Serving in Guatemala: July 2008

Serving in Guatemala

In February 2008, we moved to Guatemala, Central America, to live out our dream to help the poor communities living in this developing country. It is difficult to leave our family and friends but we know that this will be a decision that we will not regret.

Almost 60% of all Guatemalans, or 6.4 million people, live in poverty making less than $2US per day. Approximately 16% of this number are in extreme poverty living on less than $1US per day. Furthermore, more than 50% of the children are malnourished and have no hope for a better future. Reasons for the continuous poverty in Guatemala include illiteracy, lack of access to health care and low levels of education. The Arms of Jesus Children's Mission (AOJ), a private non-profit organization, has responded to this need by creating a school with specialized educational programs, meeting the daily nutritional requirements of the children, and offering social support to families. We feel very fortunate to be working with an organization that is dedicated to meeting the basic needs of the poor communities in Guatemala. For more information on AOJ, you can visit their website through the hot link on the bottom right.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Canada Day in Guatemala!

July1st is Canada Day, where we celebrate the day Canada gained independence. We´re both pretty proud Canadians and we sorely miss the huge celebrations that take place in Ottawa on this day. But, just because we´re living in Guatemala now, doesn´t mean that we can´t celebrate being Canadian!

Of course in Canada, we wouldn´t need to do go to work but that didn´t let us down. We just got dressed up in our Canada Day gear, armed ourselves with lots of Canadian flags, and took the Chicken Bus to work! We did get some strange looks, but hey, we´re Canadian, eh?!

We basically painted the school red and white (although Steve is wearing all black but he claims that those were all the Canadian clothes he has! At least his shirt had a red maple leaf!) We brought lots of Canadian candy and gave a treat to every child in the school. The kids were so excited and said ¨thank-you¨in English everytime with big smiles.

Living here has made us realize how fortunate we really are to be Canadian. We were born in a great country with great opportunity. We´ve been truly blessed to have grown up in an environment were we had access to an abundance of resources that the children here do not . To give a little of what we have to bring a smile to a child´s face is truly rewarding.

Of course the students were not the only ones who would fall victim to our Canadian invasion. To the right is a picture of our Head Social Worker and the school´s principal. They were great sports and were more than willing to help us celebrate Canada Day in style! Although we miss all our Canadian friends and family back home, it is good to know that we are not alone here and have some new friends in our adopted country.

Although we never expect any gifts on Canada Day, we were really surprised to get a special gift that we will never forget. The Grade 5 class made a large mural on the school in honour of Canada Day! Apparently they did the research and made all the materials in the morning and by lunch time, we were greeted with such a beautiful display of Canadiana!

Yes, we weren´t in Canada but it ended up being one of the greatest Canada Days we ever experienced! We are very fortunate to have people here that care about us and our country. So happy Canada Day everyone, wherever you may be living!