The challenges of getting an education: An interview with a Guatemalan student

I’ve already met several Avivara scholarship students, each with an amazing story of how they are beating the odds in order to receive a good education here in Guatemala. Most of us come from the frame of mind that an education between Kindergarten and the 12th grade is a right as well as a requirement. In Guatemala after elementary school (which even lacks attendance from some elementary-aged kids) many students are literally left on their own to find an education past the 6th grade and the odds are stacked against them.

How is this so? I had the privilege of interviewing Jacobo, one of Avivara’s scholarship students (not the student in the photo). This articulate, soft-spoken, curly-haired kid told me first-hand what his challenges are to getting an education. Jacobo is one of only about 5 students seeking an education after elementary school in his village of 2,000 people. He must travel about 2 ½ hours every day in order to get to school. First, Jacobo walks 9 Kilometers to the bus starting at around 5:30 a.m.

During the tropical storm a few weeks ago part of the road he took to school was washed out and he must now use ladders to cross a gully before catching a bus ride on the other side. One of his many adventures in getting to school occurred last week when he got a ride from a motorcyclist. They went through a creek in order to avoid the gully and the motorcycle died in the middle of their crossing. Jacobo ended up riding for over an hour with wet clothes before arriving to school that day.

Jacobo’s family does not have the money to afford to move closer to a high school for Jacobo. Fortunately, Jacobo’s parents are supportive and he receives a scholarship from Avivara which covers transportation and the cost of supplies such as books and uniforms.

Jacobo told me that it was a challenge to adjust to the rigor in his new school setting, but given his determination and smarts he has adjusted quite well. When I asked Jacobo about what he likes to do with his free time he politely responded, “What free time?” Jacobo gets home with only enough time to work on homework and get ready for another long day.

Jacobo has plans to continue his education and get a good job to support himself and his family. Luckily, Jocobo beats the odds because he has parents who support him, a scholarship from Avivara, and most importantly the courage to overcome the barriers to receiving a good education through a lot of sacrifice and hard work.

I said goodbye to Jacobo feeling inspired by his determination and a bit humbled. Jacobo has to work so hard to attain what our students are granted in the US.

Avivara newsletter article

Check out my article in the Avivara newsletter here. It's a great recap of my adventures and what I've learned here so far.

A special event at El Yalu and a very special day for me

Today the Avivara staff set out for the school of El Yalu in the back of Dario’s truck. We were eager to find out what this “event” was that the teachers had invited us to. I’ve learned that in Guatemala details are thrown to the wayside and much is left up in the air. This can either make for excitement or frustration. In our case, it was excitement.

As we drove down the driveway of the school, I was amazed at what I saw. A colorfully decorated classroom patio became the main stage for a school assembly with several guests. Marvin, the teacher who takes me to and from school on his motorcycle, was up on the stage chatting with the audience while a sound system blasted upbeat Guatemalan music. Despite being late by an hour, the show was just getting started (good thing we were all on Guatemalan time).

We were escorted by teachers dressed up for the occasion to seats next to the stage. Marvin, master of ceremonies, welcomed us and one other organization called Mano a Mano (Hand to Hand). To begin the event, the entire audience stood up and sang the Guatemalan national anthem while students marched in with the flag. Then we had a prayer. After the prayer, several classes performed. Amongst the students, there was a Guatemalan choir, traditional Guatemalan dancers, and a Rickie Martin boy group. The teachers set up to do a Guatemalan dance.

There some “technical difficulties” in the music department, but with some quick thinking by Marvin, he had the director (similar to a principal) come up at that point to give a speech to the organizations in attendance. She gave a very heart-felt thanks (something Guatemalan’s have developed into an art form). Gary, Ann, and Gustavo were given shirts as tokens of appreciation and each said a few words on the mic. Avivara has worked very closely with El Yalu in providing resources. Gustavo and Ann have both taught at the school as well. I felt very proud to be associated with Avivara and with El Yalu!

The teachers then danced a choreographed couples’ dance. Since the staff was short a few guys, several women wore the black pants and white shirts of the men. I kept thinking how special this moment was and how I would never see teachers do this at a school function in the states.

