2020....!!!

December 2020, Newsletter

Dear Friends and Donors,

2020 began as planned. By March, GHA was finishing it’s 47th house construction and was supporting the education of 50 students, from primary grades and into university. Then Covid hit. Transportation within Guatemala came to a halt, materials for building could not be obtained, classes became remote, and we had to roll with the new reality. Quarantining was much more strict there than in the US, which may account for Guatemala’s dramatically lower rates of infection. That said, there have been cases and deaths in the communities we serve. Our Social Worker, Cecilia Batz Bizarro, herself was weeks in recovery. The toll from work loss on families has been daunting. Remittances from ‘away’ abruptly tumbled. September saw some openings, but without tourism much of the economy is still on hold. Transportation has begun to move, but the cost of a fare is 2 to 3 times what it was previously while at the same time wages have dropped.

line up for GHA provisions

Malnutrition in Guatemala, already the most pervasive in Latin America, has more than doubled during the pandemic.

We are fortunate to have an incredible team steering GHA, our Director Madai Yojcom and Social Worker Cecy. In April they switched their efforts to humanitarian aid and addressing food insecurity in their own hometowns of San Juan and San Pedro, since traveling to even adjacent communities was prohibited. All told, they delivered 1340 bundles of food, each to sustain a family of 4 for 2 weeks. In doing so, they generated income for the local farmers. The community garden GHA helped create pre-covid became bountiful at just the right time. We are proud that with their keen understanding of the local communities, our staff was able to guide 2 other great international nonprofits, Water4Life and Global Pediatric Alliance, in delivering their aid where most needed.

The Community garden in Pasajquim

mentoring

With the schools closed, the 11 university students sponsored by GHA were able to continue their studies remotely. So, too, some of the kids in upper grades. But the younger kids, without internet and with mostly illiterate parents, have really struggled and lost ground. As soon as the country began to reopen, and even as schools remained closed, GHA hired mentors and began tutoring these kids 2 hours twice a week each to help them get up to speed.

We have also restarted workshops with the incredibly motivated moms of our sponsored students. They choose to learn to make soap, a hot commodity during covid times and also a product that they hope will generate income when tourism resumes.

October 7th brought another unforeseen disaster in the form of a massive boulder that rolled nearly a km down the steep, rain-soaked side of Lago de Atitlan`s caldera and into the town of San Marcos. 4 members of one family died, 10 homes were destroyed and 200 families were evacuated from their homes for fear of more rocks letting loose. Our team evaluated the needs of those families and again applied itself to humanitarian aid, this time in the form of providing clothing for families who were displaced or lost everything. Credit also goes to the many local volunteers that Madai has been able to rally to help with both the clothing and food distributions. She really makes our outreach a community empowering effort.

GHA’s super team: Social Worker Cecy on Left, and Director Madai

As GHA moves into 2021, we expect to continue shifting our focus increasingly towards Education, supporting more students and their families in ways that will impact future generations. GHA is able to serve these communities only because of our generous donors. We thank you.

As always, the founding family pays all overhead costs so donations directly support our programs.

GHA is a 501c3 nonprofit

guatemala housing alliancePO Box 131Bow, WA 98232

An exciting year in review

At 8 years old, GHA is steady and strong, expanding upon our education mission while continuing our construction program.  Our superb local staff, Director Maria Madai Yojcom and Social Worker Cecy Batz Bizarro, serve the most pressing needs of their communities.

GHA has a deep commitment to education and now offers weekly workshops to the mothers of GHA's 56 scholarship students.   The mothers suggest the topics and GHA finds teachers.   Workshops have included legal rights, nutrition, crafts, STDs, and entrepreneurship. These workshops are enthusiatically received.  We were pleased to receive a grant from American Women for International Understanding to help support this empowering initiative.   

In October we invited our 15 university scholarhip students to a celebratory dinner.  These students and their families have overcome huge challenges to reach this level while the average indigenous child in Guatemala attends school only 2.5 years.   We are exceedingly proud of these young people, and terribly thankful for our donors who support them.   You should know that by doing so, generations of a family will likely rise beyond poverty.

For our sponsored students we offer enrichment workshops with topics such as ecology, recycling, photography, family planning and diversity.   We offer and require tutoring for any of our students who are struggling, as well as Spanish language classes for children entering school who hear only Tz’utujil spoken at home.   And in November GHA produced our 4th annual Vacation School in remote Pasajquim, offering 100 kids classes in art, music, science, sports, crafts and more during their summer break…..and, importantly, a healthy meal each day.

