Luis is going to be 20 on Aug. 13th.  He is a boy who was abandoned and spent most of his life at Casa Guatemala.  Before going to the orphanage he had lived with his great-aunt.  He had lived with his father until he was 5, then with his aunt until she couldn't take care of him anymore, and then at Casa Guatemala.  He said he does not remember his mother.  His story did not end as well as Miguel's.  Luis like Miguel was going to be adopted 5 years ago.  The family that was going to adopt him lives about 20 minutes from our house.  The adoption was almost complete when the courts found out that his father was still alive and there should have been relinquishment papers not abandonment papers. So his father had to go to court.  When he got to court he refused to sign the papers.  Luis was now at an age when he could get a job and help the family. The father had not seen him nor looked for him for 10 years, but now said he wanted him and would take care of him. Luis then went back and lived with his father, step-mother and many other siblings in a very poor house about an hour from the city.  About 3 years ago when I came down with Miguel to visit I decided I would look for Luis.  I knew the conditions he was living in were not good so I wanted to make sure he was safe and hopefully continuing his schooling like the father had promised the court.  The social worker from Casa Guatemala knew the address so she, Miguel and I rented a taxi to go and find him.  When we arrived there 3 years ago we only found the step-mother.  She said that Luis was at work and that she would give him a phone number to call me.  I didn't think that she would give him the number.  That night he called and came to see us the next day because he was off from work.  When he came he said things were not good for him.  All the promises his father made hadn't happened. He shared a small room with his brother, didn't have many clothes (His father had said in the court that he would buy him some) and his father had him go to work right away so he could contribute his salary to the family.  His father had promised the court that he could go to school this hadn't happened either.  When I asked Luis what he wanted he said he wanted to go to school.  We worked out a plan that he could present to his father about Sharing the Dream paying for his schooling and a small stipend for his living expenses.  Luis visited with his father and his father agreed. Of course his father always wanted more money but we did not do that.  Only the stipend for Luis living expenses.  A year ago Luis came to Ruth and said he wanted to move out of his house.  His brothers were stealing from him and it was not a good environment.  He found a room he could rent that was close.  The lady renting the room was nice and Luis could room with her son and eat the meals with the family and pay room and board.  So Luis went to school during the day, and worked on Saturdays. When he rented the room the lady didn't have a bed so a year ago last Christmas we bought him a bed for his present.  This past school year he finally finished 6th grade.  Because Luis is so much older then the other children we made different arrangements for this year.  He works in construction during the week, and goes to school on Saturdays.  A lot of people do that in Guatemala.  It is also a way he can combine several years of schooling in one year.  They really accelerate the process.  We have made the arrangement that Sharing the Dream will pay for his schooling and his board and he must pay for his room and for all other expenses.  Ruth has gone through his budget with him and this seems to work well.  He knows that he will receive help from us for school, but once he stops going to school or stops getting good grades the help will end.  Luis is a very responsible person and tries very hard.  He gets no support emotionally or financially from any family member so we have become his family.

Luis by the stove

Diane and Luis

So now that you know about Luis I will continue the day.  Ruth and I were driven to Luis by Leo.  We couldn't take a bus because he lives far out in the country. Ruth had never been to where he lives, she usually meets him at the school or here in the office.  We both thought it would be good to go and see his living conditions. On our way we passed several hundred people by the side of the road.  Leo said it was a strike and had to do with the city and the land use.  They were taking away some land from the people.  We met Luis in the park in the village where he lives and he took us on the drive to his house.  It curved around the country roads and at one point we passed a dump that really smelled.  I looked out aand there were several people going through the garbage trying to find something they could salvage.  One lady and her small son had discovered several pieces of styrofoam. In this country when you think you have met someone who is poor you always see someone who is poorer.  It just seems to never end and could be very defeating if you let it.  But we at Sharing the Dream keep going on and hope we can make some differences to end this cycle of poverty.  That is why education is such a big goal of ours.  I think education is the way out of poverty.

