Home Visits and Football with the 'Muchachos'

Yesterday:

We had all the workshops translated and the list of borrowers ready. Now was the time to visit the homes of each potential borrower and invite them personally to the workshops. The school at La Limonada and the homes are two different worlds altogether. When you enter the school you can see colorful classrooms and adorable young children(3-5 years of age) having fun in activities organized for them. First, they have a bath and brush their teeth. Then they are given their meal. After the meal they are told stories from the bible, they color on drawings portraying biblical characters and they play fun games. The older children have other activities such as psychological exercises,  stories from the bible and fun games of course. Tita is trying her best to discipline the children coming to her school. She makes sure that when the children wake up every morning they are excited to come to her school.

On the other hand, the houses in La Limonada are very small and each had a distinctive odor to it. Surprisingly all the homes had televisions and sufficient lighting. Every home had a bed and consisted of several articles such as mugs, soft toys, old worn-out speakers and a wooden  cupboard. Every house had posters on its walls. Some were of music bands and some were of disney cartoons.  The people we met were very kind and of course loved Tita very much. When the lady of the house sees Tita knocking her door, she smiles as if she has all the happiness in the world.I guess it is hope for a better life that Tita brings to everyone. The women we met were involved in several money-making activities. One lady made food everyday and sold it on the streets and the other made beautiful jewelry from locally obtained stones. There is potential for them to expand their trade, so far the scope of micro-finance seems promising.

After visiting homes we all went to Tita's house. I have never been to a house as lively as hers. Santi's words describe her life in the best way, ' Beauty in Simplicity '. I wouldn't say that her house was well kept but most people from Lemonade International, the NGO working in La Limonada, stay there. They all work in La Limonada during the day and cool off at Tita's place. The two kids, Nathan and Grace, make the house enjoyable and energized. Spending a couple of hours in that house was one of the most refreshing experiences I have had in Guatemala so far.

Today:

After visiting homes and the school (outside La Limonada) where we will be holding the workshops, we felt pretty confident about our goal. So we thought we would just go to the school in La Limonada  today and help everyone there. In fact Sofia, our friend from UNC living here in Guatemala, came with us today. It was an eventful morning. Santi and Sofia were translating biblical stories and other activities organized by people from Arkansas. Sarika was helping Sofia and I was with the young children tickling them, coloring with them and participating in all the fun activities that were organized for them. The biggest challenge I face is my inability to speak and understand Spanish. Many a time a child asks me something in Spanish and I am unable to answer him. But with whatever Spanish I speak we all seem to have a lot of fun.

Every Wednesday the Muchachos go to the park to play football. Usually its them against those who have come to help uplift La Limonada. Since I like to play football I volunteered to play against them. At first I was a little afraid thinking what if they play too rough or what if I get into a fight with one of them. But I was surprised to see that when it came to football they were very sporting and fair. They made sure while they enjoy the game others did too. This was the first time I got to interact with them on a personal level. It was all with smiles and handshakes. I am looking forward to play again next Wednesday. They were really good at the game!

I back home for now thanking God for giving me this opportunity to come to Guatemala, meeting such amazing people, and having such a great expreience. The best part is that there are still 5 weeks to go and so many new things to experience. Guess all those meetings, planning, grant-writing back at UNC has paid-off of for all of us.