"Hasta Luego," not "Adios"

Text by Emily Rempel and photos as noted

General Projects Coordinator Emily Rempel  finished her 3 months of intensive volunteering at Pop Wuj on May 5.

How does one properly reflect on a life-changing, four-month-long experience in one single blog post? It simply doesn’t seem possible.

I arrived in Xela the evening of Saturday, January 7^th and to be honest, I was terrified. The sun had already gone down, my terrible sense of direction was failing me completely, and I had spent the day subsisting on the few remaining power bars that I had in my backpack. Looking back on the “what the heck am I doing here” messages I had sent to my mom (like the proper almost 23-year-old adult I am), I can’t help but laugh and be completely amazed by how much has happened since then and how much I’ve experienced.

During my time at Asociación Pop Wuj I helped build numerous stoves, I interviewed families for our current group of stove recipients, I got to see our “compra” day where we bought and delivered enough materials for some 11 stoves. I listened to Carmelina, our stove boss, explain to every group of volunteers just how big of an impact our safe stove project has on the families of Llanos del Pinal, Xecaracoj, etc. I was welcomed into the homes of so many families.

Carmelina and I on my last day of stove building (Photo by student volunteer)

I also got to participate in all of our medical projects, which is a life experience I never expected to have. I got to help measure and weigh babies in our Nutrition Prgoram and learned all about the different supplements we use to help combat varying degrees of malnutrition. Through my own research for the blog, I also learned way more about the pervasive problem of malnutrition in Guatemala, how it self-perpetuates and is compounded by intersecting social, political and institutional oppressions. I spent a week working in the medical brigade with Pop Wuj and Timmy Global Health and learned the Spanish names of countless medications that I had never even heard of in English. I helped translate during triage in our Pop Wuj cCc, so that our medical volunteers could provide the high level of care that Pop Wuj promises.

A favourite photo from a Nutrition day in La Victoria (Photo by Emily Rempel)

I also spent a lot of time working in our Scholarship Program and Family Support Center, two projects that focus on providing opportunities for education. Meetings in our Scholarship Program always amaze me. First, every participant there (usually mothers of scholarship recipients) greets us and welcomes us to their community. Then, we discuss the progress of our becados (scholarship students), challenges faced in school and at home, so that the educational journey of each of our becados is something shared and supported by the entire group. At my last scholarship meeting, with our group from Chirijquiac, we also discussed human rights: what are our human rights, examples of how human rights are being denied, and the barriers that exist in demanding our rights. The scholarship meetings always remind me that it is the participants in our projects, usually women, who are leading the struggle for human rights. It’s been an honour to work with Pop Wuj in helping to support this struggle.

My last meeting with the scholarship group from Chirijquiac (Photo by Carmen de Alvarado)

By far the most fun part of my internship was my afternoons at the Family Support Center. The kids there are just SO GREAT. Each one is so full of energy, so full of kindness, so full of potential. The FSC is a vital part of the community of Llanos del Pinal. It provides a safe place for these wonderful children to be nurtured, to explore, to grow. Saying goodbye to the kiddoes there was incredibly hard, but I look forward to following their growth through future posts on this blog - like this one!

All smiles with Rosemari and Yadira (Photo by Emily Rempel)

Packed into our casita with the pequeños, Yosvin, Daniel, Emmanuel, Yadira, Andrea, and Daniela (Photo by Ashley Aue)

Yadira and Daniela running circles around me (Photo by Elizabeth Barnes)

Pop Wuj is a labour of love. It’s a project of passion. It’s sustained through constant, non-stop work. In a country marked with institutional weakness, pervasive corruption, that continues to be robbed of its resources, that has been, and continues to be, so thoroughly affected by colonialism, it’s grassroots organizations like Pop Wuj that help realize the human rights of the most marginalized Guatemalans. The opportunity to be a part of this human rights work has been, by far, the best thing that I have ever done in my life. I am eternally grateful for my time here and look forward to supporting Pop Wuj from afar, in whatever way I can. A Pop Wuj - gracias y nos vemos otra vez.

Emily's internship at Pop Wuj was the final requirement for her Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights at the University of Winnipeg, and she graduates this semester. ¡Gracias por todo, Emily, y que te vayas bien!

You can read more blog posts written by Emily or spotlighting her by clicking here.

El Día de la Madre 2017

Text and photos by Elizabeth Barnes

May 10 is el Día de la Madre in Guatemala. The annual Día de la Madre celebration at the Family Support Center always requires lots of forethought and preparation.

Director of the Family Support Center Shaaron Hurtado welcomes everyone to the Día de la Madre event. This year seven students from Butler University who will be participating in a Timmy Global Health brigade attended.

