Collaborating for a Cause

Most recent and exciting news for Li Ch'utam was our invitation and presence at a Educational Reform Conference in Guatemala City this past weekend.  Hosted by our friends at Campus Technologico and Empresarios por la Educacion, Samir and myself were given a key-note speaker position in the conference agenda, where we shared, to a roomful of businesses, organizations  and foundations working within in education discourse, our project in Nueva Mercedes. The highlight of the conference was how to implement technology to increase educational outcomes which gave us a great platform to present on as our work is a grassroots example of using computers to reinforce and in turn extend the knowledge of our pupils.

Following our presentation we were introduced to members of CoEd (a non-profit organization that provides educational resources to marginalized communities and has centers located throughout Guatemala, one being in nearby Teleman); young programmers who have developed a number of educational based computer games; and multiple other business and organizations that briefly but enthusiastically expressed interest in our project.  It was a very speedy conference as people were rushing to get back to work on a busy Friday afternoon, but numbers and emails were exchanged and we are very excited to follow up with many of these potential contributors.

Back in Mercedes, all is going according to plan, as we volunteers continue to work with the teachers throughout the school day and run our after-school program that is becoming more eclectic and productive as Samir has proposed the idea to give small lectures before computer lessons, e.g. basic lessons to begin practicing multiplication questions on Tux Mathematics (one of the educational programs we use).  Thus far the programs we are currently using have been well accepted by the children but I believe that we will need more diversity in the near future.  Meeting the computer game designers gives me hope that this will be no issue, as does discoveries of programs such as "Khan Academy", an educational website that provides video lessons at every level in dozens of different subjects.  In instances like this I am reminded of how increasingly wonderful the worldwide web is.

This past week Samir has finalized plans to organize a field trip for the 6th grade class to Finca Paraiso, a natural hot-spring waterfall located outside of nearby town El Estore.  The 6th grade teacher, Ronny, is very excited about this trip as he feels it will be a fun getaway for the children, but also an enlightening experience for the students to be introduced to one of Guatemala's most beautiful natural settings.  Ideally, we will be able to make this a Li Ch'utam tradition to give the 6th graders, soon be graduates of Escuela Primaria.

With long trips to city and busy days in the classroom during the school-day and after-school program, the work with Li Ch'utam can often be quite arduous and demanding, but the moments of celebration and leisure, such as the Mother's Day Fiesta, and refereeing a football game for the children, keep everything fresh and gives us the sense that we are accomplishing a lot and building strong relationships along the way.

Poco a Poco

The month of April in Mercedes and surrounding areas has been exciting for both its inhabitants and the volunteers and coordinators at Li Ch'utam.  To start the month, there was the annual celebration of Easter, known as Semana Santa, a week-long festival of rejoicing, relaxation and prayer, and to finish the month was a community-fair in the regions commercial center Teleman.  Li Ch'utam very much so enjoyed these festivities but much of the excitement I mention refers to the developments of our team and our work.

The majority of the progress is seen by the development(s) of our IT after-school program.  In my first month here, we held classes five times a week for a minimum of two hours.  With only two computers for twenty students, there would be some days where only a half of the children got to work on their reading and typing skills.  This high ratio of students to computers was further problematic as the majority of the children were often bored and overly-excited to participate, thus becoming distractions to those focused on their lesson.  The sessions, however fun and exciting, were much of the time stunted by the lack of resources and organization.

To our fortune, our donation-call for laptop computers was answered and delivered in early-April.  With five computers recently brought to the valley, as well as two previously owned computers that have been fixed, we have eight functioning computers that have all been updated with programs that offer a diverse amount of subjects including mathematics, typing, reading, geography, problem-solving and more.  These two developments have been fundamental to our class, making each day more productive, as each child is getting longer and more challenging lessons.  This is also creating a popular trend as we see new students enter our classroom everyday as they hear about what we have to offer.

