St. Marks RC School
Since we began our project St. Marks Roman Catholic Primary School (SMRC) has been a prime focus of our attention. The school has 3 teachers in which one of the teachers is the principal Mr. Ac, he also is our neighbor and most trusted companion in Otoxha. There are 80 students in 6 Standards or in the U.S. called grades. The ages of the children are anywhere from 4 to 14.
In SMRC you find a very unique situation as the only government funding is the teachers salaries, and the Catholic Church only provides for chalk and furniture, all other expenses depend on the teachers salaries or their dependency on charity. The reason I believe the government only provides for salaries is due to the fact that in the Toledo District of Belize the Maya have communal land. This means Maya communities don’t pay taxes on the land they live on or their farms, they are thought of as Maya not Belizean land. Naturally I understand why funding from the government is very limited here in Maya Toledo but the educational situation of these communities is very tricky and can be costly for the teachers.
Another hamper on educational and socio-economic development of Maya Toledo is the cost of high school which as I said above gets very minimal funding from the government. The cost is $300 BZ a year or $150 US, which for families that mainly consist of subsistence farming is a very unrealistic cost for them to pay. So often youth which should be attending High School are home or on the farms working to help their families, instead of gaining an education which surely is the key to growth.
This is why Andra and I have taken it upon ourselves to focus on the development of SMRC and its youth. So far we have organized and painted the library; as long as it’s kept organized this will ensure easier access to subject based research in the school. We have also began writing and researching possible grants for SMRC including reaching our hands out to other NGO’s who’s specific purpose is educational development, this includes looking for scholarships for high school. Already we are organizing an end of the year party (or in Belize, marathon) which will include raffles and other games that will help fundraise for the 2011/12 school year.
We have a lot to work on still but I believe we are committed to seeing the children of Otoxha succeed in the future for their sakes and for the Kekchi Mayas sake.
The Progress of the Families Gardens
Currently well into the 4th week of being in our project area and 2 weeks into starting the gardens the families have completed 4 gardens and 5 are in progress. I believe this work has been the most difficult for us as we always struggle with the families to move them into action.
Our philosophy is that it is their garden therefore their whole family should build it. We came to this conclusion solidly when we found they equated NGO volunteers to givers. “Give me this!” “Build it there.” “When will you come to make my garden.” It was clear to us they have had many weak minded individuals in there community before. With this reality we faced, forcefully we have pushed the families to action, slapping down their pleas of “I’m to weak” or” I’m to lazy,” and reinforcing their successes with “now you see you are strong and you did do it yourself!!!” Of course once we have seen that the family has taken the initiative we go over and help with the manual labor for short periods of time.
Since we asked Humana to supply us with more tools we have a system where up to 4 families have tools at one time, so even the thought of building all the families gardens is nearly impossible plus the fact that we’d never do that. So far only 3 families didn’t build their gardens after having tools for more then 3-4 days. We are sure to check on families everyday or every other day and when our self-empowerment techniques don’t work, and examples and advice go unheeded then we take the tools. Of course we haven’t given up on the family because they didn’t build the garden, but at the same time we must not build or “give” the families anything, just as were told not to with children so it applies to all peoples all ages everywhere.
I think this “giving” or “charity” non-sense overshadows the real need for development which stands in contrast to charity. As I believe charity can hamper creativity and create dependency, without realizing or dealing with the real social issues which created this dependency in the first place. Not to say I don’t appreciate philanthropy but I think the honest groups and people in this field should carefully examine and discuss the best way to move people from dependency to development
Personal Feelings
I think these past two weeks have been the hardest on me since I started my adventure in Michigan in October. Andra and I have been feeling the culture shock and the initial excitement or “honey moon” stage is over. I miss my home in Colorado and I really miss my family, every night we talk about our families and how much we love each others families and the funny quarks we all inherited from them. I think if I could see them one time I could move on from it because it’s only a matter of months before we are united with our 2 families or our now one bigger family. I know that’s probably not possible and that this is only a faze but one with which we both have agonizingly been suffering with, which hasn’t been helped by our demanding drive to make change. I hope they are all well, I really miss their faces and their laughs.
All my love for my One Big Family
Brian
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Report from Belize!
