Sunday Snapshot: We Want YOU!

Except instead of the US Army, we want you to join our non-governmental organization that serves Latin American communities. 

...Close enough?

In all seriousness, Program Director applications are currently being accepted for the 2013-2014 year! If you are looking for the opportunity of a lifetime, you should definitely consider becoming a PD in Guatemala (the best site...), Ecuador, or Nicaragua. When else can you adopt a completely new culture, play with the cutest kids in the world, learn a new language (or two, if you come to Guate!), and gain non-profit experience, all while making a real impact in a Latin American community?

Let me let you in a little secret, this experience is hard to find anywhere else. Sure, there are a cornucopia of different orgs that will allow you to teach English in some far away country. (And yeah, they may even pay you.) But the experience I've had here in less than 3 months is worth so much more than any amount of money I could gain by teaching a language I already know.

While I do teach English here, that's not where my work ends. We are encouraged to build relationships with people in the community, attend extremely interesting cultural events like parades and celebrations, and make new programs/modify existing ones.

To me, that last part is the most exciting. I came here in July with the intention of creating new programs. While that is definitely in the process, it has also been very rewarding to be asked to assess the work that has already been done here. At training we discussed a little bit about what it means to be in international development/community development, and since then I have been observing how our work here fits in with that definition. We are all continually discussing what we can do better, what can change, what should remain the same. We are excited to create our own community survey to ask Chaquijyá what they see as their biggest needs we can/should address. We are talking with other local organizations about how we can partner with them and therefore make a bigger impact in the area.

This experience has certainly been challenging, but in a truly beautiful way. I am being challenged and in turn challenging our approach to the way we do things. I feel empowered to make a difference, and therefore I will be empowering others in various ways-- whether through teaching them how to better take care of their children, filter their water, how to respect the environment, how to start or run a business, etc. I can't think of anything more beautiful :) And I cannot wait to see where we all stand when my time here is through in August 2013.

Won't you help us continue the great work we're doing?

I hope you do. :)

-Nicole

Tell Me What You Really Think

I attend general assembly meetings in Chaquijyá monthly to share with interested attendees MPI's current happenings and ask for suggestions and/or questions. Generally I get polite nods and blank stares, followed by an applause as I exit the stage. Today there are about 200 people, men, women and children, and most of them are talking all at once in everything from a whisper to a shriek. Yes, the meeting has started, but you wouldn't know it. I always wish I spoke/understood Kaqchikel, but now more than ever (although I'm sitting on stage wearing a shirt that says "peanut butter jelly time," so yes, I'm still thankful for the language barrier). Finally, the woman sitting next to me explains that they're fighting about a bridge that's being built. She tells me that two sectors--Saloj and Julajuj--do not want to support the project.

So it appears Chaquijyá is split into teams by last names, like color war at summer camp. In fact, in Chaquijyá, you have a team even before you have a first name. If it were real color war, the teams would go something like: green Gonzalez, silver Saloj, yellow Yumil, purple Palax... but I digress.

Blue team huddle

People are speaking on behalf of their own clan, and following each speech, ardent supporters yell "aye!" as I imagine people did when writing the Declaration of Independence. Then come the wave of "nays" as if we're talking about reinstating Prohibition. 

What I've realized sitting here is that I want this. I want to talk about summer camp and hear a commotion brewing, I want to be berated with questions and concerns when I talk about teaching English, I want people to shout and scream, to aye and nay, to voice their opinion whatever it may be, because mainly I want people to care. Positive or negative, input means people care about the outcome, but it's easier said than done. You can't assemble a group of people and ask them to care, people need to choose to care on their own. So I will happily sit through these four hour meetings, understanding nothing, but happy hoping that with time they will yell at me, question me, and boo something I suggest... I'll also take positive feedback.

Dana

Do you have questions, concerns or feedback for us? Leave a comment!

Further Reading:
The Second Principle of Community-Based International Development: Process Matters
Effecting Change Starts with the Community by Noah Marwil
Spotting Community Ownership
Listening to People on the Receiving End of Aid

Manna Resolutions

Fireworks are a daily treat in Solola.

Happy New Years!  We’re thrilled to be going back to Guatemala soon, and after a great break we wanted to share with you some of the resolutions we’ve made as we tackle the new year.  As always, we invite your feedback, questions, and requests in the comments below.

MPI Guatemala Resolutions:

• Increase our Sustainability: sustainability was a key topic of conversation in group meetings as we wrapped up the year.  We’re increasingly cognoscente of our program’s abilities to equip residents to continue what we start and we want this to be a central part of our program pre-audit.  In English, that means the teachers need to teach alongside us, and the curriculum needs to be one they can repeat.  In other programs, that means a renewed emphasis on partner orgs and community involvement.

• Get a community center: The week of Dec. 5 we had a promising meeting about a new room that could be converted for a meeting space and library.  We have another meeting coming up and hope to have this space ready to build out by the time Spring Break volunteers arrive.

Where our boss Dana is right now.  Jealous.

• Show our volunteers why we love our job: We’ll have three spring break trips and two rounds of summer volunteers.  One of Manna's pillars is volunteer development, and we hope to foster an interest in community service and international development.  We want the volunteers who come to have a fun and moving experience abroad, and that takes preparation on our part.

• See more of this beautiful country: We need to travel more.  Less weekends around the house, less holidays catching up on work.  The work will always be there, but if the next six months fly by anything like the first six, we won't have much time to fit everything in.  If you’re in the area, come along, there’s Semuc Champay, Rio Dulce, Tikal, and much more.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, here's to an even better 2011.  All the best.

        -Hudson and the MPI-G team