To be or not to be....

Yesterday was the last day of camp!  It was an eventful day because we had another guest visitor, Alberto, a friend of mine from Cuba who is a professional actor and artist.  He conducted two theatre workshops for the kids, first with the younger kids and then the older ones.  I was so impressed with how the students responded to the workshop because some of them are generally very shy and are hesitant to speak in public, but every single one of them participated, and it turns out that many of them are naturals!  In one of the activities the kids got to practice laughing and crying.  The sounds of laughter and sorrow filled the classroom as the kids poured their expression into the activity.  

With the older kids Alberto was able to create small scenes where each kid had to act out a scene by speaking with only one word.  Nicole and I had the opportunity to act out a scene in which she had stolen my boyfriend.  The only word I could use was “nube,” (cloud) and the only word she could use was “zapato” (shoe).  It was quite dramatic.  

It was so fun to be able to share theatre with the students, as it was always a passion of mine as a child.  Being given the opportunity to express oneself in a forum outside of the real world is magical, and as Alberto told the kids, theatre serves many purposes.  Being able to speak in public is an important skill to have in many professions, such as being a teacher or a doctor, which many of the students hope to be. 

After walking around the classroom, the students had to freeze into positions like statues.  

Acting out a scene as statues.

The kids created a story in a circle and each one was able to add a sentence or two to the story, which ended up being about a cat who fell out of a tree and broke his leg and went to the hospital and eventually died but ended up in heaven.  

The boys acting out watching a comedy.

After the theatre workshops we had our closing ceremonies, and some of the youngest girls decided they wanted to perform a dance with the panda masks they made in art class.  The dance ended up being more of a swaying back and forth, but nonetheless, it was adorable and entertaining. 

It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the kids, but we were all very excited to be finished with four weeks of camp.  It has taken a lot of work and energy, but it was a success full of many small moments of joy. 

Nicole, Ja, Maritza (local volunteer), Sarah, and Alberto.

-Jess

Sunday Snapshot: Central Camp

One thing I realized through the past two weeks of camp is that our camp is so much more than the classes we lead. Sure, it's important (and awesome) that the kids learned some English and how to take care of their environment. But camp also provides a time for the kids to just... be kids. Many of these kids would have been working if they weren't attending our camp. May I remind you that we held camp for grades 1-6... In the States, it's illegal for kids at this age to work. But in Guate, they don't have such restrictions.

As the sports leader, I had a jillion activities on hand for each day. But most of the time, the kids would rather play soccer. And why not?! As long as the kids have the opportunity to run around, get some exercise, I think it's perfectly fine for them to play soccer every day.

So, here are some pictures of Guatemalan kids just being kids. It fills my heart with joy to see these pictures, and I hope you'll feel the same way :)

The kiddos laughing in English class,

Playing tag,

Posing for the camera,

And modeling their animal masks from art class.

All of us doing the "Hokey Pokey" for the parents on Thursday.

 All of this could not have been possibly without our volunteers. Emilia and Ana (pictured below) were both native to Central, and it was so amazing to get to know them as they helped us out. On Wednesday and Thursday, they each had us to their houses for lunch. In this way, we were able to eat some traditional Guatemalan food and see more of Central, beyond just the school. It was such a wonderful experience!

All of us with Emilia (left) and Ana (right).

Here's to two weeks in Cooperativa!

-Nicole

Sunday Snapshot

I can't believe it's already the 4th week of camp! Urban Week!

Building our own cities in Science!

Making graffiti in art!

The girls' team after the epic dance off! (video is embedded 2 posts down)

A Crow's Eye View

Today's blog post comes to you again from Brendan Crow. Brendan has been with us for the last four weeks helping us run our summer camp program. He has been instrumental in both the Science and English programs, and has evened out the boy to girl ratio, probably for the first time in Manna's history. Brendan, it's been a pleasure, we'll be sad to see you go next week! Come back and visit soon!
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During my travels through Guate, my goals were simply to practice the Spanish I was learning and find a feasible way to stay in Guatemala for the near future. Then, a friend of mine gave me a lead with Manna Project in Guatemala and the timing couldn't have been better to help run their 5 week summer camp program. Now I'm living with 3 fantastic people that make up the heart and soul of MPI Guatemala. It has felt like I joined the family for a month to get a taste of the good life. Since living in Sololá, I've been able to use my Spanish in the daily routines here from navigating the market to preparing lesson plans for the week.

