Tangible project or relationship building?

Sometimes I wonder if I started on the wrong foot. I’m about a year into my service and, as such, I’ve really tried to reflect upon what I’ve done thus far and where I would like to go. The other day I was talking to the person I replaced in site to gain a better understanding of what she missed the most about her service and Canillá. She told me that the people, the play dates with children, the strength of the women who fought for their families while having so little; those were much more impactful than the “work” aspect of her service. It made me think, “What am I doing with my service?” Have I just been imposing my American work values and definitions of “success” on this incredible experience and opportunity to appreciate life in a new and exciting way?

In my defense, this past year has been quite interesting due to the election period. Women in communities stopped showing up for meetings due to fear of giving the impression that they were in support of the mayor when in fact they supported someone else. I also believe strongly in working with my co-workers. I could go out to communities by myself and start from scratch but, at least for now, my co-workers are very knowledgeable and workshops go much better when they are present with me. I continuously go back and forth between telling myself that I’m just making excuses and telling myself that I should stick true to the capacity building aspect of Peace Corps. Anyway, in lieu of community outings and workshops, my co-worker and I have been going full steam with the construction of a Cultural Center. Right now we’re about a month into the construction but we have had several delays due to transportation delays, weather, elections, etc. So currently the workers are putting up the metal rebar skeleton for the cement columns that serve as the support of the entire structure. But once again, after having that conversation about how the people truly make a service, I’m beginning to wonder if I went about all of this incorrectly. Have I sacrificed relationship-building opportunities for a tangible project? Perhaps I’m being too critical, but I think it’s important to analyze the past year in order to make a stronger effort to explore new realms in the next coming year. When I think of new projects, I tell myself, once the Center is done, I’m too busy now. I don’t want to go home thinking that I didn’t take full advantage of this opportunity. I guess sometimes it just gets so exhausting to be an outsider; I’d prefer to spend my free time holed up in my room working on “personal growth” or, let’s be honest, crossing off must-see tv episodes. As with everything in life, it’s about balance. (On that note, here’s a funny video clip about PC that I got from a fellow PCV’s facebook )


Hopefully I can balance the tangible and intangible successfully enough to finish my two years feeling satisfied and being able to tell new volunteers about what I miss the most after I have COS’d.

Election time

This past Sunday, on September 11th, Guatemala had its first round of elections. I say first round, because if a presidential party doesn’t reach over 50% of the popular vote, there is a second round of voting in November between the top two candidates. This is the first election of my life, where I was more concerned about the outcome of the local election than of the national election. (Just an aside, this whole experience is teaching me the importance of local politics and it will be a personal goal of mine to become more involved in and informed about local government when I return to the US). Because I work in the municipality, my second year of service is dramatically contingent upon the results of the local election.

The morning of the election I received word that a car carrying 16 people crashed coming down from a community in order to transport people to the urban center to vote. One woman died and fifteen were injured. A woman died because she wanted to exercise her right to vote. Apparently the breaks went out, but there are tons of rumors as to the “truth”. An opposing political party immediately took advantage of the situation and started telling people that the event was the perfect illustration of how the current mayor doesn’t take care of his people. I was immediately revolted by the ability people have to take something as serious as death and manipulate the situation into a political attack. I decided to spend the day in my room catching up on reading, tv shows and laundry. What I thought could have been a potentially dangerous day turned out to be fairly monotonous. Around eight at night, I decided to join my host family and watch the news as well as catch up on the gossip concerning the local election. According to my host mom, we would know the results by eight thirty. We watched as people went from one political party center to the next in order to enjoy free food. At around ten thirty, one political party center immediately began throwing fire crackers and yelling (that’s the way people typically figure out who wins – the winner throws a big party). It turned out to be a false alarm. What was strange about this election night was that it took incredibly longer than usual to know the results of the election. After some midnight munchies and chit chat, I finally decided to go to bed a little past one am. At around two am I received a phone call from one of my co-workers. The current mayor lost. Her tone of voice was a mixture of shock, sadness and fear. Not only did my co-workers candidate lose, she also essentially lost her job that night. When a new mayor is elected, the entire municipal staff is wiped out. During campaign season, candidates promise all sorts of jobs to family members and supporters. Therefore, my hardworking co-workers could easily be swopped out for a candidate’s sister’s friend who has no particular interest in women’s rights.

