New Hope

Today we began our trip to New Hope in the town of Chinoula, on the outskirts of Guatemala City. We woke up at 4:30 am and packed into our Voyager van. The drive wasn’t too bad because most of us fell fast asleep (some of us on the floor of the van), but those that were awake told us it was an absolutely beautiful drive. We arrived at New Hope around 6:30 am, changed into our workday clothes, shoveled down a quick breakfast and we were off. Renato was our guide; he helped us organize all our activities and our stay here and everyone seems to know and love him. Caroline and Jenner worked in the New Hope school for the morning, while the rest of us went to various clinics associated with El Proyecto de Salud Sangre de Cristo. This organization works in the various pueblos surrounding Guatemala City, providing preventative and triage medical care. They have about 90,000 “interactions” a year, which can include anything from handing out fluoride rinses, conducting pap smears or treating sore throats. We loaded in to Renato’s car and drove to the various locations to drop pairs of us off. I was to be by myself in one of the clinics. At one point, as we were winding up and down the roads, Renato saw a man he recognized drive by in a car. We stopped and he told me I should get out and go in this other car, that they would take me to the clinic. Confused, but excited by the prospect of something completely new and strange, I hopped in the back. I was immediately greeted by a barrage of smiles and laughter, just all around good feelings. The car was packed but everyone there seemed extremely happy to be going to work. It was at this point that I think I finally, completely woke up. I looked around and realized that I had no phone, knew none of these people, had no idea where I was nor where I was going and yet I felt completely at ease and excited to be traveling to a new place and make friends with new people. I went to work at a pueblo called Los Altos in a clinic the color of Pepto Bismol. It was a three room concrete building. Each person that worked there had there own room/ office, but the walls did not reach the ceiling so everyone could laugh, and gossip and talk all morning with each other from the comfort of their own space. The clinic had three workers, a nurse, a doctor and a pharmacist. I got to spend time with each of them and see what they do and how they run their clinic. I especially loved spending time with the doctor. She made a concerted effort to make sure I understood what was going on and even allowed me to try out what she was teaching me. I got to run multiple types of tests on pregnant women, including feeling for the baby and listening to its heartbeat. She also let me remove stitches from the arm of a young girl! She showed me how to do one and then coached my through the rest as I worked my way down her arm. I realized after that although I didn’t really do that much (it took about 3 minutes) it was incredibly exciting and interesting for me. I loved being in this clinic.

            In the afternoon we came together as a group again and ate at a local restaurant, Comedor Stephanie. We got a hearty meal of fresh tortillas, papaya juice and pepian with a strange meat all for Q16, or about 2 dollars. After lunch, we drove to a nearby town high in the hills to work with another off shoot of El Proyecto that works to reforest pueblos and help them with farming and agriculture. The town we passed through was pretty desolate and we learned that the population of this area were mostly indigenous Mayans. The town center had a large hut-like area that served as a place to wash and dry clothes. Mothers and children crowded around, washing clothes, selling snacks or just catching up on the latest news. We were there to work in the community gardens where help was needed fortifying the fences, cleaning up trash and raking/recycling old soil. We were told that 80% of the population in Guatemala lives like the people in this town- below the poverty line. Running water and electricity were generally non-exsistent; the majority of the buildings were abandoned or made of scrap metal and wood and crime and violence were rampant. Another 5% of the population lives in what is termed “extreme poverty,” or very well below the poverty line. There is virtually no middle class here in Guatemala, as Renato explained to us. The wealth distribution here is one of the most uneven in the entire world. There are the very poor and the ridiculously wealthy. About 2% of the population is extremely wealthy; these are the families that own the major export businesses such as coffee, fruits, alcohol, etc. It’s hard to think about sometimes and even harder to see without becoming angry and wanting to fix it.

            After a long day, we arrived back at New Hope to wind down for the night. The boys played soccer with a local group of school kids while we played with some of the younger children. I was amazed by their affectionate and warm disposition, even in the smallest of children. I remember being quite shy at this age so it was interesting to see so many kids so eager to talk to and play with strangers.

            Friday we spent the whole day in the New Hope School. We divided into two group and each went around to different classrooms meeting the children and leading them through a beading craft. It was easier for some than others and the slight language barrier made it challenging at first but we eventually got the hang of it. The kids here love to talk and play and laugh. I don’t think I have ever made that many friends in a single day than I did yesterday. They asked us about our lives in the US and absolutely LOVED looking at pictures that we had from our homes, families, etc. They also always wanted to know whether we “spoke Gringo.” School here is different from the US. It only lasts for half a day, from 7:30 am to 12:30pm, but there are some organized activities after lunch, almost like an after school program. We took a quick break for lunch and then went back down to the school to help out with an art project and then play an intense game of soccer. We left in the late afternoon, exhausted and dirty but with giant smiles on our faces. In all honesty, I didn’t want to leave. The kids and the people at El Proyecto were so kind and loving. I left feeling like I had made some great friends and knowing that this would not be my last time at New Hope.