After the assembly we all met in a classroom and the teachers served rice and meat with tortillas. We passed some more thanks and quite a few laughs back and forth. Finally, we ended the day with a photo shoot of teachers and Avivara staff.

I could tell that a lot of time and preparation went into making this day special and it is a day that I will never forget. The teachers at this school are quite a close-knit group of warm and inviting individuals whom I love being around. They make a lot of sacrifices to teach at this school and deserve more recognition themselves. Thanks teachers at El Yalu!

Earthquake #2- The geologic activity here is unbelievable

This morning around 3:30 a.m. I was woken up from my sleep by some shaking and rattling. Once I realized we were having an earthquake, I started to get up to go under the door or table outside of my room as it stopped. It's the second one I've experienced while I've been here. I haven't heard of any damage from it.

Guatemala is EXTREMELY geologically active and here the land seems to have a mind of it's own. I was reminded of this at the Avivara office today where I saw some disturbingly tragic photos of the dead being pulled out of the mud after the mudslide in San Miguel Escobar, the area I volunteered in a few weeks back. Those pictures were very emotionally powerful and stuck with me the rest of the day.

One of the things that has surprised me the most about Guatemala is how mountainous the terrain is. In this country you're either thousands of feet up or in a small valley looking thousands of feet up. Volcanoes can be seen from practically everywhere. There are few opportunities to build a house or live in a village that is not vulnerable to mudslides and the roads are always vulnerable (and have slides often) because the hillsides along the roads are not reinforced the way they are in the states.

Distributing supplies with El Yalu Teachers

Today I jumped in the back of Dario’s truck around 6:15 a.m. for the beginning of another adventure. We picked up a few teachers from El Yalu along the side of the road as we headed to “destination unknown” (for me, anyways). I was a little unsure of how the day would unfold, I just knew that we were going with all of the El Yalu staff to bring supplies to a school in need. We met up with a van (one of those 14 passenger Eurovans with the extra fold down seats) in a parking lot. Teachers poured out of the van with bags and bags of rice, beans, clothes, and other supplies. Along with the supplies Avivara had provided, we managed to fill the entire truck until it was riding low in the back.

I found a spot, amongst 18 others, in the Eurovan. The Latin pop was blasting as we took off for a school located in a community devastated by mudslides after the recent storm Agatha. The area was inaccessible for quite some time due to mudslides in the road.

The teachers joked around with smiles on their faces as we drove higher into the mountains. I think they were all excited to have the day off. The El Yalu staff is an extremely close-knit group. Being in their presence is always one big fiesta. Along the way, I was having some trouble breathing because I have a chest cold and it was quite stuffy in the van. We stopped several times, which I didn’t mind. Once at a mushroom stand, a few times at different schools for directions, and one time to help push Dario’s overly-loaded truck up a hill. Every time I was happy for a breather as we unloaded like those clown cars at the circus.

We drove by several recently-cleared mudslides as we made our way higher into the mountains. The weather became quite chilly as the altitude increased. Many of the houses changed from cement to adobe which signified the change in climate. I wore 3 layers of jackets (mostly for riding in the back of the truck) and still felt cold when we arrived at the school.

The students were fascinated by us, especially Ann and I because I’m sure they rarely see Gringos. Ann began chatting with a few students and before long an entire group of students were around her with wide-eyes and smiles.

We distributed the supplies for the community in a bucket-brigade fashion. Afterwards, the group decided to take a walk to see the village. As we walked, we passed baby pigs, goats, and several dogs. I enjoyed looking at the adobe and wood homes (not found in the lower regions). Ann and I chatted about how everywhere in Guatemala is mountainous terrain. It’s almost impossible to avoid building a home next to a possible slide area.

After walking down a large switch-back hill, we came to an impassible area in the road, where dirt from one side of the road had collapsed in a large pile along the other side. We were told by a few men standing next to that pile that a house was buried with 5 children and their mother inside. The father was the only survivor. I don’t know if he was one of the men standing there although there was one man in particular who had the most somber look on his face. He may have been the father, but I couldn’t understand everything that he was saying in Spanish. I can’t imagine what that would be like. Six other people in the community had also been killed in the recent mudslides.