Many of the organizational issues we have experienced, such as overcrowding of the classroom and inconsistent attendance, likewise have been greatly improved by the new equipment and software.  In addition to other unsolved organizational issues, we are currently developing  a greater system to track each child's progress in particular subjects to make sure that our work is clearly effective in raising competency levels, and we are constructing small class groups of 8-10 children that will be assigned and announced daily to specific work days and time slots throughout the week.  We find this will be evermore so helpful with; preparation for classes, e.g. knowing which children we will be working with and how we can tend to their strengths and weaknesses;  and overall smoothness and tranquility of the class time.

Other developments related to the IT classes include preparation for construction of an IT-Center in Mercedes and greater collaboration with other education-related Guatemalan organizations.  Much of the IT-Center preparation is being handled by one our newest volunteer Samir Messaoudi who will be with us until the end of June.  We look forward to sharing more about this exciting project.  Picking up where last year's volunteers David and Caleb left off, we are in contact with Guatemala City's Campus Technology, that incorporates a number of different organizations and projects devoted to developing educational software.  Our two teams are equally excited to be working with one another.

With three volunteers, including myself, and more to come in the months ahead, we are becoming a stronger presence in the school-day classrooms.  Speaking on behalf of myself, my relationship with the third grade instructor Elda is growing and I am becoming more comfortable with sharing ideas and concerns with her.  She in turn has become more trusting in me.  For example, this past week she had asked me to create a classroom decoration and this coming week I have planned a self-portrait art project that I will be sharing with the children.

This month we were thrilled to have two of Li Ch'utam's founders Hannes Neimann and Henning Droege visit us, each being able to spend substantial time visiting the school and helping the IT-classes gain much of the momentum I have just discussed.  As a volunteer who has communicated with Hannes and Henning via emails and skype for the past few months it was a pleasure to be able to meet them in person and further get to know them on a greater personal level.  In addition to these visits, we also were so fortunate to have Bryan Lim, a Singaporean traveler, visit the project and create a video focusing on the IT-project.

Bryan's Personal Blog: http://hellagood.co/volunteering-in-guatemala

Much of the hard-work was celebrated in nights cooking and eating together, sharing experiences, ideas and future goals.  In these moments shared between a group of young men being from Germany, France, Singapore, Poland, United States and Guatemala, the project's title Li Ch'utam, meaning "coming together", could not stand further correctly.

A motto that I have heard again and again here in the valley and elsewhere in Guatemala, which is now becoming a Li Ch'utam mantra of some sort, is "poco a poco" meaning "little by little".  The road is long and challenging, but that is what makes it fun and worthwhile.

Patience

I am stunned to say that today marks my third week in Nueva Mercedes as time has flown past me.  My fellow volunteer, Michal, I am certain would agree that time moves almost too quickly, which is unexpected taking into consideration the slow pace of rural living.  At this point, I reflect through asking myself some very crucial questions:  How have my views of the local school become more thorough and/or changed over time since my first impressions?  What have I, as a creative individual, contributed to the school's efforts?  What are these efforts strength's and weaknesses?  And lastly, what should my next step aim for?


I find it always interesting as you become more accustomed to some entity, in this case being the school, you in response become increasingly critical of its operation.  After spending one week circulating through each of the six classrooms, observing the teachers and mingling with the children, I have found myself committed to spending the majority of my time in the third grade.  Some of the reason's I have selected this classroom is my immediate connection with many of the children, the large number of those children demanding extra help, and ineffective teaching.  This decision does not celebrate the other rooms superiority over the third grade, but has been carefully chosen on the basis of my presence as most fitting in comparison to the others.

The third grade classroom is energetic and has loads of personality, but this energy at times turns rambunctious and chaotic.  Although I have had little success in helping keep order, I intend to find a solution in harnessing the chaos, transforming it into something productive.  A small example would be introducing hands-on group activities, such as creating Roman Numerals using our bodies, instead of simply writing them over and over.  This potential activity and other's I am constantly thinking of are in accordance with my belief that utilizing excessive energy is more effective than suffocating it.

