Empowering 27 Mayan families to overcome poverty.

Today we finished another monthly Dia de Viveres…..or Food Distribution Day.  A flat of eggs, 23# corn, 2# each of beans and rice, bottle of cooking oil, and – depending on the quantity of their participation in our various work/learning groups – 2# sugar, several bags of clothes-washing powder, and big bars of soap.    The foodstuffs were my election – I want to improve family nutrition – but the choice of “premios” or “prizes” for participation are their idea.    I don’t want any more soap going in our groundwater or making its way to our lake, nor do I want to give them sugar, but washing clothes is a big concentration, here, and many mothers still do the wash in the lake, or on concrete slabs with a tub at the side, somewhere in the house or yard – I figure if it’s Important enough to work extra hours for that -  I’m not going to complain.  I try to give the information I have, but it’s i[ to them if they take it or not.

During this meeting we complied with our once-a year requirement to go over the agreed-upon rules of the project: rules and priorities for inclusion in the project, for participation, attendance in the kids’ class….the expectations of participants, and the promises of the project, to comply with our mission and for fairness and transparency.    To my surprise, there was not one request for more information or disagreement with the rules, even tho the rules have changed a bit over the years.  In the past, when a high-school age child quit coming to class in order to work on Saturday mornings, we allowed a younger child to attend in his place so the family could keep participating.   What happened because of this is that the program became bottom-heavy with younger kids, when one of our primary purposes is to graduate kids from high school or a technical course.  We now allow a younger child to take the place of an older one only in special circumstances, specified.

We were all so pleased at the end of the day, that there had been no complaints of injustice In counting hours of participation or measuring corn or handing out the right quantity of “foodstuffs” for each level of participation for all 28 mothers,  as has happened occasionally in the past.  I believe our attempts to make all our decisions and actions transparent (records available at the meeting, for instance) have finally had their intended effect.  (See photo of Mom with her food basket, actually from last year - they are larger currently.)

The kids’ Saturday class continues very well.  The mothers asked if they could make the “refaccion” (small meal) in class every Saturday, rather than buy from a local cook.  I put my requirements (some form of protein and veggies) and they now make what their kids like most.                                                    A volunteer from the States, a credentialled English teacher who has been with us for several months, now, spends about an hour during Saturday class, teaching English in a very fun energetic way.  (See photos from this Saturday in Sept. '24)   

.   He has tried to involve the mothers in a class during their weaving group days, but they always ask for the class or otherwise start out with “ganas” as they say here (willingness) but all-too-quickly begin to show disinterest and withdrawal.  I think it’s easy for a teacher to overwhelm these mostly uneducated mothers….give them too much too soon.  They are also aware of losing time for their usual artisan activity and thus production/money.   Thinking ahead when you agree to do something is not habitual for all, and ask Maslow's Hierarchy suggests, for most of these mothers - next to family connections - getting through the day and the week economically is All.

Last Saturday the older boys and  I went down to our Community Garden (fairly close to class) and built a basic structure for a good compost heap….4’ on a side.  They asked to do this again, so we will finish it off next week.  (photos of some of the 8 boys in this group and their compost heap structure project.)

I was delighted to see the level of willingness and cooperation in this group.  I observe these boys well, because we have one sponsor willing to send a youth thru technical training, and hope we will get others, but I want to know who is already showing “ganas”, attention, concentration and some basic skills before we decide who we can afford to support in a technical training at a school across the lake.  They will have to have some level of independence and self-sustenance, to succeed all day in a school away from friends and family.  One of our young teachers follows the kids we place, helping them to fill out paperwork, navigate the system, get started and stay on track, but the young man or woman has to show initiative as well.   We’ve been successful three times, so far….we want to do more.  Without some technical skill, it will be very hard for these kids to get a good job with enough salary to help support their families.   Manual labor or taking a bank loan on the family house to emigrate to the States are their only other options.