This year our FSC staff had to set up the new site for the festivities with the possibility of early rainy season showers. Our chef, Kevin, had to cook a special dinner for more than a dozen extra people. The teachers planned mini competitions for the mothers to be interspersed throughout the Día de la Madre presentations by the kids.

The most challenging competition requires mothers to beat an egg into a foam so thick that it stays in the bowl when you turn it upside down! Doña Silvia (fourth from right) won the competition. She is the afternoon teacher of the youngest kids at the Family Support Center and the mother of Santos, teacher of the middle group of kids (third from right).

Most importantly, the FSC kids had to make gifts for their moms and learn choreography for Mother’s Day performances.

The girls of the oldest class kicked off the dances with marimba music they'd chosen themselves.

Later they'd return to the stage for a Top 40 hit: "Despacito."

The boys of the oldest class incorporated some classic 90s boy band moves into their routine.

Some dancers in the youngest group favored a more improvisational style.

Santos's class of the youngest school-age kids started with a cowboy-themed number.

After a costume change, they reappeared for their own dance to typical Guatemalan marimba music.

The last pair of dancers, Jonathan and Zulmy, exit the stage. In the tradition of proud moms with cameras everywhere, Zulmy's mom Doña Sofia was up front to capture the moment!

Pop Wuj collaborates with dozens of mothers who continually advocate for the health, education, and wellbeing of their families. We couldn’t work with the children at the Family Support Center without their parents’ active participation, and we’re proud to count many women in Llanos del Pinal among our partners. ¡Feliz día de la madre!

Fiesta at the FSC

Text and photos by Emily Rempel

On Thursday, April 27 we threw a birthday party for all of the Family Support Center participants who had birthdays between January and April of this year. We had 7 birthday kids for this party: Arturo (13), Jonathan (8), Ingrid (10), Zulmy (8), Moises (7), Brandon (7), and Miguel Angel (11). To celebrate, we brought two piñatas (one for the bigger kids and one for the littler kids), party favours, presents for the birthday kids, and two cakes. The party started off with the piñata for our youngest group of kids!

Yadira and Daniela giving Mario a farewell hug before the piñata fun begins! 

Luis takes a hard swing ... 

...and breaks the stick!

The pequeños scrambling to collect their candy

Rosemeri shows off her loot!

Brandon and Carlos scored big!

Once the candy from the first piñata had all been scooped up by the kids, we strung up the second piñata for our older kids!

Birthday girl Ingrid takes her turn

It's a swing and a miss for Arturo!

Damaris getting ready to take her first swing 

Evelyn shows Mario some muscle!

Sisters Damaris and Zulmy pack up their candy  

After the excitement of the piñatas, we all went inside for presents and cake. First we handed out the party favours; each kid got a little backpack with a couple of treats, a sticker set, and a fun eraser.

Handing out the party favours

Then it was time for cake! Carmen led us all in a round of "Happy Birthday" before the birthday kids blew out their candles and everyone dug into their pieces of cake.

Carmen leads the group in singing "Happy Birthday"

Daniel is too busy enjoying his cake to care about the icing all over his chin!

Yadira follows Daniel's example and doesn't worry about the icing on her eyebrow

Daniel's smile says it all - the party was a sugar-filled blast! Our Family Support Center kids are truly the most wonderful young people. It's so special and so important to celebrate each and every one of them by marking their birthdays with a fiesta. We can't wait until next time, when we celebrate the May to August birthdays!

Daniel's all smiles

Big Challenges and Bigger Successes - An Update on our Family Support Center

Text by Emily Rempel
Photos by Elizabeth Barnes

The start of 2017 presented us with a bit of an unexpected speed bump for the Family Support Center. In 2016 the Center had operated in the community center Ixcanul Noj in Llanos del Pinal, with snacks and meals being served in the home of Doña Delfina. However in January of this year we were told that Pop Wuj would be required to pay a large monthly amount to rent the space. This fee would have been unsustainable for Pop Wuj so unfortunately we were tasked with finding a new location in Llanos del Pinal.

Over the course of January and well into February Carmen and Family Support Center staff and participants did extensive leg-work to find us a suitable new location, one that would be within-budget but still have all of the requirements necessary to be an effective space. Finally, on February 20^th, we signed the papers for our new location. The following week included a huge moving day and many, many hours of dedicated work from the Family Support Center and Pop Wuj staff and volunteers to get the project up and running. On February 27^th we were finally able to re-open the doors to the Family Support Center. 

The minute the doors opened, the FSC kids came running through to explore their new home. Our new Center is located behind a store, just a short walk from the local school where many of the students spend their mornings. The space has a large cement courtyard (which is regularly used for energetic soccer games), two classrooms, and a kitchen/dining room. When Carmen asked the kids if they were happy with the new location, she was met by a resounding "¡Sí!" and lots of smiles.