Looking back on the writings of David Kando and Caleb Winshop I see that they were initially awed by the amount of time that was wasted in the short four-hours spent inside the classroom as well as the lack of creative activities used regularly.  This frustrating fact influenced their efforts which have not been in vain as I see that  one of the grades they spent most of their time with, that being second grade, is more often provided with relatively interesting tasks and more efficiently utilizes class time.  A wonderful example is seen by the instructor Martha having children come up to the board to perform tasks individually in front of the class audience.  This is extremely helpful in testing each child's competency, building individual self-confidence, and most of all providing a fun and exciting environment to learn.

As the third grade struggles to imitate this sort of setting, it is my first priority to help the class instructor, Elda, with time management, i.e. grading notebooks and writing lessons on the dry-erase board, giving her the freedom to further instruct and engage with the children.  If I am unable to convince her of this rearrangement it is then my responsibility to find short activities keeping the children under reasonable control and engaged in the task-at-hand (another highlight in the writings of David and Caleb).  Secondly I would like to sit down with her and come up with alternative activities instead of simply writing information on the board and having the children copy.  I find with the current method of instruction there is nothing about the transferal of information that is leaving a lasting impression on the children, thus preventing them from retaining new knowledge.  Activities, contests, competitions and educational movement I believe to be a good start to addressing these troubling issues.

I reiterate that I feel I have had little success in creating and/or promoting  change in the regular classroom headed by Elda, but I firmly believe that my little one-on-one's with individual children are of benefit to those who cooperate with me.  With the class having large disparities of capabilities in reading, writing and arithmetic, I have assisted the weaker students with hope of keeping them from falling too far behind, and have further challenged the stronger students as they usually finish well before the rest of the class.  The strongest criticism I have of myself thus far is that I play favorites, and have naturally tended to ignore those that aren't so enthusiastic about communicating with me.  I must have faith that the reluctant ones will open up to me and be more cooperative in time.

The after-school computer sessions have been functioning consistently the past couple weeks but there is still plenty of room for improvement.  Attendance is strong, almost too strong, being we have little equipment for many children.  With only two computers, the fifteen-or-so waiting children surround the one taking the lesson while being physically and emotionally disruptive.  I've discovered that almost all of the children perform better in isolation as they are more concentrated and confident.  Until we receive our recently donated computers, our solution to this problem has been prohibiting other's to be near the current lesson-taker, and promoting individual reading time or drawing while waiting for turns.  Recently, I have made it mandatory to read one book before taking a lesson as my improvisational lessons pose basic questions about the story they have just read.

When I calculate and add up the dozens of problems that I observe on a regular basis in my first few weeks in Mercedes, I cannot help but confess that the task we have laid out for ourselves here at Li Ch'utam is an ambitious one that requires much time, resources, and most of all patience.  The former two we have for certain, with many eager volunteers already on board for this school year and new computers arriving in the near weeks ahead, therefore is most important to remain focused and determined in trusting the latter.  Patience.

The Beginning

As one departs Guatemala City and makes their way towards the Polochic Valley located in the south-eastern edge of Alta Verapaz they will immediately sense a strong transformation in their surroundings.  The hustle of the city is replaced by birds singing and crickets humming; the cool air becomes thick with moisture  and the city's infrastructure dissipates as the mountains take charge of the scene.  To put it simply, it is different world, nothing less than beautiful.

I arrived at my destination just over a week ago in the heart of the valley in a small pueblo known as Nueva Mercedes where since then I have been spending a majority of my time at the local primary school, representing the organization Li'Chu Tam, a recently founded NGO in the region.  Following in the footsteps of other volunteers from years past, my partner Michal (who arrived 3 weeks prior) and myself are kicking-off the 2013 school year as assistants in the classrooms, as well as continuing last year's volunteers (David Kando and Caleb Winshop) IT- after-school program.  As we continue to experiment with the projects of the past, we also hope to develop new ones we find to be of importance.  To start, I am in the midst of putting together a paper-mache class, while Michal is focusing on creating an after-school reading program.

