Ruins of a convent in Antigua.

Semana Santa

Processional during Semana Santa in Antigua.

Traditional traje for different areas around Guatemala.

Students from the Mayan Families preschool in Panajachel. I have been able to volunteer with this program a few times, and have learned a lot from Senora Luqui about the public school system in Gua.

Baby girl who received cleft lip repair surgery in the SyP clinic.

"I've got you (Guatemala) under my skin..."

When Frank Sinatra sang these words, the "you" probably didn't refer to an entire country, but I think our (Mr. Sinatra and my) emotions are quite similiar :). As many of you already know, I have decided to continue living and volunteering in Guatemala at least until Christmas time and possibly until next summer! This is a big leap for me, and the simplest way I can explain myself is to say that Guatemala has gotten under my skin. This place and its people have become wrapped up in who I am and its simply not time to leave yet. I feel that I still have lessons to learn and grow from, people to meet, and contributions to make to Salud y Paz. This decision means that the original plan has changed, however I do hope to attend a speech and lang path masters program next fall (probably at USF as they allowed my acceptance to be deferred). Your prayers and thoughts have been a huge part of sustaining me thus far, and I hope that you will be willing to continue being a part of my emotional support as I remain here. I will be home, in NSB, for the month of May and hope to spend time with you!

Most recently, I have been working on the educational and health survey that we are planning to give to the community of Camanchaj. The purpose of this survey will be to investigate people's attitudes towards education to determine the factors that lead to success in primary school or drop-out. We also want to learn about the community's perception of the Susana Wesley preschool. The health portion will hopefully assess the needs of the community and the clinic's effectiveness in meeting them. This past Friday, we had a meeting with the doctors Fredy and Luis to get their opinions and with Pastor Juan Ixton, who is the leader of the women's group called Amigas de Salud y Paz. Pastor Juan Ixton created a croquis, or map, of Camanchaj which showed where each dwelling is located. He did an incredible job on it! We will be able to use it to choose a random yet representative selection of houses to visit and give the survey to its residents.

In other preschool news, we now have a team of 3 "almost" dentists with us. I say "almost" because they are dental students about 1 month away from graduation, at which time they will officially be Doctors of Dentistry! These 3 wonderful individuals are serving exclusively our preschool students. They are pulling teeth, putting in fillings, giving flouride treatments, and talking with each child's parents about how to care for their child's teeth. What an incredible blessing!

We have sponsers for all of our 20 students!

The preschool handbook is complete, finalmente! Now I am working on creating an English version to be shown at the SyP board meeting this Friday.

Thank you so very much for your continuing support!

In Salud y Paz,
Madisen

Sponsers

Nery Fernando
Nelly Rafaela

Brandon Enrique

Juan Sebastian

Below is a letter from Carey, the Susana Wesley Preschool director, about sponsering a preschool student. Currently we need only 4 more sponsers. I wanted to spread the information in case any of you may be interested :) If you have questions feel free to email Carey at her address listed below or me at mkt06@fsu.edu!

March, 2010


Dear Friends:

My name is Carey Cooper, and I am the director of the Susanna Wesley Preschool in Camanchaj, Guatemala. Our school is part of Salud y Paz, a nonprofit organization serving Mayan families since 2001 (www.saludypaz.org). We have just begun our second school year and have several beautiful Mayan children in need of sponsors!

Let me tell you a little about our preschool program. The primary goals of our program are to increase children’s chances for success in the public school system with high quality, culturally sensitive preschool curriculum and to promote healthy development by providing nutritious meals (breakfast, snack, and lunch five days a week), teaching healthy habits (such as hand washing and teeth brushing), and offering medical and dental care. The children attend classes Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m, and each child receives a backpack, school hoodie, and all necessary school materials. We currently have 21 students between the ages of 4 and 6, two local teachers who speak Spanish and K’iche, the local Mayan language, a kitchen staff of local Mayan women, a volunteer school nurse, and a volunteer school director (me!).

Ten children are currently in need of sponsors, and we need your help. The cost to sponsor a child is $45/month. Although the children are in school for nine months only, we ask for a 12-month commitment, which helps cover the cost of snacks and meals, school supplies, medical and dental care, and staff salaries (teachers and cooks). As a sponsor, you will receive photos of your child via our preschool blog, which is updated every few months with information about school activities and student photos, and at least two cards/drawings from your child during the year.

Thanks again so much for your interest in the Susanna Wesley Preschool, and please let me know if I can answer any questions. If you decide to sponsor a child, I will send information about how to make a one time or monthly donation online.


Sincerely,
Carey Cooper
(cecooper@princeton.edu)

Project Salud y Paz
(http://www.saludypaz.org/)

Across the lake

Heather and I in a swanky tuk-tuk with zebra print.

A pueblo across the lake: San Juan. We visited on Sat. It is less tourist-y than Pana

Part of an awesome mural

Coffee plantation. We met a man who gave us a spontaneous tour!

Woman weaving in the cinta style.

She told us it takes 2 days to complete something like a table runner.

Up-date

Buenas Tardes a Todos!
Hope all is well and this up-date finds you all healthy and happy.
For me, it is difficult to put my experience here into words. There is just so much happening and so many emocions and thoughts to absorb. But I am going to try my best to give you some high lights!
One of our pre-school students named Nery received an operation to correct 2 wandering eyes a few weeks ago. Today was his first day back at school, and it was so wonderful to see him be able to look straight ahead. He has healed beautifully. Nery received the operation at the Salud y Paz clinic in Camanchaj, and it was performed by a team of surgeons from Texas. Praise the Lord!
Last Friday we celebrated the birthdays' of students from January and February AND both Mari and Paulina's (the teachers) birthdays. We had a pinata, cake and brownies, and the students all made cards for the teachers. What a fiesta! When we were preparing to sing the birthday song, Carey asked the students what we should sing and one answered, "La Granja". I think members of the CCUMC mission team who were here in the end of January will especially appreciate that the infamous "La Granja" lives on :)
I have begun working on the parent handbook or Libreta de Informacion. Mari and Paulina made a list of what they think should be included, and now I am working closely with Mari to complete it. Also, we have an abundance of donated books. So many that we are able to send some home with each student. What a blessing! It is important for a child to have access to books and print so that they can begin to develop literacy skills. I am trying to sort the books so they can be sent home equally in quality and quantity with students. Sabrina and I are also assisting in the classrooms during art, centers, and writing practice times.
Recently, one of our students has been pulling on my heart more so than the others. Brandon is a really neat kid. I think he's dealing with some difficult things in his home life though which are resulting in some educational and behavioral difficulties. Prayers specifically for Brandon would be greatly appreciated!
As always, thank you all for your support.
In Amor Salud y Paz,
Madisen

Mariela and Estrellita, such a sweet name-means little star
Oscar

Mariela, Estrellita, and Garby

Naydelin, Lucia, and Brandon

Inside our casita.

Lago Atitlan

Our casita!