We headed back up the hill as it began to downpour. School children ran past us with garbage bags on their heads. Once we made it back to the school those same men by the mudslide (I don’t know how they got up the hill so fast) gave us tea and bread. Gustavo and the director of El Yalu made a speech to members of the school and community about why we had come and how we hoped the goods would be distributed fairly.

We said our goodbyes and Ann and I jumped in the back of the truck for a cold and rainy ride back to Antigua. Luckily, we had garbage bags too.

The donations towards Avivara for disaster relief made this trip possible!

An almost perfect day at El Yalu

I awoke around 5:30 a.m. this morning right before my alarm went off. The constant sound of the rain pattering outside my window had ceased from hours before. I thanked my lucky stars I wouldn’t have to battle the rain on the back of Marvin’s (a teacher at El Yalu) motorcycle on the way to school. My mind started visualizing how I wanted my English lessons to go today. While envisioning students responding with perfect English pronunciation in perfect harmony, my alarm went off interrupting my unrealistic fantasy (if you are a teacher you know what I mean). I quickly ate eggs, fresh pineapple, and bread made by my house mom, Teresa, and only got a gulp of coffee down before I heard Marvin’s knock at the door.

The motorcycle crept up the mountainside while buses and cars zipped past us. I was secretively glad that this motorcycle didn’t have the guts to speed like the crazy bus drivers I’ve sat behind. After leaving the main highway, we drove on a paved road for awhile and then a dirt one encircled by mountainous fields of green farmland. We always drive through a few small villages that are absolutely captivating because everything is so authentically Guatemalan. Along this dirt road machetes, knee high rubber boots, women caring anything (baskets, sticks, rice bags) on their heads, colorful water jugs, tortillas, and men on horseback are a dime a dozen. Stray dogs lounging in the streets (the more stray dogs, the more poverty I’ve learned), cows wondering about, and young children running barefoot added some challenge to maneuvering the motorcycle.

After conversing with Marvin for a few minutes, I headed to the first of six classrooms. I taught more vocab today by sticking labels to things in the classroom. I had a student and the teacher wear labels for “student” and “teacher” which the class thought was hilarious. The students learned pronouns with a physical action corresponding to each word (for me I point to myself, etc) and they also learned a few verbs like run, see, and write, which all had an action too. Next time we will put it together to make basic sentences (I run., They see.) and add to it from there. Gary, Director at Avivara, gave me some great tips on how to build on the students’ knowledge base of English in a way more similar to how a young child learns their first language. I think it’s a smart approach that would have served me well back in high school Spanish class.

At recess the teachers learned an interesting line dance, while laughing hysterically. Students stood in the doorway or on buckets to watch through the windows. During that time the students ran wild while I took video tape. I noticed a lot of students were washing their hands after using the bathroom and drinking out of the same metal barrels containing muddy water. The school had a functioning water faucet for awhile, but it hasn’t worked since I’ve been there. I wish schools outside of big cities had more support for resources. There seems to be virtually none from the government.

I finished teaching my last class feeling like it went almost text-book perfect. When I walked out the door, the teacher from the class I was just teaching (he doesn’t stay while I teach) had a panicked look on his face and said, “Where are the kids (translated to English)?”. I had let the students leave after my lesson because I thought school was over and the teacher hadn’t returned. Luckily, it was only 20 minutes early and he laughed about it. Guatemalan’s just role with things. The students didn’t seem to mind either.

Go Avivara and go donors!... an update on the recent tropical storm

A lot happened this week while Scott and I were off exploring. Avivara has received $2,000 to respond to the crisis and did an amazing job putting together and distributing baskets of items to families in need. Go to the Avivara website for automated commentary and a slideshow of what Avivara staff members have done with your donations. It's quite heartwarming to see what communities can do when they come together. There is still so much to do, but every little bit helps. Thanks again!