My initial thoughts of the school were a mixture.  Having experience in working in a number of settings with children, the kids I encountered here in Mercedes in regards to behavior were no different than those I have been so fortunate to work with in years prior.  Many wanted to know my name right away and preferred a hug over a handshake, and some, too shy to say hello or introduce themselves, tucked their face behind their hands concealing involuntary smiles.  It wasn't until after introductions were over that I began to really observe the setting of the school.  The classrooms are bare, lacking decoration, and resources.  Most of the children sit on benches, crammed next to their classmates.  Each child has his/her materials, which consist of 2-3 notebooks for different subjects and a couple writing utensils.  There are no textbooks or paper handouts to help assist in the childrens' education, just a dry-erase board at the head of each of the rooms that the teacher uses diligently   Nonetheless, the majority of the students are extremely eager to learn and share their hard work with the teachers and us volunteers.

Throughout the school day I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the different classrooms to observe the different age groups with their respective level of learning as well as getting to know the six teachers.  During specific tasks, whether it be practicing penmanship in first grade, or translating Mayan numerals in the fifth grade, I am able to work with children one-on-one or in small groups, which is of mutual benefit as they get to be further challenged by questions I pose, and I get to learn some basic words in Queq'chi.  For example, I have heard the word "mach" hundreds of times whispered and shouted in response to my larger-than-average beard.

The IT-after-school classes are starting to take off and gain popularity, regardless of the equipment issue we are handling.  With two functioning computers we have been giving basic typing lessons using a simple software as well as basic word processor.  It is proving to be an extension of the school day  practicing reading and writing, sharing ideas, and telling stories all the while laughing and getting to know one another.

There is an immense amount of work to be done here in Nueva Mercedes.  I'm looking forward to it all and can say that I am thrilled to be apart of the Li'Chu Tam team.

--Andrew Ross

Li Ch’utam: Coming Together to Create Solutions

During the 21 years that Caleb Winship and myself (David Kando) have spent on this Earth we have always been very “different”…. It might have something to do with the fact that we have traveled or worked in 27 countries including every continent except Antarctica and Australia. Since we met at Northeastern University 4 years ago, we have helped build schools in the Dominican Republic with a grass roots student run NGO, worked with multinational sustainable development organizations like the Deshpande Foundation and Northeastern’s own Social Enterprise Institute, studied Spanish and International Business in Spain and Mexico, and been given the opportunity to create our own internships by the school’s international co-op department. We are part of a well-respected International Business program where in our graduating class of 2013 over 30 students chose a sister-school in Spain and 3 of us chose the sister-school in Mexico (Caleb, myself, and 1 peer.) Caleb and I specifically chose to be in Latin America to work in sustainable development and encounter opportunities like the one we’ve shared with Li Ch’utam during our last 6 months in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. More specifically for all the lovely Guatemalan people reading this: 4 hours from the capital in microbus to Coban, 4 more hours to La Tinta, quick bus to Teleman, then a 10 minute ride in the back of a pickup to Nueva Mercedes. Purrrroooo Poloochic…..

I don’t think it came as any surprise to our University when we told them we were going to Guatemala to live in a tropical rainforest for 6 months. Nor when we added that our house would be in a community of plantations where the average 15 year old has 2 children and the majority of children enter the work force at 14, unable to read or write Spanish with their 6^th grade education.  Not only were they not surprised, they were extremely generous with scholarships and marketing Li Ch’utam’s efforts in the United States.