 

We continue to build ecologically sustainable homes for families whose homes were unsafe, unstable and unsecure (46 homes to date) while improving stable homes by laying cement floors over dirt (138 to date) and leaking lamina roofs with new (45).   Safe housing in which good hygiene can be maintained is essential to the welfare of a family. According to UC Berkeley’s Center of Evaluation for Global Action, replacing dirt floors with cement results in 13% less diarrhea and a 20% reduction of anemia.  Consequently, toddlers score 30% higher on language and communication skills.   

As from the beginning, the five founding siblings pay all overhead costs, including staffing, office expenditures and our own transportation.   

Every penny from donors directly funds one of our projects.   We welcome you to partner with us in these efforts.   

Volunteer Experiences

if you’re thinking about working or volunteering with GHA, read this post written by our Fundraising and Development Intern to get a feel of what working with us is like!

Working with GHA has been a lot of fun and definitely taught me a lot. Although I primarily work on grants, fundraising, and running the social media accounts, I have also gotten a chance to see the construction and education programs in action. In my time here I have learned how to clean cane for building with bajareque and gotten to attend a taller for the children of Pasajquim. I love how GHA gets up close and personal with the people they are helping. As someone with a degree in international development and experience working with other NGOs, I have seen different strategies and programs, and in my opinion GHA’s is one of the best. Every family we work with really gets to know and form a relationship with the staff members who are here in San Juan. The work environment is flexible and laid back (just like most things in Guatemala) and has provided me with an overall great experience! 

Progress!

An update:   Our co-op building model has been working wonderfully well.   Groups of 3 families unite to labor together to build 3 homes and that has constituted their entire investment in the homes.   We are just finishing our 31st home, the last 11 having been bajareque.  

We have attempted to entirely get away from using cement in our builds, as it's production is onerous to the planet, but we've yet to find a good alternative for the floors.   We continue to experiment with different natural options that don't require expensive (unattainable) upkeep.

This year we are supporting 65 students, 7 of whom are in college...a fantastic achievement for them.  

All of our students have the benefit of enrichment classes from GHA, and students (native T'zutujil speakers) who struggle with Spanish are tutored.   We have seen marked improvement and success for these kids.

Our Music classes are also in full swing in Pasajquim.

We are grateful to Mexicali Blues for their support.   The Maine based retailer with a  vibrant online presence is marketing the bracelets that the women of Pasajquim are making, and donating 100% of the sale (!) to GHA.   The bracelets are the product of workshops that GHA organized for that under-served community. To check them out, click here!

Bittersweet

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Almu....a director in the truest sense.  Thank you.

We want to acknowledge the wealth or work thatAlmudena Villario Martinez has done over the last couple of years as Director of GHA. Her innovation has expended the organization's scope, her godwill and cheer in the community has won the hearts of many, and her work has benefitted so many families. We are grateful and fortunate to have had her. Now, as Almu moves on to another adventure, we are joined by Patricia Macias Lopez as Directora. Patricia has several years of nonprofit experience in Guatemala and we are excited that she has chosen to work with us.

July 2016...sustainability and community

We have tried to build for the poorest of the poor, while being sure that they have a significant investment in their homes.   Previously our families paid 25% of the cost of their homes over 5 years with no interest...it averaged about $8/month.   And that was still too burdensome a commitment for some.    Now we have begun a 'labor cooperative'.   A family is required to send a representative to work on 3 homes, and that alone becomes their equity in their home.  

Currently we are building the 2nd of the 3 homes with our first group of families and all is going wonderfully well.   Since these are truly impoverished families, GHA helps out by providing a quintal (100#) of corn for strength.   The families are excited and their dedication to the work reflects that.   

In our march towards sustainability, we continue with bajareque (wattle and daub) building, but now using cypress instead of bamboo.   The bamboo is absolutely beautiful but may leave the families with a burden of pest control.   

hard situations for these families....hard to keep your kids safe and healthy

new home....happy, secure, healthier family

Building this way is quite a bit more expensive for GHA.   We very much felt the need to build with as little cement as possible, as it's production is such a detriment to the environment.   But this new style costs 50% more to build, plus we are receiving no monetary contributions from the families.   But we are PROUD of both the process and the new co-op, which forges new relationships in the community.

This is an audio recording made by a spectacular GHA volunteer, Morgana.   It was created a couple houses back, as we were working on our first bamboo bajareque home

A Before and After story

This is from a journal by a friend dear to GHA.   It is the story of how hope and dignity changes lives.   Please read.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/charmion-oday/journal-entry-day-2-hope-comes-to-life/1155345127824041

2016 Scholarship update

January is the beginning of the school season in Guatemala and this year GHA is glad to be able to help 65 students pursue their education.   For the primary aged kids, it is often just school supplies, shoes, backpacks and any mentoring necessary.  But older students often need books, transportation, registration and costly school fees.  Some, whose hometowns have no school, need expenses for living away from home.