The next morning I awoke and my host family was ecstatic. Apparently, they were huge supporters of the new guy. “I’m going to have a job!” my host mom exclaimed. Since moving in, my host mom has expressed an interest in returning to work with women’s health. The fact that my host family was so happy made me think that perhaps things would turn out for the best with this new guy around. I expressed my concern for my project. Rumors and gossip are huge here, so I was particularly concerned of a rumor that people were trying to convince the new mayor to get rid of the Mayan Council (the community group I’ve worked closely with over the past months). My host family assured me that there was no need to worry and that anything I needed they would be sure to let this new guy know to give his support. In a land of false promises, I took their optimism with a grain of salt. Either way, my host mom has been suffering through a lot lately and it made me happy to see them full of hope and promise. Later in the evening, I had a two hour conversation with one of my co-workers to try and figure out a way she can continue her job at the municipality. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes but essentially she’s setting up a meeting with the new mayor and the Mayan Council in order to discuss the work that they’ve done for the community and how they’d like to continue to receive municipal support. That meeting is tomorrow, so I’ll keep you all posted. As for the construction of the Mayan Center, the current mayor informed us that he will continue to support us with the labor cost. Unfortunately, there are some loose ends with funding that I was hoping he’d pay for if he won but obviously I’ll have to go through with the SPA funding process in order to make sure we have enough funding to finish the construction.
I’m extremely curious about what my job will be like after January 14th when everything gets formally passed over to the new mayor. I continue to repeat the same mantra I’ve inculcated into my brain over this past year “everything happens for a reason”.

Sometimes you forget

Sometimes you forget:

The importance of the work that you’re doing

That you’re in an amazing country full of beautiful landscapes and people

The importance of celebrating small successes

The happiness that is brought by living a simple life

The talent and wisdom of others

The incredible feeling of accomplishing a goal

How to appreciate the present

That you don't know what you've got until it's gone

Let’s help one another remember.

Asking permission from the earth to start our project!

So we’ve officially initiated our project, I’m a little hesitant because so much of our materials are still in the process of being delivered. But the construction workers are out there doing what they can. It’s incredible to think that we’ve started, I still feel in some sort of denial, like it’s not really happening. On the 12th of August we had a Mayan Ceremony to ask permission from the sacred earth to build. According to the spiritual guide, the sacred flame was weak which means that many people in the community do not see the value of the Mayan culture and that with this project it will be able to grow. That's definitely one of the goals of building this project and hopefully we can keep this rich culture alive through the activities that we plan on conducting within the Center. After the flame went out, the spiritual guide blessed the head mason and then asked the mason to walk the perimeter of the soon-to-be-built Mayan Center, he blessed the ground in a way similar to a priest blessing the congregation with holy water. Afterwards, it was incredibly wonderful that the Mayan Council collected the little money they have to prepare a snack for everyone, black bean tamales called Siete Camisas (7 shirts)and coffee.



Perhaps when the columns get put up it will start to hit me. Either way, it’s been quite the challenge arranging all of the moving parts – coordinating with various private companies to get donations. I’m doing the fundraising in an atypical manner. Those of you who know me personally, know that I’m not one for waiting to solve the maze of bureaucratic red-tape that surrounds all government processes (a little odd seeing that I now work for the government) but I know that there are tons of private companies that have plenty of left over materials, profits and willingness to give a little in order to fund community projects. I’m a big believer that companies should incorporate social giving into their strategic plans and company culture, so why not put that belief into practice?

Thus far we’ve raised money or materials from:

Cementos Progresso (Guate) – donated all cement and cal (lime in English) for the project ~ $2,500 USD

Megamart Supermarkets (US) - $2,000 USD (Gerson Lopez, who authorized the donation, is from Guatemala and currently lives in the US)

BIC Corp (as in BIC pens, lighters, etc) - $1,000 USD

PROMUDEL (an institution that works on municipal development and strengthening citizen participation, they’ve committed to give the equivalent of $1,000 USD, but because it’s not a private company it’s been a bit of a pain to coordinate…but we’re grateful nonetheless!)

