How do you interest someone in becoming a sponsor for a child in your program? How do you make your program more interesting to this potential sponsor than the tens of hundreds of other child-sponsor programs? How do you convince someone that the needs of your kids are great enough to warrant thei[...]
Author Archive
When it Comes to Fundraising, Be Persistent
I have been volunteering with the preschool classrooms at San Pablo la Laguna for two years, and with the Ayudame a Pintar Mi Futuro (APMF) project in San Pedro for over a year now. Every six months, I buy a lot of the work of local artisans and weavers and take it to my [...][...]
November 24th, 2009 - 12:11 pm § in Around Town, Guatemala
Farming Practices — Changes are Coming!
The old man in the field next to my house is hoeing his corn rows in his bare feet, Stetson hat, blue and purple tipica fabric shirt, and a woven plastic bag tied around his waist like an apron to protect his beautiful white embroidered pants. Fortunately, he is hoeing his corn residue into the [...[...]
Environmental Crisis, Community Opportunity
There’s an algae-bloom crisis going on right now in Lago Atitlan – one that has affected over 40 countries besides Guatemala – and because people in this community bathe and wash clothing in the lake, it’s a crisis that intimately affects everyone. The community is responding accordi[...]
October 23rd, 2009 - 3:58 pm § in Around Town, Guatemala
Culture of the Shaman
What interests me these days is the number of people in San Pedro I run into who were told at birth that they have a gift - a “don” – and will become a curandero/a or shaman to serve their communities. Shamans are discouraged by tradition from accepting pay for their work, and thus were [...]
Finding a Volunteer Situation that Fits
If you’re looking for short-term volunteering opportunities, search the Internet (especially Idealist.org) and go for what appeals to you in terms of the organization’s mission, how the opportunity matches your skills, the locale you’re interested in, and what appears legitimate. Regardi[...]
September 3rd, 2009 - 8:20 pm § in Around Town, Guatemala
Money, Money, Money
For every traveler or volunteer living in an impoverished country, the question of money donations arises. The sad-looking woman with her tiny baby and the plastic bowl for coins by her side on the street; the man with one leg and his hand out….these are the obvious ones, and each person dec[...]
Adjustment
A few days ago I returned from a trip to California. Every three months we are required to leave Guatemala for at least 72 hours to have our passports stamped. For the first two years, I complied religiously, but then learned you can pay someone to go to the Capital to get it stamped for [...][...]
Projects and More Projects
The primary project I’m involved with, which exists around the south side of Lake Atitlan and also in the Antigua area, is Pedagogia Basica. This consists of a series of exercises to promote laterality, as most children in the rural areas are carried on their mother’s backs for as long as two [...]