Daniela, Yadira, and Andrea are all smiles in the new Center! 

Another exciting addition to the Family Support Center is our new chef, Kevin Jimenez. Kevin has been preparing healthy and delicious hot lunches and snacks for the kids. During our first meeting with the mothers of the Family Support Center several of them shared that their children had given Kevin rave reviews! Moving forward, Kevin and Carmen will be trying to buy as much produce for the Center as possible from the mothers themselves. Not only will this provide the kids with fresher vegetables, but it offers another way for the Center to support the families of Llanos del Pinal (and vice versa)!

Boys Cook Too!  Julio and Arturo help Kevin in the kitchen

Our older group of students, the mayores, are being taught by FSC director Shaaron. Not only is Shaaron teaching while acting as Director, but she is also working on her Masters degree. The younger group of school-age students, the medianos, are still being taught by Santos, who, like Shaaron, is also pursuing post-secondary education. Our youngest group of kids stay at the Center all day, as they are too young for school. They are cared for by Doña Silvia and Angelica. Angelica is also attending university, but still working with the kids whenever possible. We are so proud of our dedicated, passionate, and hard-working staff! 

Eagerly Awaiting Snack Time

Sharp Hopscotch Skills 

The Center has been up and running strong for just over a month now. On March 8th, to mark International Women's Day, Shaaron and Santos planned some fun activities for the kids. One of the most popular was a game with balloons, where partners had to hold a balloon between their heads and race from one end of the courtyard and back without dropping their it. The message shared with the kids at the end of the activities was that girls can do anything that boys can do! 

Racing Ahead!

Hirrany and Damaris, concentraing hard on keeping their balloon safe!

We also celebrated World Water Day on March 22nd. The kids learned about waste water, the importance of boiling water before consuming it, and how they can help to keep our waters clean and safe. 

"The Importance of Water" - A beautiful informational poster by one of our talented participants

Although 2017 started off slowly and (very) stressfully, we're so excited to be back on track, providing 25 kids from Llanos del Pinal with a safe space to grow, play, and learn. Thank you all for your continued support of our project! 

Student Coordinator Elizabeth taking a group selfie with Yosvin and Andrea

Group coloring session with Pop Wuj Spanish student Jamie

Moving Day at the Family Support Center

Text and photos by Emily Rempel

This has been a VERY exciting couple of weeks for our Family Support Center. After a long and difficult search for a new location, we signed the papers last Monday for our new space and were ready to start making it our own. On Tuesday a group of volunteers from Pop Wuj and Pathways, an organization serving adults with developmental disabilities, headed out to the old FSC site in Llanos del Pinal. There we were met by a big group of FSC mothers and several of their children. 

Our first task was loading all of the furniture and the piles upon piles of other FSC materials up into the big moving truck. With many hands, and many trips, we loaded up the benches, cabinets, tables, and chairs. Luckily we had some Tetris experts on our team who were able to find a way to fit all of the awkward, bulky furniture into the truck.

Jeremy, Ashley, and Santos search for any remaining free spaces

On top of the furniture, we piled chairs, sacks of books, pots and pans, and a myriad of other odds and ends that all help the FSC run. By the end of it, the truck was just about overflowing. Then, once we got to our new FSC site, we had to unload it all! 

With the first truckload emptied, one group headed back to the old FSC site to pack up one more load, including a stove and a great big swing set. 

The swing set proved an interesting challenge to get into the new Center and the process was truly an impressive feat of strength and geometry.

In the end, just about all of the furniture got moved without a hitch, with the exception of one damaged cabinet. That, we can blame on the age-old problem of "too much cabinet -- not enough doorway." 

Moving our shelving units was a team effort 

By the time 5 p.m. came around, we were done! A special thanks goes out to all of our little helpers...

Emmanuel inspecting the inside of our recycling bin, making sure everything looked up to spec

One of Brenda and Ingrid's little cousins carrying our shelving unit (while teacher Santos helps just a tiny bit)

On Thursday we held a special benefit dinner for our Family Support Center, featuring some top-notch burritos (which, as co-chef, I say with absolutely no bias) and a margarita bar. At the dinner, we talked to the students a bit about what the Family Support Center is, what it offers to the community, and why it's so important. All proceeds from the night are going to be put towards our Family Support Center. 

We can't say enough how incredibly excited we are to be starting this new chapter in the life of our FSC, for it to be able to continue providing its vital services to families in Llanos del Pinal. Thanks for following this journey with us, for reading about our work, and for supporting our projects. 

Interested in helping us with this transition to a new site? Donations through Foundation Todos Juntos make a tremendous difference!