As for the summer camp, I've rediscovered my youthful days, though only half the energy I used to have. Soccer, basketball, and the all-time-favorite cat and mouse game (Gato y Ratones!) have brought me back to the treasured days of after-school programs. We have pick-up soccer or basketball before camp begins in the mornings, then class begins. I specifically help with Science and English. The purpose of science is learning through experiments. Lots of experiments. All planned around the ecosystem of the week, we've had a test of floatation in freshwater vs. salt water, smell tests of foods found in the rainforest, and even a semi-realistic version of quicksand (no kids were lost in the quicksand). This week we're in the Urban Ecosystem and decided to design a city made of paper.

The strategy of providing the hands on activities for the kids applies to English as well, however, with Roberto as the lead teacher I play more of a supporting role through lesson planning and assisting in the classroom. All of the kids have had 1 or 2 classes of English in the past, so after reviewing fruits and numbers through games of papa caliente (hot potato), Roberto and I decided to create a market in the classroom with fake money and real fruit. Turned out to be a huge success, and reminded me a little of what I felt like the first time in a Guatemalan market.

The past four weeks have flown by, and I'm sure the last one will too. Camp has been great, and I've had the bonus of attempting Kaqchikel at the same time as Spanish. In a couple weeks, I'm onto see more of the country before heading home, but I consider myself lucky to have found this group for the short-term.


All the best,

Brendan

Stomping the Yard: Dance Off 2011

Cast your vote for the winner in the poll on the right!

Sunday Snapshot

It's Oceans week at Summer Camp in Chaquijyá!

Delia learning about food webs & ocean salinity.

Making beautiful kites in art class with Emily

Bayron was plankton is our oceans-themed, and food web inspired game of cat and mouse.

Sunday Snapshot

Environmental Day at summer camp!

Our partner org, AMSCLAE, giving their presentation!

Josue & Jaime showing off their new plants!

Adventures in Summer Camp

Exhibit A

While students in the US are gearing up for the final push until the winter holidays, MPI Guatemala has commenced summer camp. This is the second year of summer camp, which runs three mornings a week for 5 weeks.  With only 2 PDs and a Country Director, the weeks leading up to camp were a flurry of successful recruitment that produced: Brendan, our new month-long housemate; and Roberto, a Guatemalan involved in our leadership course. We also recruited some part time help from Jared, an old PD; his girlfriend Sarah; and Jose, our favorite local English teacher.  Feeling more confident with 8 counselors, we began to plan themes and subjects for camp. Each week we are in a different ecosystem: desert, rainforest, ocean, urban, and artic. Every Tuesday the kids have science and art class. Wednesdays are then English and sports, and each Thursday is an all-camp activity.

Roberto asked to teach English, Cameron quickly claimed sports and Brendan was assigned science. Dana asked me if I wanted to teach art. This was definitely not because I was the only person left, but because she probably sensed my artistic creativity. I call your attention to Exhibit A.  Entitled Pu Pu Platter of Desserts, I made brought this masterpiece home in 3rd grade, and it has been featured prominently in my parents' house since. My mother, referencing the many layers of meaning in the piece, lovingly refers to it as the “PooPoo Platter.” Clearly I was up to the challenge.

After an intense brainstorming session, I decided to get all my arts and crafts projects off the Internet. Why recreate the wheel when there are perfectly nice ones online? So during desert week, my first project was making binoculars, an essential desert tool that allows you to see some sand that’s far away as opposed to the sand that’s right under your feet.