We’re in talks with Grupo Macro Guatemala to see if they can donate the lamina and costaneras (roof materials) ~ $1,200 USD

And of course wonderful individuals who have given what they can to help support the project through a non-profit I founded in 2008 called Global Connections for Change.

So for all those PCVs or future PCVs out there that want to fund projects but there isn’t a blanket NGO or organization that can fund it all…hustle and don’t forget the importance of private companies! Also be patient, personally, this process has been incredibly stressful with lots of ups and downs but slowly it all come together (shout out to all those people who have supported me when I’ve sent out emails of frustrations, worry and doubt). Peace Corps could have also helped with donations but due to timing, I have not utilized them as a funding source but certainly hope to do so with future projects. Of course, anyone is free to contact me if they’d like to know more or brainstorm how to raise funds for your own projects!

Politics and Projects – A Never Ending Rollercoaster

As I’ve expressed many times in this blog, it’s election season and things in my municipality are getting extremely hectic as election day is only six weeks away. As most of you know as well, the Mayan Council and I have been working since February to start the construction of the Mayan Educational Center. Perhaps this blog post is for my own personal benefit to vent, but I’d just like to explain a little bit about how taxing the process has been thus far.

First challenge: collecting bottles. When I first presented the idea of using bottles filled with trash, nobody believed that it was a good idea; they thought the Center would fall over and it would stink of trash. After convincing them that it was possible through videos and pictures, we set forth asking all schools and directors for their support. As posted in my last blog post, we are just now reaching our goal of 7,000 bottles…this process alone took 7 months.


Next challenge: getting the land. Of course you can’t build anything if there’s nowhere to put it! We knew we wanted to build the Center in the urban center because this is where most people convene from all the communities and it’s also important that the Center be built where there is a large ladino presence because we want them to utilize it as well. After speaking with the mayor, we finally decided where it could be built. The land itself isn’t owned by the municipality, it’s owned by a community association that gives land to projects that benefit the community. Where we “finally” decided to construct the building, was not where the community association wanted the Center to be built. Then, for real this time, we decided on a location. You’d think in a couple weeks you could get the document that certifies that the land has been transferred to the Mayan Council. False. Before the association agreed to make up the documentation we had to tear down an existing building and some shack looking things. That takes what, a week right? Wrong. Three months later it got done. When we asked the Mayor what was taking so long he said he was waiting for us to bring the building materials. We then had to explain that we can’t bring any building materials until we know 100% that the land will be in the name of the Mayan Council. So, naïve me, thinking that this was all that was necessary to get the land title asks for the document the next day. Turns out that in order to receive the document, the Mayan Council has to get 100 signatures from people in the community to show that people support the decision of transferring the land. Today, five months after initially asking for the land document, I have a copy of the land title.



Fourth challenge: fundraising. Fundraising is always a challenge; it’s rarely easy to have $10,000 USD fall on your lap. In certain cases, you find an NGO that does exactly what you’re trying to accomplish and they fund the majority of the project but this is an exception. My family, friends, fellow PCVs, RPCVs, etc have been incredibly supportive and helpful in this process. I originally thought one company was going to fund 80% of the project through their social branch, but this fell through and for the past month I’ve been scrambling to find $8,000 USD. I’m happy to say that with the support of everyone, we’ve been able to raise $6,000 USD. Thank you to those amazing people who have helped along the way!! We’re almost there.
Fifth Challenge: Construction date and elections. Since we’re so close to our goal, we were all discussing the possibility of starting in August. We’re all eager to get the project started and know that if we lose motivation then we’re screwed. Right now it’s the height of the political season. The mayor wants to start building asap because it will look like this project is his project and perhaps he can win some votes off of the building. But, if the mayor loses then he could decide to stop paying the laborers because he doesn’t have money or because he lost interest or who knows what could happen. Everyone here thinks the mayor will win and that we should take him for his promise that he’ll complete the project. I know damn well that political promises are usually empty and he’ll say anything to get this thing started. At the same time, the municipality is providing labor, transport, has supported us with the transport of the bottles, and can provide for any other little thing that happens along the way; so we can’t do this project without their support. Also, depending on who wins, the new candidate could have no interest in promoting the Mayan culture and decide that he doesn’t want to help out.

