During introductions, the ladies clapped after each of us said our names. I was again amazed at how appreciative these women were of our travel to their group. The women all thanked God for our travels and prayed for a safe journey home as well. Like in the last group, the women mentioned that they understood our visit was important so we could be better ambassadors of their crafts back in the states. Many of us worked in the store, or supported the Sharing the Dream organization some how, and for the benefits the organization brings, the women praised us.

We were offered the opportunity to go into some of the women's homes to see where they weaved thier products. As we followed Clemente through a maze of walls, we were greeted by many smiling children. Some of my group had gone through the same maze earlier to visit the bathroom and had mentioned that the kids were next door doing a mudslide drill. The ambulance came and the kids practiced carrying others out in stretchers. They were all laughing and smiling, probably pretty similar to our actions during a tornado or fire drill.

I was in awe of the weaving process. The woman giving the demonstration was quite young and giggled as she weaved. A smaller girl kept getting in the way, admiring the weaver and causing her to get flushed with the audience around her.

We continued through the maze of walls and came across a large field of temporary housing. The rows and rows of housing seemed like a military encampment. As we grew closer, a young woman by the name of Elisabeth approached Clemente and guided us on our tour. The shacks were small and Elisabeth explained to us that if you were a large family, you received a full building, and received half if your family was smaller. Each house was assigned a number to indicate which row, or street, and which column they were in. Each building was also assigned a bathroom/outhouse, located at the end of the streets. There were community kitchens and community laundry areas as well.

Elisabeth took us into her house where seven total people lived. Her family was large enough to be considered large. In the "house" were two twin beds, a washing sink and a small gas stove. The walls were made of thick plastic and the roof was made of tin. Her family's personal belongings were strewn about, no place to put them! We were told that Elisabeth was a Mayan Hands scholarship student, another project Sharing the Dream assists with.

Elisabeth then took us to the permanent housing area, which was being built just on the other side of the temporary home placements. Virginia explained that the permanent homes had recently been declared to have been built in an unsafe area so they wouldn't be habitable. What a waste of time and money! I looked down at the ground and towed at the mud while a sinking feeling came over me...we were standing on slide mud. They had started to rebuild the homes in the same area where the slide came through.

We then left for Chonita's where we would be staying for the next couple of days. Chonita ran several programs through her business, several of which we were going to learn about. I had hoped to meet Chonita since many of Diane's discussions revolved around her. However, she was in the United States of all places, attending a conference on fair trade! Her family was there to take care of us and Jamie and I found ourselves staying in her room while she was gone.

We went on a walk to the Santiago Catholic church. Virginia told us more of the story of the violence in Guatemala in the 1980's...so recent... We viewed a shrine for an Oklahoman priest who had lost his life fighting for the rights of indigenous Guatemalans during the violence period in Santiago. I really need to brush up on my Guatemalan history!

Jacquie

go to May 19