I also got to lead the first Thursday all-camp activity last week. I made a treasure hunt for the kids that took them all over their community. The idea was that they were lost on a desert island without food or water and to get food and water (nutritious and filling candy and juice boxes) they had to follow all the clues back to the treasure. There were a few things that I had failed to anticipate for this hunt: 1) these kids obviously knew their community and all of its “shortcuts” like the back of their hands where as I was only familiar with the main road. 2) children run very fast and don’t like to be told to, “WAIT UP!” by the gringa wheezing 30ft behind them. I wish I could say I handled everything with grace like when we were running through a cornfield and the kids, matter-of-factly, told me, “Don’t speak or the dogs will get you.” However, I cannot. There was a moderate amount of panicking on my part throughout the entire race, which none of my male counterparts seemed to share. I don’t know why that was. The one thing keeping me going was my conviction that we were going to win. I had designed the hunt myself and there was no way that Roberto and Brendan’s team was going to beat Cameron and my team. Much to my dismay and consternation, we did not win. How did my team lose the game that I had designed you might ask? Well, it wasn’t my fault. Obviously, the other team cheated.

 As our second successful week of camp draws to a close, I have begun to rethink career options. Is there such a thing as a professional summer camp counselor? While teaching during the school year is great, camp has proven even more fun and rewarding. All the kids at camp have signed up to participate and they genuinely want to be there, which is not always the case during the mandatory school year classes. These kids have made coming to camp a priority and fit their chores around it.  And while we are still teaching, the main objective is that everything is fun.  I just hope the kids are getting as much out of camp as I am.

-Emily

Hurdle #74926903

"Necessity is the mother of invention" -- Since the author is unknown, I will attribute it to Lori Scharffenberg who told it to me most recently.

Last week, the team and I were supposed to be laying by the water, talking development, and debriefing in beautiful Semuc Champey, but that didn't happen. This week, the principal of our school was supposed to deliver the sign-up sheets for our summer camp program, but he didn't show. And yesterday, I was supposed to be able take a bus down the mountain to Panajachel, but the rains persisted. Nothing in Guatemala ever happens how you think it will, but if I've learned one thing, it's how to think on my feet and accomplish things despite these daily hurdles.

Team Orange Iguanas from Summer Camp 2010

Hurdle #74926903:

School has ended for the year which means that our programs have also ended for the year (one of the biggest cons in the in-school vs. after school program debate). But no need to fear, our summer camp program, 2nd annual may I add, is coming up in just a couple weeks. As you may already know, last year we had 6 Program Directors and about 120 campers! Fast mental math will tell you that this is 20 campers per volunteer, and exhausting enough. This year we have 3 Program Directors and I can only imagine how many campers we will have due to last year's success. Nervous? I was too.

I've been stressing over the situation at hand, especially when I picture 120 rowdy kids charging the three of us. However this actually presents the perfect opportunity to get our butts in gear and jump start a new program. Instead of solely soliciting in-country help, why not create a leadership and empowerment program for local Guatemalans? They receive training, act as counselors, and receive a notarized diploma at the end of the "course." I went back a reread my initial feasibility trip proposal in the midst of this chaos... You know, my naive preconceptions of what I thought I was getting myself into, and what my idea of success would be down the road. Well's here's what I had to say almost two years ago: "The goal is to educate the community to help themselves and teach them to build upon what they have learned towards their own economic, social, and political independence."

Thus it seems out of necessity we have found opportunity, and are suddenly working towards what I always thought community development should be, in more ways than one. Take us out of the picture, and educate to empower.

Until the next hurdle,

Mama D

P.S. Come help with summer camp from November 8th - December 8th!

Every End a New Beginning

This past Thursday we gave a presentation to conclude our six week summer camp themed Viaje Alrededor Del Mundo (Trip Around the World).  We invited all our campers' parents, prepared a video showing the camp's activities, and proudly displayed the students' artwork and past science experiments. The director of the school spoke, as did many parents, applauding the work we had accomplished thus far and looking forward to future programs in the community.  A survey completed by parents showed that 100% would send their child to camp again, 75% said it was worth more than what they paid (about US$1.50 for all 6 weeks), and 88% said that their children told them they had fun.  That was great to hear since 100% of us would run camp again.  Though sometimes stressful, we had an absolute blast.

