Vilma's new backpack

Vilma got a new backpack! Thanks to her sister's sponsors, Vilma got a new backpack and food for her family

Sweet Vilma from Tierra Linda

When I went to Tierra Linda with some volunteers, I was looking forward to seeing some of the children I have gotten to know these past years. Some I had met in person and some others I had only seen them in photos but I felt like I knew them well. What I did not expect was to see a young girl that I had never met and immediately feel like I had to do something for her. Her name was Vilma. There were many kids around that were in a similar situation but I could not stop looking at her. Maybe it was her eyes, or her sweet smile, or her feet, or seeing the backpack that she was carrying. People told me she was the sister of a girl that was already in the Mayan Families Sponsorship Program and I was able to relax, knowing I would be able to do something for her in the future.

Vilma and her older sister Florinda

I wanted to visit her house but I could not move from the preschool. We were waiting for the pediatric nurse to finish examining the children and then we were going to deliver a hope chest that Rhonda Gamble and her family had donated for their sponsored student Petrona. There were many children around, all excited to see us and looking at the hope chest. Petrona was beaming and I felt so happy to be there, delivering such a special gift to her. Vilma just stayed by my side.

When we were ready to go, they told me that Vilma and Petrona were neighbors and we were able to walk together to their homes!

Starting to walk towards Petrona's home

Petrona and Vilma


Unfortunately, I did not get to see Petrona's house because Vilma's house was right before hers and I went inside to meet Vilma's mother and her siblings. Her mother was at the kitchen making tortillas for their lunch. It was very dark inside. They had an Onil stove and thankfully there was no smoke in the room. Then they showed me their bedroom and I took pictures of their beds. There were 3 beds. One where the parents slept with the baby, another one where the 3 other boys slept and one where Vilma and her 2 sisters slept. They bed did not have a mattress and I felt so bad for them.

The entrance to Vilma's house
Candelaria was all smiles!

Happy see they had an Onil stove!

Their bedroom was made of mud brick and it had a dirt floor. The windows were covered with plastic. They had a tin sheeting roof.

I had to go but I was happy to have had the opportunity to visit their home and take some pictures. Our group had decided to walk down the mountain using the path that the local people use to go to Panajachel. Oswaldo had taken us in the van earlier but we told him he could go back without us. It was a beautiful day and we felt so blessed to be up there in the mountain looking at such beautiful scenery. The path was very narrow once we started going down. We had to think every step we took because the rocks were loose in many places. We had to cross a couple of scary spots where mudslides had taken down the path but people had had to cross them and they had made some fresh paths. We passed some people that were going up with huge bundles in their heads or backs. I felt so helpless, wishing I could do something for them but all I could do was to give them some water. I was not able to take many pictures because we could not really stop. We were glad to be on the ground again when we reached Pana.

I know Chabeli and Micaela go up the mountain every day after a long day at work, and then go to their one room homes that have not electricity and then they have to take the path once again, very early in the morning so their children can get to school in time. It makes me so sad to think of that.

When I got home I contacted the sponsors of Vilma's sister Candelaria and shared the pictures with them. They are very nice people. Shelley told me she wanted to do something for Candelaria and her family and she got her aunt to donate a mattress and some food for the family. Today I saw the pictures posted on Candelaria's page and it made my heart so happy to know the girls are sleeping on a mattress and not on bare wood boards.

I am so thankful to Shelley and her family and to Mayan Families for allowing us to help people like Vilma and Candelaria. Today I went shopping and I got some things for them. I can't wait to send them in the next box!

Lucas again

Here are more photos of Lucas. He was feeling well on this day

When I went with Julio the next day, I could tell he was in pain. Julio brought him the mattress that was donated.

This is the bathroom Lucas uses. He suffers from chronic diarrhea and he has to use it many times during the day and night. It is very dark, the flash made it look lighter.

There is a drop to get into the bathroom

Leonarda is Lucas mother. She makes chuchitos (small tamales) to sell. She says her family cannot eat them because they are too expensive to make. She was making a soup for lunch with an herb and chicken bouillon.

Leonarda's kitchen is in the room that Lucas was building for him and his family. He had borrowed from the bank to build it with cement. He is worried because he still owes money and he is not able to work. He had to borrow money from his grandmother to pay July's installment. He showed me the receipt and said he felt so helpless to be lying in bed and not being able to work. He used to be a builder's assistant and gardener.

There was hardly any food in the house. Don and I bought them food for a week and a chicken and vegetables so Leonarda could make Lucas some chicken soup.

Lucas

Time is going too fast! Spent yesterday at Mayan Families' offices. So many families coming to see if they could be helped with food. Lots of children in need of shoes too. We gave shoes and jackets to some but there is never enough. We bought food for some families and Don loved meeting the families and having his picture taken with them.

Today I am going to visit again a 25 year old with terminal cancer. He is so sweet and he thinks he is getting better but the doctor is giving him only a couple of months to live. Mayan Families is buying him a new mattress and I am going to give him a DVD player that we brought and some board games that he requested. His favorite food is pizza and I am planning to get him a pizza before we leave. His house needs to have the floor fixed so I am going to take photos and see if somebody can help with that.

This is Lucas and his brothers. They are sponsored by Mayan Families.

