In my role as Human Resources Director at Common Hope, most of my week is spent inside the walls of our central offices in Antigua, Guatemala. In the glare of my computer screen, it can be easy to get caught up in the minutiae of personnel procedures, thinking about processing payroll next week and scheduling orientations for a new long-term volunteer.
Therefore I appreciated the recent opportunity to accompany a group of social workers on their home visits in the rural village of San Rafael in Sumpango since I’ve seen that the best way to re-connect with our mission and stay inspired is to visit affiliated family homes and learn about their challenges first hand.
San Rafael, Sumpango
One of the social workers, Lesbia, gave me a quick briefing as we strolled towards our first house. She told me that she’d run into 9-year-old Feliciana and her 7-year-old cousin Elizabeta in the street, walking dejectedly towards their house around 8 a.m. They hadn’t been able to leave home on time and had found the school gate already locked upon arrival. Lesbia didn’t want their morning to be a wasted learning opportunity, so we were headed to their home with several educational games in tow.
Feliciana and Elizabeta greeted us eagerly at the door of their modest cement-block home. They pulled us into the small bedroom, where two single beds were adjoined headboard to footboard, flanked by another bed made of blankets carefully laid out over orange plastic crates. We were joined by two younger siblings of Elizabeta, aged 1 and 3, who Feliciana would keep an eye on as we played together. Lesbia pulled out a bingo game to reinforce the letters of the alphabet, followed by flashcards to review vocabulary and comprehension. The kids were enthralled with the attention and stimulation, calling out each response loudly: Vegetables! A broom! A mouse!
Feliciana, Elizabeta, and Lesbia work with flash cards
Towards the end of the visit, Lesbia asked Feliciana why she hadn’t been able to make it to school on time that morning. Feliciana told us that her mother had to leave very early to tend to their plot of corn, so she was now in charge of preparing the tortillas each morning for breakfast. That day she’d run off to school as soon as she finished the tortillas for her father, but it wasn’t early enough. Together, Feliciana and Lesbia worked out a plan for the next day: Feliciana would get up just a bit earlier, before 5:30 a.m., in order to have enough time to finish her breakfast chores and still make it to school.
I left the family’s home feeling saddened by Feliciana’s responsibilities at such an early age but also inspired by the potential I’d seen inside that room. The kids loved learning and were hungry for more knowledge. They now had the support of a caring social worker, who would be checking in on them and offering help. Our desired outcome of high school graduation for each of these children will not be without struggle, but the strengthening collaboration between Common Hope and the families in San Rafael offers great promise and opportunity.
Latest posts by Lisa Hetzel
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- Nonprofit Network Launches Website - November 20th, 2009
- Graduation Season - November 13th, 2009
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Thanks so much for your comment, Terese, it’s great to hear about your work in Sumpango. There are so many challenges that families face in that area, yet also many opportunities… I’m curious to investigate a bit and see if there is still a Peace Corps placement in the area – perhaps there are some collaboration possibilities!
This blog hit home to me. I served as a Rural Youth at Risk Peace Corps volunteer in Sacatepequez and my work involved tutoring girls ages 7 to 14 so that they could gain a high enough grade to pass to the next grade. It was a humbling experience since most of my students were traveling from aldeas just to attend school to begin with and did not have someone to assist them with homework at home since the parents of my clients did not complete school themselves. I worked in three aldeas of Sumpango: Rejon, San Jose and in San Rafael itself. Many of my girls where not able to finish their grade due to the expense of studying, responsibilities at home and lack of transportation. I am pleased to see your project in San Rafael and wish you the best of luck.