We are proud this year to have 7 students at university level.   For these indigenous youths, living in extreme poverty, often raised in homes where no Spanish is spoken and parents are illiterate, this is a truly awesome accomplishment.   It has taken sacrifice from the entire family, and immense commitment from the students to get to this level.  All work weekdays and study on weekends.  

Below.....some of our becados...scholarship recipients....this year

Fall 2015 update

GHA had a very wonderful fall, particularly with our first 'green' build.   The first 20 homes we built were of concrete block, reinforced with rebar.   These have been good sturdy and secure homes.   But we felt that moving away from cement, which uses vast amounts of energy to manufacture, would be beneficial to both the planet and to the home recipients.   In late November we finished Casa #21, a home made of bamboo, cane, local pumice, lime, pine needles and adobe mud.  It is beautiful, will stand up well to earthquakes and will breathe in a way that cement never could.   Actually this is a hybrid house, for we still haven't figured out a floor that requires as little maintenance as cement, nor a roof as handy as lamina.

Narrow wood boards are attached to the vertical bamboo.  On these, can~a is wired on both sides, creating a cage into which a mixture of adobe mud, pine needles and pumice is applied.

GHA welcomes its wonderful volunteers....these being homeschoolers from Seattle

Lime stucco is applied over the mud...first a rough layer, then a finished.

Above, the final coat of flooring is applied.   This family chose green.  The following photo is of the inside of this family's previous home.   They had no beds and slept on the dirt/sometimes mud floor.   With holes in the walls and roof there was no protection from the elements.

We are expecting to do our second bajareque build beginning in January.   These builds take longer than a block build, an entire month, and cost us 50% more, but the outcome and benefits seem well worth it.

COME BUILD WITH US!!!

Progress

Well, its obvious that social media isn't my strong point.   BUT, in fact, GHA has done a terrific amount of work since our first, the last, blog.   

We have focused a lot of energy into Pasajquim.   As of today, we have built 4 homes there and 2 classrooms.  In the spring of 2014 we inaugurated a uke-based music program which has been an incredible success.    This was what our fundraiser looked like:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ukes-and-music-to-pasajquim   

Now about 400 kids have music lessons weekly....and some small groups have been asked to play at events in other communities.   I'd love for us to be able to expand this to include those children who, for economic necessity, can no longer stay in school.   And to the many, many interested adults.

We also started a beading workshop for single, unemployed mothers in this community.   20 women have been tutored to begin a co-op, now selling their wares through a couple of organizations with roots in the US.   Should you want to help support this, GHA is happy to take wholesale orders...you can contact our Director, Almudena at avillarino2036@hotmail.com.

A GHA alliance with the worthy non-profit Centro Maya now makes available unprecedented access to therapy for handicapped children in Pasajquim.   And GHA funders have stocked the town's small clinic with medical supplies and essential antibiotics.

Other work in this town included a 'Vacation School'.   Traditionally, when the school year ends in October, even the library closes.   We coordinated and funded a program so each morning kids could come do handicrafts, take music, art and science lessons and receive a much needed meal.  Daily enrollment was high

We have also moved more of our attention to San Pablo La Laguna.   To date we have laid nearly 100 floors there to alleviate much of the suffering that comes from constant contact with parasites.   I wish you could see the pride of ownership, as a dirt floored home gets a makeover.

The school year in Guatemala begins in January and this year we have been able to offer many more scholarships.   Most of the new recipients are in San Pablo and Pasajquim.   The latter doesn't have a high school, so if children want to continue their studies their costs include not only school fees and materials, but also transportation, food and lodging.   

We had a group from the US building a home for the family in SanPablo.  That was be GHA's 17th homebuild.  Through donor generosity, this family's situation will become more safe, healthy and easy.   Below  is the home being replaced, though it barely shows that the wall behind the cornstalks is caving in and the roof is a sieve.

Today the door and windows will be installed in our 19th and 20th homes, also built in San Pablo.   These homes replace an absolutely decrepit, tiny home a family of 8 had rented for 14 years, sleeping on the floors dirt or mud.

So here we are, still a small non-profit, stretching our resources to accomplish some important projects, always finding ways to ally ourselves with other good local orgs, and always welcoming the donations and assistance of friends.   Thank you, thank you.