The good, the bad, and the insects

Scott and I set off on a 2 night/ 3 day excursion to explore more of Guatemala. The ride to Semuc Champey (a national park of natural pristine turquoise pools) with about 8 other tourists took about 7 hours. I was reminded of the extremely mountainous terrain as my ears constantly popped from the altitude change. Like every other driver in Guatemala, ours swerved in and out of lanes with several “close calls” and a lot of honking before we reached our destination.
When we arrived at El Retiro Lodge we saw cute grass huts located next to a tranquil river surrounded by green hills and vegetation. We were very excited for a peaceful evening swinging on the hammock outside our front door. After checking in, Scott and I were escorted the opposite direction from the huts to a concrete room next to the road and facing a large tool shed.

We were in “the ant” room. I thought all rooms maybe had an insect theme like “the butterfly room” or “the dragon fly room.” I was wrong. It was called the ant room because it was infested with ants (not to mention cockroaches too). That night we toured a bat cave and watched thousands of bats swoop over our heads and out of the cave at dusk. We also saw cave spiders that can grow to be as big as dinner plates. Good thing we didn’t find one of those in our room!

After a very unpeaceful night’s rest (and a lot of bug bites) we explored a water cave by candle light. We were either swimming or walking in waste high water with only the flickering of our candles to light the way. It was quite a thrill. At one point we had to climb a waterfall and jump down a hole to get to another cavern. The guide took Scott’s candle and mine as well to help light part of the cave. We swam the second half without them. I felt like I was in an Indian Jones movie (and Scott had the hat to match).


Afterwards we lounged in the pristine waters of Semuc Champey. I wore goggles since I had my contacts in. A parks department personnel shook his head at me and waved his finger when I broke the surface for a breath before plunging back down. When I swam over to him he said that I couldn’t wear the goggles because I would view the fish which were being scientifically studied. I’m always stunned at the ridiculous regulations here in Guatemala. Well, it didn’t keep me from viewing the fish in the 2 foot deep pools that the fish congregated in (which I could see quite well without the goggles). We rode “Guatemalan style” in the back of a truck with a few of the villagers to return to El Retiro Lodge.

That night we got sick. The ride home was torturous as Scott and I tried to calm our gurgling stomachs while for the next bathroom break. One trip to the private hospital and some meds later, we felt just good enough for Scott to fly back home.

Lava, lava, everywhere!

At noon Scott and I piled into a tour van with about 10 other tourists from various parts of the world to head to “the new forming volcan” as our long-haired, Spanglish-speaking tour guide put it. Along the way we saw piles of black volcanic ash from the recent explosion of Pacaya, a volcano closed to tourists since the explosion, but lucky for us, we were the second tour group ever to see this new site.

At one point the rain began to pour. Our guide pulled over at a mom and pop store. He ran in and then ran back out, having bought “all of the store’s rain protectors.” He sold them to everyone in the van. They were basically colored trash bags. The rain cleared up within moments and we never used them. What a ploy! We all laughed about it.

After two hours in a stuffy van, we said goodbye to the road and drove onto rolling farmland. Eventually, we approached a makeshift gate with a cowboy on his motorbike and a few kids (probably around 12) trying to look intimidating with their machetes. Well, they were and we paid a fee to drive onto the land in order to view the volcano.


We got out of the car and walked to the lava sight. I saw clouds of smoke and felt the heat as we approached. It was unbelievable! Little red hot amber rocks were falling everywhere from a glowing-red blob. The newly forming rocks made a crackling sound like a roasting fire as they turned black and rolled down the blob, often catching the grass on fire before settling.


In the US, there would be an observation sight and binoculars for sale to view such a geologically active site. Not here. We walked right up to the blob (not the smartest thing I’ve ever done). As I watched Scott film video footage downhill from the lava flow, a newspaper headline kept flashing through my mind “Playing with fire: tourists killed in lava flow after getting too close.”

As we left, a Guatemalan family from the area stood on a hillside and stared at the flow. I don’t know what they were thinking. For the nearby villages this could mean relocation as the lava engulfs their land.

Update to aftermath of storm

Today Scott (my boyfriend who flew in for the week) and I headed out to San Miguel Escobar, one of the towns devastated by the mudslide during the recent storm, to pitch a hand. I was AMAZED by the amount of trucks and backhoes now on the site. At first, we couldn't get into the area. There was a sign that said that the government was now working in the area. This is great news!