 It was Guatemalans that were surprised when Caleb and I explained what Li Ch’utam was, where we would be working, and what we would be doing for the next 6 months. From the official meetings with politicians and businesswo/men in the city and less official conversations on 8 hour bus rides through hills and valleys of beautiful Guatemala no one was betting that they would see our faces again apart from that first conversation. To their surprise, “the two gringos from the Polochic” showed up like clockwork every first of the month in the city to relate the latest and greatest news from Li Ch’utam in the Polochic Valley and see how the urban reform projects by government and private businesses groups were progressing and when the next collaborations between the pueblo and the city would be taking place. We began by relating our horror stories of the local rural education systems over lunch with the who’s who in national educational reform. As the months went by we stopped losing time in the negatives that everyone had been talking about for years and started to talk with people like Campus Tec, Ashoka, the Pirate Party, and the U.S. state department about real solutions to these problems and different steps we had taken at Li Ch’utam to address grave issues in the rural education systems.

Li Ch’utam itself is a blessing to the Q’eqchi people who live in the Polochic among a sea of foreign owned super-plantations and cash crops.  Of all the corporations and wealthy foreign and central American families that own land in the valley, the majority don’t care very much about their workers or their worker’s kids (future employees.)  In fact, most owners just visit their plantations once in a blue moon to see the money machine ticking away and then they whisk away their families to some giant house in a more relaxed climate with a better school system. This is where one very special family of German plantation owners and Li Ch’utam steps into the picture. 

Hugo Droege came to Guatemala before World War 2 in search of a better life for his family. Not your typical modern plantation owner, Hugo was known for carrying just his safari hat and walking stick around the uninhabited jungle chopping down piece by piece of dense rainforest with his team of workers he convinced to come from various corners of the country. Speaking the local Mayan Q’eqchi language and being in the field with his workers every day Hugo is a legend in the area for his kindness, work ethic, and his ability to build a business that his children would come to run for generations.  The Droeges are famous for always living in the Polochic in the same rainforest as their workers (no doubt the houses are built to slightly different specifications, but the Droeges by no means live like the other plantation owners of the area) and having their children grow up alongside the children of the Q’eqchi people who work the fields. This relationship between the children is where Li Ch’utam all began some 25 years ago with our boss Henning Droege (grandson of Hugo.) Henning was a smart, dynamic child who could balance a spreadsheet and navigate a horse through a densely forested hillside…probably at the same time.  All of his friends would run through the jungle with him and play with the animals and spend hours talking to Henning about dreams and the future. And this is where Henning started to notice that his future was destined for other things than that of his peers. At 12 years old, Henning was dreaming of a life of airplane rides to Europe, a multinational education, and a future as a diplomat. His peers were looking to finish their education in the next 3 years, start working the fields, and making a family next door to the house they grew up in. Memories of these drastic differences in education and opportunity never left Henning even as he achieved his dreams of being a diplomat and studying in prestigious European Universities.  Now a young adult, he rallied behind the pre-existing organization and goodwill of the Droeges and decided to create Li Ch’utam. A sustainable development organization that provides diverse education and work opportunities for the youth of the Polochic Valley. Li Ch’utam not only provides opportunities to a group of people living in the Polochic Valley, it is addressing serious issues that exist in communities and on plantations world-wide.

Technological advancements eliminate jobs on plantations each year with more and more man-power being converted to machines and more efficient strategies. This poses a serious threat to families that have on average 7 children. Out of these 7 kids, it’s rare that 1 will learn to read and write and find work outside of the valley. If every family has 7 kids, and less and less jobs are required on the plantation every year, and no one can find work elsewhere because they can’t read or write….you can see where a problem might arise concerning future local job opportunities.

