Once again at 7 am I jumped in the back of the truck and we headed out to 3 schools this time. The first school was up a dirt road that did not look drivable, but we made it to the school. Farmland surrounded the school and it was quite beautiful to see it at the top of the hill through the morning mist. This school had the most impoverished kids I will probably be seeing in any school around here. Several kids had no shoes and wore dirty clothes. My heart really felt for them because who knows what their lives will entail. Our point of visiting this school this morning was to see if the Avivara breakfast program was working. Last year Avivara donations supplied money for food in the morning and students who came to school would get breakfast. Here 49 percent of children suffer from chronic malnutrition. Last year the program was a success, but this year students were getting breakfast and then leaving.
Gustavo and Ann described to me that once a child knows basic math and reading skills, families often have them sell things or work to earn money for the family rather than continue their education. This school had 2 classrooms and ages from about 4 to 12. We waited to see how many students would come. I had fun with the kids pointing to a poster and asking them what the colors were. One teacher didn't show up while we were there which Gustavo and Ann were a bit concerned about. Hopefully he came after we left.
The second school was a breath of fresh air because this school did a great job keeping their students educated with fun projects. The director (like a principal) of the school was amazing! Although the educating is going well, I noticed that the classrooms are made of that thin metal that is used for roofs everywhere here and they have no lights inside so the rooms are very dark.
The third school that we visited we had to walk to because it was too steep for the truck. The school had a big Global Visionaries logo on the side. I thought this was awesome because I have done some work for that small organization in Seattle and they do have one office in Guatemala. What a small world! This school had a big ditch (a construction zone) below it and students entered the classroom on a bit of a cliff. There was no railing and it looked so dangerous! The teachers really appreciated the supplies and several invited us into their classrooms to greet their students and see their artwork. I introduced myself to the students. Apparently my name is really strange here because no one can get it right! I have to repeat my name about 4 times and then I feel like saying “call me whatever.”
Gustavo walked me through the neighborhood there. It consisted of the poor of the poor. It smelt like garbage (which was everywhere) and most people lived in tin houses with dirt floors. Despite this, I heard music blasting out of just about every other house. I told Sergio about this later. He said that people will starve to death, but they won’t go without their stereo for music. I'm glad that Gustavo walked me through that community. It was a good learning experience. Many thoughts ran through my head about life.
One more interesting story: The other day I was at a restaurant by myself. A man asked me how old I was so I told him that I was 26. He told me I looked like I was 15. I first thought, “Did I hear him right?” Then I thought, “That’s strange, I don’t look that young nor do I really want to.” Yesterday a male teacher asked me how old I was. I told him that I was 26. He told me that I was supposed to say “I’m 15.” It’s what women say here. Then I had to laugh to myself. I guess people grow up, get married, and have kids at such a young age here. According to Guatemalans now I’m probably way over the hill!
No comments:
Post a Comment