We were still able to help one family. Although the mud is being removed from the streets at a fast pace, most families are on their own as far as getting the mud out of their house and replacing their lost possessions. Also, some families still have no houses to go home to.
The organization As Green As It Gets has been on the scene in San Migel Escobar. They have great information about the site and an awesome video here at As Green As It Gets.

Thank you to those of you who donated!

Thank you to all those who donated! Avivara has received several donations that will greatly benefit those in need. Special shout out to the Seattle Police officers at Scott's precinct for being so generous. Thank you so much!

Short clip of where we worked the other day:


The power of the mudslide. This was a paved road.

A little adventure to meet some inspirational kids (Avivara's scholarship students)

I took a break from shoveling today and set off for Sumpongo, a town 2 bus rides away, in order to meet with Avivara’s scholarship students and their parents. The bus ride was an adventure in itself. I walked to the bus stop located behind the big open market. The dirt parking lot is a busy place full of colorful buses, the shouting of bus destinations (Guate, Guate, Guate! for going to Guatemala City always drowns out the rest) and the occasional vender selling chicklets, dried banana chips, or a variety of other sorts through the aisles of the buses. I boarded a bus for Chimaltenango (every town either has a long name or 3 names like San Miguel Escobar or San Pedro Las Huertas to make it as confusing as possible) and sat right behind the bus driver so that the ayudante (the guy who collects money and usually hangs out the side of the bus door while we are driving) could tell me when we had reached my stop.

What a wild ride! Bus drivers here are crazy. At one point our bus passed another bus in the oncoming lane while a bus was headed our direction. Up one stretch in the mountains there was only one lane. We would speed along, even around corners and then the bus driver would jerk the breaks when he saw a car coming towards us and the approaching car would do the same. I sat on the same seat with a mother, her young baby, her toddler, and her husband. Around the corners I held on tight to the bar in front of me to keep from knocking them off of the bench. So, of course, I had to look up bus death statistics when I got home. In the US there are on average 23 deaths per year due to bus-related accidents. Here I couldn’t find the average per year, but this last Saturday 55 died in a bus crash and I read that Guatemala has the highest bus death toll of any Latin American country. This is not counting the 512 bus drivers that have died since 2006 due to gang-related violence. Around 200 just last year!

After switching busses at the middle of a busy intersection and running into some Peace Corps members from Seattle, I made it to Sumpongo, my final destination. The meeting had already started in a restaurant with a tin roof, cement floors, and sparse wood walls.



When I walked in, Senora Ana was telling her life story about what she had to go through to get an education and just how much difference it made in her life to the scholarship students. She wore a blouse with embroidered flowers and a beautiful skirt with a cloth belt, as most Indigenous do here. The mothers and female students in attendance wore similar looking clothes. A male teacher, Senor Luis, told his story as well. With the average amount of schooling being only a couple of years in their villages and poverty being so high, getting a good education is a huge struggle here. There are numerous factors that can keep people in the cycle of poverty with little hope of opportunity. Here’s a few:

• Villages are isolated and transportation to adequate schools is expensive
• The government gives little (or no) support to schools
• Parents often would rather have their kids sell chicklets or work in the farms because they can get money desperately needed now
• A high birth rate makes it difficult for parents to fully support all of their children
• With illiteracy rates high and years in school low, it’s hard for kids who are getting an education to get help on school work at home


I am constantly humbled here. These scholarship students, who each have amazing stories full of tragedy, poverty, and determination, will have to make long treks to reach their schools, battle with parents who may not support their education, and fight a system that functions to further oppress and exploit rather than to elevate. Avivara passed out money to each student for uniforms, transportation, books, and other school-related costs. Parents and students gave eloquent thank you speeches. After the meeting families left the restaurant in the rain, many to walk long distances home.

Back at ground zero (one of them anyways)

Today started off with a trip to the open market to bargain for rubber boots for my roommates staying at my home stay. After seeing my pictures they insisted on helping with some cleanup. We then waved down a tuc tuc (looks like a combo between a motorcycle and a golf cart) and managed to cram ourselves into it (we wouldn’t be in Guatemala if we didn’t) to head to the office of Global Visionaries, only about 5 minutes away.

