Desiderata-Schooling Outside Canada

Guatemala 2010

Published in the Spring 2011 Postscript
Guatemala 2010 by Ken Holmes, RTA member

From November 3rd to 13th, my wife and I went with a group of 20 volunteers, to serve the under-resourced of Guatemala.

During those 10 days we were able to work in 3 Mayan villages: Altotenango, Telulche, and Chimixiya. In each of those villages, we worked with the children telling stories, doing crafts and giving out bags of school supplies. A kindergarten teacher from Abbotsford came along and gave a workshop for the teachers in each village on “Letterland”.

We gave each village a Letterland teachers’ kit as well as school supplies for the teachers. She also did a workshop on using games to teach Math. We gave each teacher and each family of the students a bag of food consisting of: 10 lbs. of black beans, 10 lbs. of rice, 10 lbs. of corn, 5 lbs. of sugar, and a liter of vegetable oil.

We also managed to paint a school that had black mould on its walls as a result of a mud slide. Some members of the team built 9 chicken coops, and we were able to set up 9 poor families to raise broilers. Each family received 30 chicks and enough feed to raise the chickens for 6 weeks. When they market the chickens, they will be able to buy 30 more chicks and feed, as well as have $50 left over to buy food for the family.

We also did a little bit of painting and maintenance at an orphanage in Telulche. However, the highlight of the trip for me was delivering a library to Chimixiya. As a retired teacher-librarian this was extra special. This is the second school library we have been able to set up in Guatemala.

The organization I am with, “Love Guatemala” has a “Change for Change” project that gives people the opportunity to give us their change and we change it into Spanish books for schools. Our mission is to break the cycle of illiteracy in Guatemala. Our vision is of a proud and thriving Guatemala where all children grow up able to realize their full potential. We are transforming the lives of Guatemala youth by creating access to books, developing the ability to read and to think critically and imaginatively, fundamentals needed in the full development of the worlds children.

My local, the Ridge-Meadows RTA, gave $211 in change at the “To Hell with the Bell breakfast” in September. Since my return, they have decided to have a change bucket at our monthly luncheons. If your local would like to contribute to “change for change”, any contributions would be most appreciated. (Even if you just passed a bucket around at just one of your events.) We are under the umbrella of Multi-Nation Missionary Foundation which is a registered Canadian charity. If you would like to help, please contact: klholmes@telus.net

A second highlight was serving Gleaners Soup to all the teachers and children as well as some of their parents. Since retiring I volunteer at the Fraser Valley Gleaners once a week chopping up vegetables that would otherwise end up in the landfill. After dehydrating the vegetables they are turned into soup mix for distribution to third world countries. Being able to deliver and serve the soup in person was a real blessing.

It’s been great to volunteer and make a difference in other people’s lives since retiring.