For the last 6 months, Li Ch’utam has provided support to any child who needs help with homework and can’t find support in the household. We have the first public library in town which is open to any child or adult. You would never know how useful an atlas could be until someone who asks you, “What’s Mexico”…and when you reply, “It’s a country close by.”…they say, “What’s a county?” This is even scarier when the person asking is 1 of 3 lucky kids in the whole community who is enrolled in middle school, the other 30 having already ended their education.  We offer computer classes and typing courses which 18 youth took part in. Many of these 8-13 year olds couldn’t recite you the alphabet 6 months ago. After a few months of typing lessons, with the keys completely covered they can not only type flawlessly, they average 12 words per minute. One 13 year old is training to be the first local Li Ch’utam volunteer: he can type at 35 words per minute, cooks meals for the other kids, takes care of the garden, gives typing classes, and teaches the other students Math, Science, and Geography with Encarta Encyclopedia. He’s been out of school for the last 2 years, he never met his parents, and his grandparents don’t have the money to send him to 7^th grade. Kids like this have a mountain of potential and no one to lend a hand to meet them halfway. Li Ch’utam is here for them and is proud to offer people like this a chance to learn more about the opportunities that surround them. Lucky for him, he will receive our first scholarship, and with a little luck and a lot hard work Li Ch’utam will grow to offer more and more opportunities to those willing to put in the time and effort for a future not reliant on the plantation. 

Contact info@lichutam.org for any requests for more information, for collaboration or job opportunities, or to inquire how you can help our scholarship fund with monetary or technological        donations.

New Computers Arrive

Lichutam’s computer literacy program has now been running for close to four months. Students attend classes each day focusing primarily on typing as well as other basic computer functions. The classes also entail a creative aspect in the use of cameras and video cameras in order for the students to express themselves and learn how to use digital cameras and video equipment in conjunction with the computers with which they have become so well acquainted. 

  

            Two weeks ago a generous donor promised us two laptops in perfect condition. I am happy to announce that a few days later they were successfully delivered to the Polochic Valley and we are now running our classes with six functioning laptops. This is a great success both for Lichutam and the computer literacy program itself. We can now accommodate more students at once. Lessons can be held with more students at a time which frees up more time in the afternoon for other programs like art, cooking class, gardening, and sports.

            The students are very excited about the new computers and each day everyone rushes to class in hopes of arriving first and getting their chance to try out the new laptops. As one student remarked, “They are the prettiest machines.” I could not agree more. The average student is now typing between ten and fifteen words a minute. Typing is now a fun and easy activity for the majority of students. This morning, one student, Elmer, was explaining to me how he now wants to learn how to use many computer programs. He is driven to continue learning more about computers and how to use computer programs with hopes of one day working with computers professionally. He even inspired his family to purchase a home computer which he described to me with pride. 

            The dreams of Elmer are the dreams of Lichutam. It is not to force all forms of 21^st century life into this culture but rather to put the advancements of the developed world into the hands of these people in order for them to do as they please. Many indigenous peoples have been trampled by development, but as minor successes from Lichtuam’s programs continue to build, we are confident that the people of the Polochic Valley will be in control of their own development to gain from its advantages and continue on their way to a bright future.

One Seed at a Time

One of the several programs we have been working on the past months in the Polochic valley is gardening. While the earth here is quite fertile and the tropical climate allows for the easy growing of plants all year round, the gardening of vegetables is not a common practice. This mostly stems from the lack of education on nutrition and the dietary value of vegetables. The gardening project aims to educate the youth of Nueva mercedes in a fun and interactive way that helps to tackle the lack of nutritional education.

We have planted a small garden in front of the house with tomatoes, chili peppers and carrots. The plants were first sprouted in old can and bottles then planted in the garden plot several days later. These activities were carried out with the help of the youth that attend daily computer classes and the implementation process was a combination of both work and education on plants and nutrition. Each week we do a little garden maintenance with the help of our students and incorporate the conversations about nutrition into our cooking classes. Thus far it has been a huge success. Many of the plants have been given away to families and students who now plan to start their own gardens. In combination with the cooking classes students now realize that vegetables are not only healthy but easy to grow and delicious when cooked properly. Our goal is for every family in Nueva Mercedes to have a garden of their own someday. This will reduce the cost of food and get kids much needed vitamins as the vegetables add to a more a balanced diet.

In the coming days we plan to expand the garden as our small plants have now grown and will soon be producing vegetables. The students here are excited and it is safe to say that the gardening project of Lichutam is showing great results both for the students and their families.