We have been in Belize for three weeks now, almost four. We are starting to get in the groove of things and finding a bit of routine in our schedules. The challenges of living in this lifestyle are different then I thought they would be- I thought I would be dealing with the bug issue constantly but, although we have our fair share of mosquito bites and dead cockroaches and spiders, its actually not as big of a deal as I thought. Instead what is challenging is the heat. I knew it was going to be hot here, really hot, but I never expected it to hinder our daily activities as much as it does. For three hours in middle of the day the heat is so incredibly intense, its hard for anyone to do anything. People sort of hide away in their cool houses or a shady spot outside and wait. Luckily we have the nice cool river to go in but as soon as you get out, without using a towel or anything, you are instantly dry and within minutes you begin to sweat again. Its crazy how many places on your body you can sweat from. When its really bad I sweat from everywhere- mt arms, my face, even my legs. Its a very interesting experience.
Another challenge is the food. Because there is no electricity we are very limited in the foods we can eat and sometimes it is hard to work all day and still have the energy to cook three meals and clean up after them, especially when it comes to dinner. We have started being very creative though. We have about 4 main ingredients and 4 kinds of spices and its really funny to see all the different things we can make with them. Every once in a while our neighbors bring us delicious foods and its really a special treat. They are good cooks! Always, tortillas are involved. The vegetables and fruits are rare though- we buy some in PG when we come down every couple of weeks and they can last 2 maybe 3 days before going bad and thats it. Sometimes a truck drives by and they have bananas and pineapple so we get a little fruit in then but we are really craving the produce!!
Other than that we are starting to hit that time when everything stops being as new and exciting and our bodies are having to really cope with the fact that this is for 4 months. We are still pushing through, knowing that is a natural and inevitable stage. Having a lot of work to do helps to get through it.
Right now we are working with the families to support them in building their gardens, helping the women start a collective, and are planning a summer program for the kids when school ends. The biggest work we are doing is empowerment. The problem is that "white" people come up there all of the time and just give them stuff in the form of "aid". But we are about development. With everything we do Brian and I consider- what happens when we leave? Where does this go in 4 months? We don't want to give them things or do things for them and then at the end of the 4 months leave and have them be back where they started. Instead we want to teach them and empower them so they can do it themselves. The same goes for the gardens. We explained to the families that we wouldn't be building the gardens for them- its their garden, not ours. We provide tools, seeds, help finding wood for fences, and support. Still, every time we seem them on the street or when we go to deliver the tools the first thing they ask is "so when are you going to build my garden for me? when are you going to build my fence for me?" Although it has been frustrating, we have had our first success. We have one woman who is a part of a big family. She really wanted the garden but was also waiting for us to build it for her. Everyday we went up there and checked on her, helped her a little but really pushed her to convince her family to help her. She kept telling us "Im not strong enough, I am weak" and I looked at her and said "you are strong".Her family members were reluctant to build the garden because of the work but Brian and I started digging and then went and handed the tools to the other family members and said, "here you try" and then started explaining that gardens took work and care but that if they all worked together they could have this beautiful garden that they wanted and enjoy the delicious vegetables from it. We told them we would give them 2 more days with the tools and then we had to give them to another family and when we returned we were amazed. The woman came out of her house and proudly showed this beautifully made garden. She was smiling and she explained that she got her whole family to help and showed me her sore muscles. It was amazing! It was one of the best moments we have had. At first we really struggled with wondering if she was going to do it or if we should just go up and do it so that she would for sure have a garden but in the end we believed in her ability to do it and we just had to get her to believe too.
This happens with the Women's Collective too- when i first brought up the idea to them of starting a women's collective the women didn't want to do it because other white people have come up and said that they would sell their bags for them and then never did. Or did and it was a shady business deal. After I explained that that wasn't what I was presenting- that I wanted them to learn to read and write and to do math and use computers and create a collective where they worked together to make things, learn new things, and sell things-together, and that I wasn't going to buy their things or sell their things or make deals with them or for them. Once they heard this, they were upset that I wasn't another white person that was going to give them a deal. Its much easier to just make the bags that they know how to make and then wait for someone to come and say they will sell them. many times people come and say make 50 bags and i will sell them so they work hard to make them and then the person never comes back. And they have themselves as their own competition.
At first only one woman signed up but as the week continued more and more women came by saying that they were interested, so we have our first class this week-boy do we have our work cut out for us!
We are still loving the people and the village and are excited to keep working hard. More to Come!
