La hora de la hora

“La hora de la hora” has arrived at Pop Wuj. The school is running near full capacity with incoming students on summer vacation. This week alone there have been five new arrivals.  The teachers have their hands full with eager learners, while the community development programs have a plethora of enthusiastic volunteers. To say the least, it’s busy! So busy, I haven’t had time to post a proper blog update!!

We recently said bye to our good friends from Timmy Global Health (Timmy).  In addition to their regular medical trips, Timmy also sends a group of high school students (aka Timmy Chiquito) to build stoves with Pop Wuj. This year they helped us complete 10 stoves in Llanos de Pinal. During the course of four days, we ran four separate construction sites in the mornings and afternoons. Don’t worry, in between shifts we rested for lunch at the Family Support Center (formerly La Guardería). The hard workers from Timmy put smiles on the face of many stove recipients. Both parties were pleased to have shared a collective experience, in building stoves and in learning another´s culture. Now that the Timmy volunteers have returned to the U.S. , Pop Wuj will finish up its work in Llanos de Pinal and begin a new group of stove recipients in Xepache. See you next year Timmy Chiquito!  For more information about Timmy Global Health, please visit http://www.timmyglobalhealth.org/.

Timmy Brigade

            Two weeks ago the Timmy Global Health brigade came to the school to do a solid 3 days worth of stove building.  We were able to work on 12 different stoves, some of which were complete and others that will be completed in the coming weeks. Before their arrival we went around to the houses of prospective stove recipients to interview the families to collect socio-economic information.  We are continuing to work in Llanos del Pinal but next in line are 9 families from Xepache – a community not too far from Llanos.  With so many students at the school right now we’re able to have three groups go out to do stoves each week so it won’t be too long before we’re back out interviewing again! 

Painting, Garden, Reforestation

            The most recent work at the guadería has been reviving the outdoor area: repainting the jungle gym and play area, turning the broken down greenhouse into a productive garden, and planting trees in different areas of Llanos.  During the kid’s week-long break they were able to help out and be a part of the project – including climbing up part of the volcano Santa María to plant trees.  

            We continue to provide special help to the kids who are repeating a grade, so that when they move on they can continue receiving a scholarship.  This involves the work of Ashley, the academic support teacher, and social work students from the school.   In the next couple weeks we look forward to watching the garden produce vegetables and are looking to set up a compost system.

Becados with Malnutrition

          In the past several weeks we’ve continued meeting with scholarship recipients from Llanos del Pinal, San Juan, Chirijkiak, and Xeabaj to continue giving presentations on malnutrition.  We discussed the difference between macronutrients and micronutrients and how the typical rural Guatemalan diet is relatively full of macronutrients (maybe too much of some) while lacking in micronutrients.  At each of the communities except Xeabaj we put our words into action by making a salad of fruits, greens, cheese, and nuts.

            This past week we had all the scholarship recipients with malnutrition meet in the clinic at the school to give a health talk.  Carmen, Rony, Anna (the coordinator of health projects), and Luby (the nurse at the clinic) each spoke about a different health topic ranging from health during pregnancy to nutrition.  Though the meeting was long and full of presenting, it was a rare opportunity to provide information to the group all at once. Our next large meeting like this will be in six months, and until then we will continue meeting with communities and give presentations on bullying. 

Pop Wuj Inaugurates New Dental Clinic

After six months of comparing prices and doing research, Pop Wuj recently purchased equipment for a brand new dental clinic serving the low income population that the association serves. During the week of June 26^th Pop Wuj inaugurated the dental clinic by filling cavities of its first patients. 

Before the dental clinic Pop Wuj worked with a dentist though he was only able to pull teeth due to a lack of space and equipment. With the inauguration of the new clinic the dentist will attend two days a week instead of one and will able to fill cavities, do cleanings, and extractions.  It will also help improve dental hygiene in the population through preventative education and providing floss, toothpaste, and toothbrushes to patients.   

The low costs of the services in the dental clinic (extractions will cost 10Q, cleaning 50Q, and fillings 60Q) ensure better access to dental care for those who could otherwise not afford it. 

Recycling, reforestation, and the nursery

          Exciting advances are underway in the environmental program here at Pop Wuj.  Our very first Coordinator of Environmental Projects started work this week to help develop environmental projects and continue coordinating the stove project.  Currently we have three main environmental projects: recycling, reforestation, and the nursery.

            Our recycling project is aimed at creating a more efficient system of processing recyclable material both at the Pop Wuj language school (www.pop-wuj.org) and in some of the communities where Pop Wuj runs other projects.  The goal is to not only reduce the amount of waste produced by the school and rural communities but also to promote recycling in rural communities.  Additionally, collecting recyclables helps reduce the amount of plastic that families in the rural communities burn. Families often burn plastic to cook their food because it’s abundant and burns slower.We currently collect recyclable material from the Family Support Center in Llanos de Pinal, but we are looking for a way to increase the practice of recycling in more rural communities while not adding more expenditure to Pop Wuj’s budget.  There are some local recycling companies in Xela that will pay for recyclables by the pound, but after paying for transportation to the sites to drop off the material there isn’t much left over to give back to the community from which we received the recyclables.  There’s a long way to go but we are working slowly but surely to make progress.

            The ongoing reforestation project is back with the rainy season.  We are planning to hold a benefit in Xela to raise money to buy seedlings that can be planted in the communities where we work.  Additionally, a group of women from San Juan Buena Vista have formed a group to run a nursery for seedlings to be used for reforestation.  This week we will be going to visit their nursery and gain more information about their project so we can support them in whatever way possible.  The group came out of a group of women who received stoves and were inspired to do more for reforestation.  Not only does the group have positive environmental impact but it’s a way for the women of the community to organize and empower themselves.

            Finally, the nursery (formerly greenhouse) at the Family Support Center continues to be a focus of the environmental program.  Much of the information about the nursery can be found above, but our current aim is to find funding to revamp the nursery to put it back into full use.  We are also looking for a way to make the nursery self-sustaining, in other words, not in need of continual funding for such necessities as organic fertilizer, chicken wire and plastic tubing to repair unenclosed areas, and wood to repair the door.  We will also be going to the nursery this week to work on fixing it up and see what is possible for developing it in the future.