Cesar, a staff member from Global Visionaries, was in charge of the crew today which consisted of about 15 young Guatemalan men and us, some American and Italian women. We stood out just a bit to say the least. With boots and shovels we followed Cesar out to ground zero, only a few blocks from their office.


When we approached the mudslide area, my roommates shook their heads in disbelief as I had a few days before. On this street a bulldozer was moving veraciously back and forth removing rubble and mud from the streets. A small older, somewhat-frail-looking man with a cowboy hat recruited our group to shovel as much mud from his property into the street as we could before the bulldozer got to his section. He had about 5 feet of mud throughout his entire property. His house, made of bamboo, was half covered in mud. Part of the mudflow came in through the back of his property, wiping out his outhouse and whatever else had been there. The houses to the West of his house were unscathed, while the houses to the East (and a bit lower) were directly in the path of destruction. It was a strange sight to see.


We worked hard as a team to scrape, shovel, and wheel barrow as much dirt as we could into the street. A few large rocks, about the size of me, where brought in by the mudflow and lay dispersed on the property. Several men took 2x4s and lodged them under a huge rock. Little by little, 3 men would push the 2x4 and 5 more men would roll the rock until eventually it would end up in street. They managed to get the last big rock out just as the bulldozer scooped it up. Simultaneously the rest of us took a break to watch if they would move the rock in time. We clapped our hands as the bulldozer took the last rock away.


Even after the bulldozer passed the house, we kept shoveling mud in piles along the front of his property. After about 3 hours I looked up and thought about how we had really only made a dent in what will be a painstakingly long process. The property owner may be better off building on top of the mud once is settles and dries out.

I am taking a break from shoveling tomorrow to recoup because my back is really sore and I have some bad blisters on my hands. I plan on getting back to the mudslinging when my boyfriend, Scott, comes here. He arrives Saturday night and I can’t wait! Although I’m taking a break, I know that there are many people who have been working nonstop since this natural disaster occurred. My hat is off to those people!

What a mudslide can do to a village. I’m stunned and heartbroken.

Yesterday a young woman’s body was recovered under a thick layer of mud by volunteers. Her baby was still wrapped around her back. She was found in the room next to the one I was shoveling endless amounts of mud out of today alongside several Guatemalan volunteers. She and her baby were carried by the mud and water 3 blocks from her home into the home they were discovered in. This is just one of the tragic stories from the village of San Miguel Escobar this week. I can only imagine how many villages in Guatemala have similar tragedies right now.

The village of San Miguel Escobar hugs a volcano (as many villages here do). One of the nonprofits I have been working with, Global Visionaries, has its office in this village. This last weekend the torrential rains caused a section of the mountainside to give way along with a flood of water. A rushing wall of mud and debris covered houses, cars, and everything else in its path. Luckily, the mudflow missed the Global Visionaries office by about two blocks, but many families were not so fortunate.

As I waded through the sludge today, I was in awe of Mother Nature’s power. Giant boulders now sit in ten feet of mud in the middle of streets. Cars are barely recognizable (a few settled inside houses). Streets resemble large riverbeds with small streams of water still cascading down them.

Despite the power of Mother Nature, the will of the people here to recover the missing and return their village to a recognizable state is a far greater force in my eyes. I’ve never felt a stronger sense of community. We held hands to help each other through the mud. I saw several bucket brigades working in perfect sync for hours at a time. Without needing to say a word, people would find something useful to do and get to work. Village mothers made plates of tamales and rice for workers and people walked up and down the streets handing out bags of water. The pats on the back and warm smiles to one another were given out generously. Although we were not all from the village and several not from Guatemala, today we were a community of people working together.

Avivara (one of the nonprofits that I am here working with) is located in an area that has also suffered a lot of destruction from the hurricane. Avivara has already given $550 to a nearby church to buy water, food, and diapers for about 150 families that are currently staying at the church because their houses were destroyed. More supplies are needed for these families. Please donate even a few dollars if you can. A little goes a long way there and these villages really need our support. Donate here to Avivara. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart and from those that live in these communities! More news to come as I head back out tomorrow with the Global Visionaries crew and a few volunteers I recruited from the house I'm staying at.