Andra
Another challenge is the food. Because there is no electricity we are very limited in the foods we can eat and sometimes it is hard to work all day and still have the energy to cook three meals and clean up after them, especially when it comes to dinner. We have started being very creative though. We have about 4 main ingredients and 4 kinds of spices and its really funny to see all the different things we can make with them. Every once in a while our neighbors bring us delicious foods and its really a special treat. They are good cooks! Always, tortillas are involved. The vegetables and fruits are rare though- we buy some in PG when we come down every couple of weeks and they can last 2 maybe 3 days before going bad and thats it. Sometimes a truck drives by and they have bananas and pineapple so we get a little fruit in then but we are really craving the produce!!
Other than that we are starting to hit that time when everything stops being as new and exciting and our bodies are having to really cope with the fact that this is for 4 months. We are still pushing through, knowing that is a natural and inevitable stage. Having a lot of work to do helps to get through it.
Right now we are working with the families to support them in building their gardens, helping the women start a collective, and are planning a summer program for the kids when school ends. The biggest work we are doing is empowerment. The problem is that "white" people come up there all of the time and just give them stuff in the form of "aid". But we are about development. With everything we do Brian and I consider- what happens when we leave? Where does this go in 4 months? We don't want to give them things or do things for them and then at the end of the 4 months leave and have them be back where they started. Instead we want to teach them and empower them so they can do it themselves. The same goes for the gardens. We explained to the families that we wouldn't be building the gardens for them- its their garden, not ours. We provide tools, seeds, help finding wood for fences, and support. Still, every time we seem them on the street or when we go to deliver the tools the first thing they ask is "so when are you going to build my garden for me? when are you going to build my fence for me?" Although it has been frustrating, we have had our first success. We have one woman who is a part of a big family. She really wanted the garden but was also waiting for us to build it for her. Everyday we went up there and checked on her, helped her a little but really pushed her to convince her family to help her. She kept telling us "Im not strong enough, I am weak" and I looked at her and said "you are strong".Her family members were reluctant to build the garden because of the work but Brian and I started digging and then went and handed the tools to the other family members and said, "here you try" and then started explaining that gardens took work and care but that if they all worked together they could have this beautiful garden that they wanted and enjoy the delicious vegetables from it. We told them we would give them 2 more days with the tools and then we had to give them to another family and when we returned we were amazed. The woman came out of her house and proudly showed this beautifully made garden. She was smiling and she explained that she got her whole family to help and showed me her sore muscles. It was amazing! It was one of the best moments we have had. At first we really struggled with wondering if she was going to do it or if we should just go up and do it so that she would for sure have a garden but in the end we believed in her ability to do it and we just had to get her to believe too.
This happens with the Women's Collective too- when i first brought up the idea to them of starting a women's collective the women didn't want to do it because other white people have come up and said that they would sell their bags for them and then never did. Or did and it was a shady business deal. After I explained that that wasn't what I was presenting- that I wanted them to learn to read and write and to do math and use computers and create a collective where they worked together to make things, learn new things, and sell things-together, and that I wasn't going to buy their things or sell their things or make deals with them or for them. Once they heard this, they were upset that I wasn't another white person that was going to give them a deal. Its much easier to just make the bags that they know how to make and then wait for someone to come and say they will sell them. many times people come and say make 50 bags and i will sell them so they work hard to make them and then the person never comes back. And they have themselves as their own competition.
At first only one woman signed up but as the week continued more and more women came by saying that they were interested, so we have our first class this week-boy do we have our work cut out for us!
We are still loving the people and the village and are excited to keep working hard. More to Come!
Andra
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Otoxha Womens Collective Communique #1
Right now I'm in Punta Gorda sending communiques to the world to send help but not charity to Otoxha. Currently we are working to begin a womens collective, the women of Otoxha have truly amazing art crafts they make and a wide variety of it as well, but it's nearly impossible to sell in the Toledo district of Belize. Of course we have pushed them to begin the collective and we are implementing classes to aid them but they will be fully self sufficient by the time we are gone. If you or anyone you know has advice or is interested in helping email unionmade@hotmail.com.
Also new pictures of us in Belize!