Luis by the door of his room

Leo, Ruth and Luis on the walk to Luis' house

We arrived at a country road and left the car and walked the rest of the way to his house.  It was up and down quite a few small hills but it is a very pretty area.  We arrived at the house and he was very proud of his room.  He had it padlocked, it is very small and he shares it with the son of the owner.  The room is made of cement blocks and has a dirt floor.  The roof is tin and looks very good.  This is so much better then his previous room at his fathers. When I saw the room there it looked like a place where you kept livestock. After opening his room he immediately showed us his bed.  Although the room is very small it is clean and looks very safe. We visited with him there and then we decided he would spend a few hours with us.  He needed a pair of shoes so we thought if we could find a place open we would get him a pair.  We also wanted to take him to lunch which he thought sounded like fun.  The family that lives in the house was gone but he showed us the cooking area.  This is on the ground in a lean too.  I also needed to use the bathroom so he showed us that.  The bathroom was about 4 feet from the cooking area and was a latrine.  After looking around a bit we started on our walk back through the hills to the car.  We didn't have big plans for the afternoon but just wanted to hang out together.  Luis showed us the small town and also the school where he goes.  They were having Sunday classes too.  I believe they have 4 shifts on the weekends.

Area around Luis' house

I am a gardener and I thought the open area in the office needed some plants so I wanted to buy some and donate them to the office.  So one of first places we stopped was a place that had plants.  Since we had Leo's old SUV we thought this was a good time to get some.  So the four of us walked around admiring the plants and giving our opinions.  There was a large clay pot shaped as a turtle so we thought that was a must. We then all agreed on some bright colored flowers to go inside.  We purchased one more pot and several other plants and started back on our way.  We told Luis he could decide where to go for lunch so he wanted to have pizza.  By now we were on our way back to the city and in a nicer area so there were several nice pizza places.  We went to one and as I was sitting there country music was playing.  In fact it started out with "Rhinestone Cowboy". (Missed my husband at that point)  I could have been at any restaurant in the U.S.  We spent about an hour eating pizza and drinking fresh squeezed lemonade and then went shoe shopping.

The only place that was open for shoes on Sunday was a mall.  This mall was like any mall in the U.S.  We found Luis a nice pair of shoes.  He doesn't have very nice things so a good pair of shoes is something that doesn't last long but that he wears constantly.  After climbing the hills in the mud to his house one can certainly see how shoes wouldn't last very long.

The mall was busy with shoppers.  Malls are not my favorite places to go and this one was no exception.  The wealthy here in Guatemala shop at the malls.  There are all the typical stores and all the items that one does not need but after walking around the mall for awhile feels like they are necessities.  When does it ever stop?  Like my good husband says," The more you get the more you want, and the more you think you need."

Getting in the car and leaving the mall I could see contrasts immediately.  Right across from this mall were houses and shacks and people not having enough to eat.

We drove to a bus stop.  Dropped Luis off with hugs and kisses and promises to see him at Christmas when I come down with my family.  He is such a good boy and I am really proud of him and the good decisions he makes.

Ruth, Leo and I proceeded back to the office.  Taking a detour through the Korean section.  Ruth said that lots of Koreans own the maquiladoras (sweatshops) and they really alienate themselves from the Guatemalans.  Most do not learn the language and they live separately and even have separate stores.  She said Guatemalans are not welcome in the Korean stores.  The neighborhood was not fancy but you could see that it was definitely separate.  You could see the stores with Korean writing on the signs.

Ruth, Leo and I stopped for ice cream and then came back to the office.  Late in the afternoon we both rested and then at about 6:30 started some office work.  When I was resting I left the front window open just a little.  This is such a fun neighborhood because the children are always playing out on the street.   They play kick ball quite a bit.  The balls often land on the roofs of the houses and then fall down in the areas of the homes that don't have roofs.  So after loosing their ball in someones house,  the children go door to door knocking and asking for their balls back.  They particularly liked knocking on my door because I am such an oddity.  I would go to the door and quite a few small brown faces would look up at me and in Spanish say, "Tienes mi pelota?" (Do you have my ball?)  I would then say "Que colores es?" (What color is it?)  They would tell me the color and I would go back and look.  I would come back and tell them I didn't have it and off they would go.  About every 20 minutes they would come and ask me.  At one point I heard a ball land back by the pila. Then I heard the knock and there were about 6 children all with smiles asking for the ball.  I asked them what color, they told me and I went back and found it.  Then they told me thank you in English.  This has become quite a game for us.

Ruth and I worked in the office for awhile and then joined her brother and sister-in-law for some black beans and tea.  I will have to tell you about them sometime.  They are very interesting people.  Right now they are not living in their home because Leo is getting death threats.

Take care and I will write more later.

Diane

Quote for the Day. Since this is Sunday this will be my quote.  "Here I stand on the edge of this new morning with the windows of my heart flung wide.  O Lord, let me take in your world....your children...your LOVE."