Dear Friend
First of all, may I thank you all for your wonderful moral support to my “adventure”, and as promised, please find some more news about my life in Guatemala.
Many of you ask me how they could help. In the second part of this email, I will tell you about different projects where you could get involved.
Thank you very much in advance for your attention and for your kindness.
The month of October has been mostly devoted to work with the children in the level 2. The number is approximately between 25 and 30, up to some of them who decided to go back to the street, or some who succeed to reach level 3 (see my previous email). Even if the educators advised me to not getting attached to the children, I cannot help it and, it could be quite painful when they decide to leave the house and go back to hell. It is very difficult for many of them, who have been living in the street for several years, to get use again to live within a community, and follow “house rules “with its duties. They have to relearn values like respect, honesty, friendship and work.
The teaching part has been a little bit disappointing as I realized that they have very little capacity of concentration. Instead of teaching group, I work with 2 or 3 of them of the same level, if they are willing to do so. Nevertheless some of them are extremely smart, like Conradino who is able to describe his surrounding in English (after 2 months learning with me) and dreams to work in the USA. I could see some of you smiling, thinking about these kids who are going to speak English with a French accent, …but it is better than nothing!
With the help of an American‘s friend of mine from my Spanish school (where I carry on taking classes 4 hours a week), we have started to organize Basket ball and Base ball teams. They love it and I am running behind the ball, more than ever!
It is vital to keep them busy, otherwise they are starting to think to much about the street, the drugs or their life and several of them are close to depression and we had some tentative of suicide. I realized that the most important part of my duty is to be available to talk with any of them who fell the need. But they have their pride, and it request a lot of diplomacy to gain their confidence and manage to help them.
Nevertheless, I cannot help thinking that the work of Casa Alianza (being great) is sometime not sufficient. The problem of the Street‘s children should be taken far ahead, with a serious help to the poorest families. If they received some help (hygiene, food, money, psychological support etc), which could make the house’s surrounding better, less children will be in the street. Most of the issues came from the Father or Step Father, without a job, who starts drinking and abuses the children…who preferred to live in the Street instead of “Hell Home”. It is the case of Selvin, whose Parents divorced when he was 5 years old, and the “friend of his mother didn’t like him. He left at age 6 and has been in the street and on the road until age 16. He tried twice to enter the USA, crossed Mexico by foot and bus, came back to Guatemala, and joined a gang where violence and drugs are daily bread. He started drugs at 6 years old from glue and marijuana to cocaine. He entered Casa Alianza and was doing very well even if he was very quiet. Sadly, after a fight last week, he went back to the streets. I am very sad, as he was a great kid. Every time I am going with the street team, I hope I will see him, but so far, no luck….
Guatemala is a country with quite a lot of Humanitarian organizations. Even if several are badly run or corrupted!, I was able , during my free time, to discover some fascinating projects and extremely devoted persons, who are giving their life for the poorest.
For example, the Franciscan monks of Antigua are running the Hospital del Hermano Pedro, where they are taking care with very little funding, to 250 handicaps persons (from 1 month old to 90 years old). Several of these children are found in trash bean or on the pavement in front of the hospital, as the family don’t have the money to take care of them. But what is amazing, is the atmosphere of this hospital where the nurses are kind and happy, where the patients are well treated and smiling, where everything works with second hand material but extremely clean. Donations are necessary and will be extremely well used, as there is no help to handicap people from the Government, and this place is one of the only hope they could received ( I will give you later the web page address).
Let me also tell you about another amazing foundation, organized by an ex- Casa Alianza educator, Patrick Atkinson, who started in 1991, the God’s Child project. The God’s Child Project, known in Spanish as La Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados, which is an ecumenical, non-political charity that cares for and educates 2,583 orphaned and abandoned boys and girls. It also provides medical attention, nutrition, clothing and development services to 8,500 homeless people across the nation of Guatemala. Based in the United States (501 © 3 charity), the project has only 3 part-time employees, those efforts are complimented by several hundred volunteers around the world who help out collecting clothing, medical supplies and tutoring and mentoring high-risk US children. I was really impressed by the enthusiasm of the volunteers and the continuation in their country, of their work in Guatemala. Even more impressive, is that there are just 27 Guatemalan employees (19 of whom are graduates of the program itself….meaning poor kids who decided to help those who are poorest).
Finally, I would like to speak about the Ecofiltro, which is a locally produced invention, tested and certified by MIT, which the Association Guatelmalteca for the family, tries to promote and give away to the poorest family. This water filter, at a very low cost, allowed a family to “clean” 2 litters of the dirtiest water per hours, and after study, reduce the illness of kids below 5 years old by 50%. These families cannot afford to buy purified water and the infantile mortality is quite high. This project has been running for more than 15 years, but so far stayed on a rather small scale. The dream will be to be able to build a factory to produce them, in order to reduce the cost and be able to give the filter away (or minimal cost). Every human being has the right of pure water and it should be the base of any humanitarian project as LIFE depends from Water.
YOU COULD SEE WHERE I AM GOING!!!
As many of you offer to help me in my Humanitarian mission, I would like to give you several options where I would be extremely grateful of your financial support and help. Some of you will receive another email, more targeted as I try to make it easy for your participation.
For example, whose of you who are living in the USA, will be receiving an email of project which are taxes deductible (501 (c), or my friends from Christie’s another email for a donation in order to make Christmas more special for the Casa Alianza Children.
In any case, please look at these different projects and let me know which one speaks to you. Before sending money, make sure to reply to me as I will PERSONALLY make sure that the money will go to the right place. Your help could be done as a Christmas present OR could be done later (beginning of 2004), as help is always needed. But I will rather supervised your gift before my departure (May 2004). Thank you.
. Asociacion obras socials del Hermano Pedro: This is the Hospital for handicap persons which I mentioned earlier.
They definitely need help. (Look on: www.obrashermanopedro.org ) Payment could be made in Switzerland, Italy and USA.
.A more personal project: using my usual “network” ability, I would like to raise money to buy Water filters ($ 20!!!) and give them to the families helped by the God’s child project. You could be sure that your help (giving pure water) will go the poorest and more needing families. THAT WILL BE MY ON-GOING PROJECT UNTIL MAY 2004.
. You could give Christmas’ presents:
(Through the God’s Child Project) To the children with cancer and AIDS in the Roosevelt hospital in Guatemala City
To the 65 returning refugee children (COAIDDES Mayan Rights Project)
To the 65 physically, intellectually challenged boys and girls of the Hermano Pedro School for Special students
. You could give (for $ 140) a “healthy” hard floor to cover the mud soil of the poorest house, in order to reduce the risk of contamination, bacteria and death of children. (Through the God’s child Project)
. Finally, you could become a God Mother or God Father of one of the kids, and with little money, make a huge difference for many of them (See www.godschild.org ).
ONCE AGAIN, SORRY FOR THIS QUITE LONG EMAIL. Thank you in advance for your help and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Thank you for your Friendship and support, which are incredibly helpful to me throughout this time living with the people in the need.
Once again, I am leaving for the Benedictine Monastery, where I am taking some time off, in order to relax and think a little bit. Beautiful place, lost in the middle of the mountains BUT very cold.
Sincerely Yours
Ghislain