Also new pictures of us in Belize!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Otoxha
I arrived to my new home Otoxha(pronunciation Autosha) on my birthday, May 5th. The village is inhabited by all Kekchi maya. At first it was a bit awkward but that is what we expected. And of course the children were the most interested in what a couple of whiteys were doing in their village. Often they would just and still do stand outside the door and stare, but by this point we are playing games with them and they constantly are yelling our names in the morning as they go to school.
The next day we got settled in, and Panteleon(Humana Toledo Project Leader) , Lola(IICD team leader) and Marcos(Humana Toledo Area Leader) helped us make it feel like more of a home by creating some shelves and wall barriers for privacy. Our home is a thatched house and the walls are wood which has cracks so anyone can see through (the children do all the time), it is beautiful and already I am very attached to it. The house has no electricity or water, just as we wanted it!
About 50 meters to the north is a windy river also called Otoxha which in Kekchi means Oto(windy) xha(river). It is a clear and beautiful river, it is where the locals and us come to do laundry and bathe. For me it has always been hard to bathe everyday I never liked it and thought it unnecessary to waste so much water, even if people are not dirty they still do, but here I do everyday, for me it feels like true freedom to bathe in this fashion, free, naked and in a river haha.
On the 7th of May we held our first community meeting. Wow it was awkward, all the families showed up and it was all the women with some of their children. After we explained who we were we awkwardly tried to push them to ask questions but not one did, eventually the Principal Mr. Ac helped us out and some expressed some feelings. This was a bit discouraging but it also motivated us to to conduct the interviews.
We started that Saturday with the interviews and ended yesterday Monday with them. This was a good experience and it really helped us build rapport with the families. Most importantly it gave us a better idea of what they need and what we can try to do. Overall the main needs were a garden, latrine, wood stove and literacy. Surprisingly few expressed concern about needing money even though probably less then 10% of families had anyone with a job.
Also what we found is that nearly all the women make beautiful art crafts. It reminded me of all the Maya in Chiapas trying to sell us their products, they all said it was made by them, I didn't fully believe them but now I realize how wrong I was. Because of this begenning a women's collective will be a priority while we live here and many women have expressed their excitement for this idea. The problem is that many of the women can't read or write and also that their math skills are minimal which will be essential for book keeping. The plus side is they have us to assist them with all that and also with getting connected to businesses so their not begging uninterested tourists on the streets. I think this is more then a possibility and to develop a community you must have orgaized empowered women to do so. Of course we will approach this carefully and thoughtfully.
The next day we got settled in, and Panteleon(Humana Toledo Project Leader) , Lola(IICD team leader) and Marcos(Humana Toledo Area Leader) helped us make it feel like more of a home by creating some shelves and wall barriers for privacy. Our home is a thatched house and the walls are wood which has cracks so anyone can see through (the children do all the time), it is beautiful and already I am very attached to it. The house has no electricity or water, just as we wanted it!
About 50 meters to the north is a windy river also called Otoxha which in Kekchi means Oto(windy) xha(river). It is a clear and beautiful river, it is where the locals and us come to do laundry and bathe. For me it has always been hard to bathe everyday I never liked it and thought it unnecessary to waste so much water, even if people are not dirty they still do, but here I do everyday, for me it feels like true freedom to bathe in this fashion, free, naked and in a river haha.
On the 7th of May we held our first community meeting. Wow it was awkward, all the families showed up and it was all the women with some of their children. After we explained who we were we awkwardly tried to push them to ask questions but not one did, eventually the Principal Mr. Ac helped us out and some expressed some feelings. This was a bit discouraging but it also motivated us to to conduct the interviews.
We started that Saturday with the interviews and ended yesterday Monday with them. This was a good experience and it really helped us build rapport with the families. Most importantly it gave us a better idea of what they need and what we can try to do. Overall the main needs were a garden, latrine, wood stove and literacy. Surprisingly few expressed concern about needing money even though probably less then 10% of families had anyone with a job.
Also what we found is that nearly all the women make beautiful art crafts. It reminded me of all the Maya in Chiapas trying to sell us their products, they all said it was made by them, I didn't fully believe them but now I realize how wrong I was. Because of this begenning a women's collective will be a priority while we live here and many women have expressed their excitement for this idea. The problem is that many of the women can't read or write and also that their math skills are minimal which will be essential for book keeping. The plus side is they have us to assist them with all that and also with getting connected to businesses so their not begging uninterested tourists on the streets. I think this is more then a possibility and to develop a community you must have orgaized empowered women to do so. Of course we will approach this carefully and thoughtfully.
