Reflections on Vulnerability

As this trip is coming to a close, I can’t help but think about the challenges that have been faced, and the impact of our time here. A major thing that I have learned during this experience is the value of vulnerability. Although I have travelled quite a bit, I have never been on a service trip before, which has been a totally different experience for me. From the moment I have gotten here, I have felt vulnerable but in different ways. It isn’t the kind of vulnerability you feel when you’re a tourist in a new place, figuring out the ways of transportation and pushing yourself to speak the language, but rather the feeling you get when you’re standing in front of a huge audience waiting to give a speech. Here I feel vulnerable when I try to speak Spanish because I’m afraid I won’t seem to know what I’m talking about. I feel vulnerable that I can’t know exactly what the community is thinking about me. I feel vulnerable because I hate any kind of public speaking and teaching classes gives me a little anxiety. I feel vulnerable because I can’t relate to their culture, and have no idea how my presence will affect a community. Finally, I feel vulnerable because I don’t have all of the answers. When we leave here there is no telling what will happen to Chaquijyá, how it will develop and what its people will become. We leave here not really knowing if we did harm or good, and there’s really nothing that we can do about that. We can look back, like we did today, and come up with ways to create more sustainable and effective (successful) programs, but right now we are living in the present. What good can we do if we are just leaving like the rest of them?

 I think we challenged the people of Chaquijyá to be vulnerable too, which I hope was a good thing. When we came here they went out on a limb to introduce us to their communities, their schools, and their children. I might have felt vulnerable walking into a community that was foreign to me, but how vulnerable did they feel when they tried to communicate with me and let me teach their classes? They didn’t have to welcome us, but they did. We took a chance to come here and they to a chance to welcome us into their lives. Had the vulnerability not been reciprocated, Manna would have never been able to accomplish what it has in Chaquijyá. Being vulnerable and proceeding anyway is what makes service and development work and I’m glad to have pushed myself out of that comfort zone.

- Nicole, Visage student 

Dental Health in Chaquijyá

I am in the middle of my third week at the Manna site in Sololá. I have spent the past week and a half serving in Chaquijyá, a 30-minute trip from Sololá in the microbus. Lucy and I have been teaching lessons on oral health to the students of Central, one of the two primary schools in Chaquijyá. My Spanish abilities are limited to say the least, and I have no previous experience in teaching, so it is safe to say my experiences thus far have pushed me far outside of my comfort zone. I am so appreciative of the sweet schoolchildren and teachers that accept my broken sentences and are so receptive to our lessons.

My research project focuses on the current state of dental hygiene among schoolchildren in Chaquijyá, so I was very excited about the opportunity to teach classes on a related topic. During my brief time here it has become evident that the currently poor state of oral health is a health concern on many people’s minds. When Ginny Savage, one of the supervisors at the Manna site, asked the directors of the Chaquijyá schools what services they would like to see Manna provide, one director requested the distribution of toothbrushes to all of the schoolchildren. Upon interacting with the schoolchildren, I immediately noticed the poor condition of their teeth– beyond the significant discoloration of their teeth, many children have numerous teeth that exhibit visible decay.

To my surprise, the children of the classes we have taught already know a significant amount about proper dental hygiene practices – most are familiar with the generally accepted practice of brushing teeth twice a day (morning and night) with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Given more time, it would be interesting to investigate why, if not due to a lack of knowledge, poor oral health is the norm among children in the Chaquiya community. Is it primarily due to a lack of resources (toothbrushes, toothpaste, access to dental care), excessive sugar consumption, or some combination of the two?

I truly hope that, even though our time here is very short, the classes we teach will make a positive and lasting impact on the dental hygiene practices of some of the students and the teachers.

Dental Health Class with the 2nd graders

- Becca, Visage Student

Nutrition in Guatemala: Access vs. Resources

Guatemala is so beautiful - from the rolling hills and lakes, to the vibrant colored, diverse crops sold in the markets. The country seems to have it all. This reminds me how the majority of issues in Guatemala can be due to lack of access, not necessarily resources. 

For example, when I walk through the market, here in Solola, I am amazed at all of the fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, beans, spices, etc that are sold. They are grown here and sold here. So how can Guatemala have such high rates of malnutrition? And this is where I believe the lack of access versus the lack of resources idea comes into play.

It's not that the people lack fruits and vegetables, or other foods that provide necessary nutrients, but instead the people, especially the indigenous people, choose to sell those nutritious crops for more money, instead of keeping them for their own famliies. Nutritionally, fruits and vegetables are not as sustaining as items such as corn and beans. Therefore, families have historically made meals based on more filling foods that lack the nutrients they need. And this has become a part of their culture in the kitchen.

This can be seen in both the meal we had with the family in Tecpan, as well as with the cooking class meal we had in Panajachel last week. Both meals involved a "tamalito" or corn-based dough item. (I found this to be extremely filling.) It is also very typical to have multiple corn tortillas with every meal. Additionally, we had a corn-based soup at our traditional meal in Panajachel. Also typical is Atole, a corn-based hot drink, often served with cookies.