So what do we do? All options have their consequences and I’m trying to do my best to weigh the options and figure out the best and safest plan of action. It’s an incredible learning experience and this is probably the first time where I really have to be stern with people instead of doing my best so that everyone likes me. When people wonder, why is Peace Corps two years, that’s way too long…it’s because these things take an incredible amount of time. The building process will only take a couple months, but everything leading up to it…takes forever! Imagine if PC were just a year, I would be forced to start construction now because I’d be leaving in October. And I was worried that PC wouldn’t have opportunities to cultivate leadership experience, silly me!

A reminder about why I'm in Peace Corps

There are certain days throughout your service when you’re reminded…this is why I’m here. When those days happen, you’re on top of the world; suddenly, all of those moments of frustrations disappear as a smile appears across your face. Today was one of those days.

After lunch a former co-worker of mine, Alex, invited me and Juana (one of my counterparts) to his classroom to pick up some eco-bricks. As all of you are aware of, I’m in the midst of constructing a Mayan Educational Center which will be made primarily out of eco-bricks (plastic bottles stuffed with trash). Our community is in charge of collecting about 7,000 to 8,000 eco-bricks. Alex had told me that his class was going around collecting bottles and I remember being frustrated because they were not coordinating with me. I had no idea when they were collecting the bottles and most importantly part of my job was to go around to the schools to teach the children not just about eco-bricks but about the environment and the effects of trash. Eventually, I put all that aside and figured that I’d appreciate any help in the overwhelming task of begging people to stuff bottles.

As we entered the classroom we were asked to sit down and the students began a short presentation they had prepared for us. To my surprise, these students went incredibly above and beyond any expectation I had of their bottle collecting process. This class went around to 16 communities and the urban center and collected a total of 3,000 bottles! Not only did they collect all of those bottles but they used their creativity to teach all of the children about environmental preservation and the negative effects of trash in the environment! They dressed up as clowns to make it lively and entertaining for the children, one student used a magic trick of changing a 5 Quetzal bill into a 100 Quetzal bill as a metaphor for the potential everyone has to change the municipality for the better, it was awesome! Everyone in development work talks about how the goal is to work him/herself out of a job and this is precisely what happened! Here I was thinking I was missing out on an opportunity to educate children when these students had put together their own environmental education workshop that was phenomenal! I felt so proud! (Can’t you tell by all the exclamation marks!)

After the presentation, Alex asked a simple question, “Do you remember who told us we could make a building by using these plastic bottles?” Everyone looked around without saying anything. There was an awkward silence and someone in the Mayan Council mentioned that they had worked together to propose the idea of building a center but then Alex repeated the question again emphasizing the use of the bottles. Alex finally said, “Carolina!” at which point everyone understood the question and said “Oh of course! This wouldn’t have happened without Carolina.” It was great! At first, you may think it’s disappointing that they didn’t immediately say Carolina but I was glad that the Mayan Council referenced themselves first. Why? It’s their project!! I’m just a facilitator, I want them to own it, I want them to tell everyone how they built this amazing center not that some American came in and built it for them. I’ll never forget Senator McFarland’s advice when I was a trainee “you can never want it more than they do.” So true!

But I digress, we filled the entire trash truck with our 3,000 bottles and went picture crazy! The students were swimming in the bottles they were so proud of the hard work they completed. I, of course, was beaming with pride and taking pictures as well while emphasizing how awesome it feels to accomplish a goal and how anything is possible with teamwork. We rode through the town to the municipal salon where we are storing the bottles so the entire town was able to see the Mayan Council and their new-found bottles.