We made it to Belize!!!
Finally, we are here in Belize! We have moved in to the beautiful village of Otoxha and are settling into our little hut home next to Otoxha river. The only word I can really use to describe it is Magical. Truly Magical. The beauty that lies within the incredible landscape and the animals and the people and the peace throughout the village is indescribable.
When we first arrived I was a little confused. We came to fight poverty and to do development projects but the way the people of Otoxha are living is really beautiful. Of course we still have some ideas of what we can work hard on these next four months but it really makes you question the word development. For example, one could walk in to Otoxha and see that they are living without electricity and think, this needs to be developed! But is that really development? We all know, or should know by now, that our resources are not endless and in fact the end is coming much quicker then most people care to admit. So is putting ugly electricity lines through a beautiful jungle so that the people can become dependent on it just in time for it to run out really developing the village? I think not. Development should be something that is used as an improvement that makes your life more susatinable and less dependent on resources or commodities that aren't necessary. In fact, I really think Brian and I have a lot more to learn about development then the people of Otoxha. Soon we will all have to start learning how to live without a car (or 2) for every person, without electricity for every little thing. Here they have chickens and pigs and horses and the animals just run around eating and living. Most families have no jobs or the ones that do work as farmers. Their lives are really not dependent on money. They have community land that people can use to farm but it is not their land, it is everyone's. They cook all of their own food they build their own houses and furniture. The first day we arrived there was a broken down old fridgerator and within minutes the women pulled of the door and turned it in to a table and turned the rest in to storage containers and places to put food for the animals.
The biggest things Brian and I will be able to give these people will be empowerment, support, and love. We want to help them boost the sustainable, natural, and beautiful life they already have. Don't read this and think, well what in the world are you doing there then?? Brian and I still work every night organizing our ideas about what we can bring to Otoxha. Working to strengthen the women's group, promote their beatiful art work and weaving, make sure all the families have gardens and know how to cook with lots of vegetables, teach about malaria prevention and how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, help build a system for garbage; we want to encourage and help the adults learn how to read and write so that they can understand their world, inquire, explore.
We have so many ideas and only 4 months to be here! It already feels so short. We have a lot of work ahead of us- both in what we give and in what we can learn. I am so excited to finally be here.
More to come soon!
When we first arrived I was a little confused. We came to fight poverty and to do development projects but the way the people of Otoxha are living is really beautiful. Of course we still have some ideas of what we can work hard on these next four months but it really makes you question the word development. For example, one could walk in to Otoxha and see that they are living without electricity and think, this needs to be developed! But is that really development? We all know, or should know by now, that our resources are not endless and in fact the end is coming much quicker then most people care to admit. So is putting ugly electricity lines through a beautiful jungle so that the people can become dependent on it just in time for it to run out really developing the village? I think not. Development should be something that is used as an improvement that makes your life more susatinable and less dependent on resources or commodities that aren't necessary. In fact, I really think Brian and I have a lot more to learn about development then the people of Otoxha. Soon we will all have to start learning how to live without a car (or 2) for every person, without electricity for every little thing. Here they have chickens and pigs and horses and the animals just run around eating and living. Most families have no jobs or the ones that do work as farmers. Their lives are really not dependent on money. They have community land that people can use to farm but it is not their land, it is everyone's. They cook all of their own food they build their own houses and furniture. The first day we arrived there was a broken down old fridgerator and within minutes the women pulled of the door and turned it in to a table and turned the rest in to storage containers and places to put food for the animals.
The biggest things Brian and I will be able to give these people will be empowerment, support, and love. We want to help them boost the sustainable, natural, and beautiful life they already have. Don't read this and think, well what in the world are you doing there then?? Brian and I still work every night organizing our ideas about what we can bring to Otoxha. Working to strengthen the women's group, promote their beatiful art work and weaving, make sure all the families have gardens and know how to cook with lots of vegetables, teach about malaria prevention and how to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, help build a system for garbage; we want to encourage and help the adults learn how to read and write so that they can understand their world, inquire, explore.
We have so many ideas and only 4 months to be here! It already feels so short. We have a lot of work ahead of us- both in what we give and in what we can learn. I am so excited to finally be here.
More to come soon!
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