As we close out our programs for this year, we can't help but be excited to get back to work when we return.  More good things to come!  We'll also post a shorter version of the video over the holidays when internet is lightening fast.

Help yourself to some visuals:

Stuffing bottles with trash in science class to use as cement blocks.

Proudly displaying all the kids' work in art class.

Showing our appreciation to all the campers and parents.

Happy Holiday Season!

We're Thankful For YOU.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Down here in Sololá we're gearing up for our sixth and final week of camp already!  How time flies.  Enthralling and exhausting all in one, camp has turned into quite a hit.


                       Here's to another 8 months...

                                                                          ...Ready. Set. Go. 

Mamabear,

Dana

Full House

One of Manna Project International’s founding tenets is to foster communities of young adults and encourage them to use their passions and education in service to communities in need. In accordance with this mission, the organization has campus chapters at 11 universities which not only raise awareness for international issues and fundraise for MPI programs, but also that send groups of students to live and serve at MPI’s three permanent sites during their spring and summer vacations. 

This March, MPIG will host 2 groups of 10 volunteers from Vanderbilt University and University of Georgia who will stay with us for one week each. Later in June and July, we will have 8-10 summer volunteers who will live with us for 4 or 8 weeks.

This past week, MPIG and I were fortunate to have a taste of life with short-term volunteers as we were joined by five wonderful people who lived with us and helped out at camp. Hailing from Colombus, Ohio, Jason Kluk-Barany and Sean McGrew arrived at the MPI house after travelling throughout Latin America for the previous month. With no hesitations, they jumped right in helping with the Art and Sports programs at our summer camp. So helpful and energetic (they even cleaned our kitchen!), we were so sad to see them leave after a week.

Dana’s friend from Engineers Without Borders in Ecuador, Mark “Marco” Rohan, also stayed with us for a week. He is also on a month-long Central American vacation from his job as a mechanical engineer, testing weapons and completing system improvements for the Navy. Definitely a smart cookie, he assisted our Science program and even led his own class about water filtration. He left on Friday to climb the highest mountain in Central America, Tajumulco, with Dana and continue on with the rest of his adventure.

We were also fortunate to be joined by Chris Barry. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Chris currently works for the non-profit organization Hug it Forward dedicated to both the environment and education system in Guatemala. Normally stationed in the Alta Verapaz region, Chris came and helped run a special program at camp, in which we focused on the importance of recycling and environmental responsibility. The campers watched an episode of LIFE, did fun crafts with recycled bottles, learned about bottle schools and stuffed their own bottle with trash. At the end of the program, numerous campers approached Chris and us with questions about bottle schools and recycling. We were so glad to have Chris present to help motivate the campers about environmental stewardship.

Finally, our last volunteer Kate Bennett will be staying with us for a total of three weeks. After farming her way through Argentina with WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), Kate received a grant from New York University to research non-profit organizations working with indigenous populations in Guatemala. She is also writing a blog for Idealist.org, a website that allows non-profit organizations from around the globe to exchange resources and identify supporters and volunteers. Our 7th roommate for 3 weeks, Kate has brought a new spark of enthusiasm and optimism to the house. She has not only provided much needed manpower and energy for our summer camp programs, but she has also contributed valuable insight on upcoming projects and we are so thrilled to have her staying with us.

After five months of life here in Guatemala, I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see our work through five fresh sets of eyes. The past week has really re-energized our mission, work, and general everyday life. To our five new friends, we cannot thank you enough, and we miss you! To all our future short-term volunteers, can’t wait to meet you. Insert cheesy friendship quote here, I can’t bear to choose just one.

Ginny and the MPIG team.