The community has been involved in this process 110%, I couldn’t ask for better collaboration and it was a good motivator on my part that I can’t let them down. I’ve been sulking about trying to find funding but now I’m pumped again and ready to continue the search to get this thing built!! (Shameless plug: donate here!! C’mon are you gonna spend $20 to buy dinner or are you gonna help empower the Mayan population!?)

Below is a collage of pictures but you can see more and in better quality if you check out my Facebook profile.

Politics as Usual – Staying Apolitical while working in the government

Yup, that’s right I am APOLITICAL. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to repeat this to people in my site recently. You see, this year is an election year and I have found myself in the most political environment I’ve ever experienced in my life. Not only are small town elections an incredibly big deal, but it’s even more of a big deal when you work with the local government. Unlike in the States, in my town, if another mayor gets elected they wipe out all municipal staff and start fresh. Whoever gets elected mayor will fill all these new positions with people that he’s promised jobs to throughout his campaign. So, my “pilas” (hard working) co-workers will suddenly be replaced by such and such’s cousin or daughter of so and so who donated tons to the campaign and never mind if he or she is qualified or not for the position (nepotism at its best!). Aside from being incredibly frustrating, this process is incredibly unsustainable because all the knowledge that was acquired from previous staff members is lost in an instant. Documents are deleted and papers are shredded as the previous mayor hands off the municipality to the new mayor. Oh, let’s not forget to add chisme (gossip) to the mix as well! What better way to win an election than spread lies about the other candidates? Now, I’m not going to pretend that the electoral process in the US is perfect and candidates don’t spread lies about the other but I’d like to think in the US it’s more of a twisting of the truth than straight up lies (although now I’m thinking about our president having to show his birth certificate to shut up certain members of government so perhaps I’m wrong). Either way, it’s just a whole new level of gossip. Today I heard that if one candidate doesn’t win he not only is going to kill the candidate who wins but also kill himself because of the debt he has incurred over the past months. Two days ago, the national news station announced that the current mayor couldn’t run because he failed to turn in paper work (completely false) causing the mayor to have to run an emergency programming where he literally showed his paperwork on television.
Another tragic, but interesting, aspect of elections here is the voting process. Many people in the rural areas of Guatemala cannot read or write and the way people vote here is by using a pen to mark an “X” on the party symbol you want to win. You get four different colors of paper that represent a different level of election (president, mayor, etc). Writing an “X” doesn’t seem so hard right? Wrong! We did a workshop with a group of indigenous women and of the 20 women that participated, only 3 women voted correctly during our mock voting activity!! That means 17 votes would have been nullified. Obviously, this is only an issue in the rural, poor, less educated communities and it is precisely in these communities where they especially need to exercise their right to vote because they are incredibly under-represented in almost every way! We made fake political parties and some would draw that symbol within the square (i.e. a heart) or mark an “X” on the back of the page or pass the lines. I mean imagine, you’ve never held a pen in your life and you have to mark an “X” within a box. It’s like asking a two year old to color within the lines, it takes practice! Therefore, there’s lots of work to be done.
On a national scale, things are quite interesting as well. There’s tons of drama about the candidates. One candidate divorced her husband so that she could run because it’s illegal to be president if your spouse has served as president. One political party is under fire because two mayoral candidates have murdered candidates of other parties. Another candidate was heavily involved in the civil war and lord knows what sorts of atrocities he committed in the past. A lively crew! This morning I got to watch a little bit of the presidential debates and I was suddenly reminded of how church and state are so intertwined in this country. They were discussing homosexuality, gay marriage and adoption and almost all the candidates mentioned God and how in the Bible God only created man and woman, etc etc. I found myself getting more and more frustrated with the way questions were asked, the content of these questions and had to leave the room (why the hell are you cracking down on gay rights, do something about the safety and security of your country!!! NOOOO do not go back to just teaching children about abstinence only prevention methods!!!!) I’ll continue to take a deep breath and pause for a moment for the next couple months in order to remain sane.
In the meantime, I’m counting down for September 11th to get over with so elections can be over and done with (at least on a local level, and yes September 11th is election day here).