Keeping cultural sensitivity in mind, we must put ourselves in their shoes. Instead of blaming them for choosing unhealthy options, one must consider how tradition has shaped their decisions in the kitchen as well as how the market and poverty continues to shape their choices today.

Vegetables for sale at the Sololá market 

- Blair, Visage Student

Making Memories

This is a drawing of my two favorite girls from the first time I went to Cooperativa in Chaquijyá. Both of these girls were not in the class that we taught, but were eager to hang out with us. The class that we taught this day was on the importance of dental health. I was amazed at the amount of 6 and 7 year olds that already had rotted out teeth. We used a few examples with an egg and an apple to represent what happens to the tooth and its enamel when you don’t brush your teeth. The kids were incredibly receptive and were able to identify what foods and drinks are good and bad for your teeth along with the reason that they are bad for your teeth. This class was a little insane because school was cancelled the previous day, causing us to teach two sections of first graders together. However, the kids were still able to take a lot from the lesson and I was glad that we could give them handouts to take home on how to brush their teeth. I hate that we couldn’t purchase enough toothbrushes in order to give one to each child at the school, but hope there is a way that could be done so in the future.

This drawing in particular is of a photo I took of two little girls insisting on having a photo shoot. They had such colorful little personalities, pulling their friends in the photos or requesting to have their solo shots. I loved the outgoing and carefree spirit of these little girls and it breaks my heart that they will probably never have the opportunities that I have. This day was a great first day of breaking out of comfort zones and trying to make connections.  

- Nicole, Visage Student

Initial Programs

This trip has been one of a kind so far. Although I haven’t been out of the country many times, I already know this is a trip to remember. Guatemala is culturally such a different place; it’s awesome, interesting, and confusing all at the same time. The people are probably the best part for me. I love how the indigenous people are dressed in the traditional trajes, and they are incredibly friendly for the most part. It reminds me a lot of growing up in the South, because everyone smiles whenever they pass by. I also really appreciate how open most people are. However, there have been some instances when, especially older women, seem a little distant and shy from us. I attribute this a lot to the trust factor that we talked about a lot this semester. Maybe the women simply don’t feel comfortable with us, because they don’t know us or speak the same language as us, therefore, the trust is lacking. I see a lot of the things we discussed in class (Culture, Health, and Development in Guatemala) come through in the society around us.

The customs and traditions here are also very different to those that I am used to, and it has been a great experience going outside my comfort zone to learn how people here live, what foods they eat, and practicing their language. I like some of the customs a lot, and love most of the food, but there have been some things that I don’t love, but I’m sure there are also things that the people here don’t like about me as well.

It was really awesome getting to teach for the first time today! The first graders were very interested in learning, and they loved to color! I loved seeing their reactions when I told them they were right, or said “perfecto” when they brought a colorful paper up to me to check. I really do think that we taught the kids a lot about oral health, and how and when to brush their teeth. Although it was hard for some of the kids to understand, I think for the most part they get that sugar is bad for your teeth!

One of my favorite moments today was after we finished teaching when the teacher asked us to go over the alphabet and pronunciation of letters in English with her. It was so encouraging to see her motivation in learning English. Overall it was a great morning in Central, and I can’t wait to go back with our new and improved lesson plan on Tuesday. 

Recess at Central

- Lucy, Visage Student

Reflecting on Cultural Constructs of Childhood

We have now spent our first week in Guatemala. I am not sure what I expected my experience to be like, but being exposed to some of the effects of extreme poverty has greatly impacted me. Throughout the spring semester, we Visage students studied the history and culture of Guatemala, however no readings in the classroom can make quite the same impact as observing the consequences of centuries of oppression and racism in the field. As we have traveled further from Guatemala City, the quality of life has become lesser and lesser as the population become increasingly Mayan.

What has been most shocking to me thus far is the number of seemingly young children that work. The other day I was approached in a restaurant by 3 children, ages 7, 9, and 12, selling bracelets – “2 para 5 quetzales.” The young girls were dressed in traditional traje, and their youngest brother wore blue jeans and a t-shirt. The three had traveled to Panajachel from a neighboring community with their father to sell their goods. These three are just a few of the many children that I have observed working. At the market in Sololá, many young girls sit with their mothers selling fruits, fabrics, an assortment of consumer goods, etc. Adolescent boys serve as ayudantes on the chicken buses and microbuses, calling out stops, packing people into vehicles, and collecting travel fare. In Chaquiyá, I observed young boys assisting adult men in building projects and on milpa plots.

Although children in Guatemala are required to attend school through the 6th grade, many do not complete their primary education. Additionally, children are released from school midday, giving them the opportunity to work in the afternoons. The number of children that I have seen working in Guatemala has made such an impression on me because it is so different from what one sees in America. While children in America are generally not expected to work, children in Guatemala, it seems, work out of necessity. All of the children I have encountered thus far, even those who are working, have been truly special. Each of communities we have visited have been so colorful and so many of the people we have had the pleasure of speaking with have had such a light. I cannot wait to continue to learn about the culture of this beautiful country and hopefully make a positive and lasting impact on the communities in which I will serve.

Our new friends were full of smiles and laughter 

- Becca, Visage Student