Un Viaje Alrededor Del Mundo

This Tuesday marked the launch of our summer camp "un viaje alrededor del mundo con Manna Project" (a trip around the world with Manna Project).  For six weeks, we will be leading 115 first through sixth graders from the Central primary school through educational activities in English, science, art, and sports, as well as community projects once a week.  Borrowed from everyone's favorite 90s game show, Legends of the Hidden Temple, the students are divided into four groups based on age: the Purple Parrots, Orange Iguanas, Green Monkeys, and the Silver Snakes.  While these groups have undoubtedly created enthusiasm among the kids, we seemed to have forgotten that the alliteration didn't translate (Silver snakes = serpientes plateadas, orange iguanas = iguanas anaranjadas... doesn't exactly have the same ring.)

Since this week's focus was North America, we kicked off yesterday morning teaching the kids about Halloween and having a bobbing for apples competition between teams.  The kids laughed and cheered as their teammates dunked their entire heads into buckets of water trying desperately to win for their teams.  

Other highlights of the first week include:

1) Karen's team of first through third graders chanting "monos morados" (purple monkeys) instead of their actual name, the loros morados (purple parrots).  Apparently they like alliteration too.

2) When asked "Who knows what continent we're on?" One little boy eagerly raised his hand and shouted "CHAQUIJYÁ CENTRAL!!!"  Other answers included Mexico and Spain.

3) Jared and Hudson acting as the kids' volleyball net after the school principal hid the actual net the day before to keep it safe.

4) A refusal by one second grader to make a dream catcher in art class because he swore he didn't get bad dreams.

After such a crazy first week, we can't wait to see what the next six week have in store.  Until next time!

Serendipity

As often as it feels like we’re living in the epicenter of “hurry up and wait,” from time to time the opposite happens and problems solve themselves overnight.  There’s that rare day when a week’s worth of frustrations are suddenly put in their proper perspective, and solutions materialize from the red clay of the Guatemalan countryside.  I’d like to share two such vignettes with you, to briefly illuminate a sliver of our good fortune.

Women’s Cooperative

                In the past month, I’ve grown increasingly interested with branding and selling Guatemalan artisan goods in the States. There are certain products that defy the cheap and touristy stereotype, products that could be marketable in the States.  But that conviction was as far as I got.  Then I caught a bus to Chichi (the largest market in Guatemala) on a whim to spend the afternoon taking photos.

After stopping for coffee, I was encouraged by the barista to visit a nearby fair-trade cooperative.  Getting there required you to walk through a hotel lobby, up a flight of stairs, and out onto their parking deck – not the kind of place you stumble into.  But there it was, my obscure vision actualized.  Here was my model.

                Later that week, some of my co-workers were having a meeting in a nearby middle school.  After they finished and just as they were leaving, two women stopped them, imploring their help in translating a business email.  The women who stopped them were members of a self-run artisan cooperative, only minutes from where I work.  What I wanted to incubate already exists.

The organization’s already there, a trail’s blazed for me to follow – and here, for two weeks, I thought the idea would only exist in my mind.  What follows remains to be seen, but unexpected doors continue to open.

Summer Enrichment Program

                We’ve been working for the past month to have a summer program ready to launch when the kids finish school in mid-October.  We had our itinerary and logistics decided, but couldn’t find a place to hold the camp.  There just aren’t buildings big enough where we work, and we understood that the local schools were not an option.  We were only a month from launch with no ideas what to do next.

Then, during the meeting mentioned above, our team inquired as to the availability of the middle school for our summer programs (keep in mind that this was only a meet-and-greet in a different neighborhood than the one we currently work in).  Still, they extended us their facilities. Later that afternoon, we found another space in a building we thought was abandoned that we can use for future programs –adult classes, library, after school program – everything, an ideal location.

Each of these experiences offered a needed dose of encouragement.  Often, as we're busy planning future programs or trying to teach English, it's possible to lose sight of why we're here.  Certainly my perspective becomes too narrow.  But then these warming moments occur, moments when the clouds clear and the view glistens in wide swathes all around, moments when I’m certain that I’m doing what I ought.  It's a bit like serendipity.

Warmly,

  Hudson