforts include Sharon’s Blog (Sharon is a director of Mayan Families), Mayan Families Connection, and the Family Aid and Elderly Care blogs.

Thank you again for your generosity!

Correction: We originally posted the number as over $20,000.  This was because of an incredibly dumb mistake by me (Steph), and I promise to let Ronnie take care of everything mathematical from now on.  Sorry!

Pedro in his new room, which was paid for and furnished by donations.