We are also having a good time and enjoying the beauty of the lake and town. Our hotel is beautiful, lots of grounds and decorated with typical items. Since it is our third time here, we also know a lot of people and it is fun talking to them.

Panajachel

The trip from Guatemala city to Panajachel was very nice. Oswaldo picked us up at the hotel last Sunday at 10:00 and we made it into Pana in time to watch most of the Netherlands-Spain game and Don wore the Holland shirt that Henny had given him. We were sad when Holland did not win.

Carlos and Titi swam at the hotel for a while, then we walked around town. It was fun seeing again places and people we knew. Things have changed too. The kids loved feeding the stray dogs and Titi even played soccer in the street.

On the way back, I saw Vanessa and her kids walking in the street! It was fun talking to her and meeting her in person. Her kids are great. She was leaving the next day but she was hoping to come back and stay for 3 months. I am sure she will do it, she always does what she puts her mind to.

On Monday we went to the new offices of Mayan Families. Sharon introduced us to all the people working there. What a change from the first time we visited. Back then, there was only one computer that Sharon and Sandra shared. Now there are many computers and lots of people working on different projects.

I saw Claudia from San Jorge working. She is calling students and asking them to bring their birth certificates to collect and verify birthdates.

Amelia was handing out donations. She has been sorting all the donations received in the Medrano boxes. Since they do not have a lot of space in the new place, they still have a lot of stuff at Sharon's house. She looked well.

I also saw some sponsored students I had met before. This family is from Tierra Linda. They had brought their report cards and received shoes and clothes. The mother told me their house had been damage during the storm. Some of the tin sheets in their roof were broken by rocks that fell on them. Juan is going to take pictures and see how much it would cost to repair them.

The mother of these students has a skin infection on her arms and neck. She says it is very itchy. I think it is scabies. I offered to pay for her to go to the doctor. I cannot stand the thought of her having to endure the itch.

We are in Guatemala!

We made it safe and sound to our hotel. Thank you Noemi for driving us to Miami. We really appreciate it. The flight was nice and when we arrived at the airport, there was a van from the hotel waiting for us.

We are staying once again at the Gran Tikal Futura in Guatemala City and it is wonderful. We got a great rate on Expedia and then got the third night free! We could not ask for more. Our suite is huge and we get access to a lounge with free drinks and snacks. Carlos and Titi relaxed on the indoor pool and tomorrow we will be walking around this area. There are lots to see. There is a mall on the ground floors, a bowling alley and lots of restaurants and stores within walking distance. It is good to be able to relax after having to work so hard to prepare for the trip.

We brought the phones we had used last time we were in Guatemala and we were surprised to see one of them even had minutes left on it. I was able to make calls immediately.

We are hoping to buy some blankets to bring with us to Panajachel.

Can't wait!

Don, Carlos, Titi and I are extremely excited about our trip to Guatemala! We leave on Thursday and we are busy packing the donations we will bring. Thank you so much to everybody that donated items. We wish we could bring much more but we can only bring 8 bags for now. We were hoping to send another Medrano box before we left but we ran out of time. We will definitely do it as soon as we come back.

It has been two summers since we were there and we can't wait to go back and see family and friends.

We will try to keep in touch through this blog. You can email me at carmen@mayanfamilies.org

Tropical Storm Agatha

At the end of May, tropical storm Agatha hit Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the south of Mexico and it brought lots of damage to the area. In Guatemala there were widespread floods and mudslides. That was the weekend that we had Titi's birthday party and I was busy all weekend so I was very shocked to come to my computer on Sunday night and see pictures of the devastation. I was even more shocked to learn that Sharon's home and the Mayan Families organization' headquarters, were in danger to fall into the river. We had just bought tickets to go and visit them and I was so sad to think of all the damage this storm was doing to so many people we knew.

It was a very rough week for Guatemala and the effects will be felt for years. There had been a volcanic eruption earlier that week and the ash had caused lots of damage already.

You can see pictures from Boston.com

There was almost no media coverage of the damage here in the USA and most of the Mayan Families Connection members tried to write about it on their blogs and Facebook. Thankfully, that brought donations and Sharon and Mayan Families were able to help as much people as they could. They sent food and material donations to the most affected towns.

Mayan Families have posted lots of pictures of the devastation and the help they have been able to provide thanks to their generous supporters.

Photo from the Mayan Families Picasa albums. You can see more pictures here:

Photo Albums

Sharon and Dwight's home is still standing but the river is now at the back of the house and they have had to move out. Sharon says that hundred of people have losts their homes and they will not be able to rebuild in the same place for fear of more mudslides.

Members of MFC from different parts of the country sent emergency shipments and Don and I decided to send a box with some of the stuff we had collected. We sent mainly shoes, jeans for boys, baby formula and some other items. Thank you so much to everybody that has donated items. I am especially grateful to Geraldine and her mom Sara for all their help.
What Mayan Families needs the most is money to buy food and supplies for all the people that have lost their homes and the people that have been affected by the lack of tourism in the area. They were already living on very little and now they have nothing. Lots of people eat only a couple of tortillas a day and now they cannot even afford that. We are hoping people will open their hearts and will see the need and will continue to donate.

To donate, please go to www.mayanfamilies.org