Guatemala

Continuing Promise

Puerto Barrios, Guatemala

Day 1 Scouting for Schools:

Due to the fantastic coordination of the ACE Team, we had obtained a
listing from Guatemala’s Minister of Education including the priority
schools for the area. Our next step was to investigate each school to
confirm if the numbers that were provided were correct. We needed to
make sure that we had the correct number of backpacks for the
students.

The day began with a ride on a Landing Craft Unit, we arrived to a
beach port of the local Navy-it was very pleasant similar to a fishing
port I would say. There were even old boats on either side of a gravel
path leading away from the main road; some had so much overgrowth you
would believe them to be there for several years. There was also a
canoe storage made of leaves, which reminded me of the Bahamas.

We rode to medical site 1 to await our transportation for the day. We
hopped into our van with our Guatemalan military escorts and headed to
a listing of sites that were pre-screened. The first school that we
arrived to was listed to have 285 students total; to our surprise when
we arrived they had well over 500 students. We were so thankful that
we had the opportunity to verify the number; otherwise we would have
been short quite a bit. We decided to focus on smaller three rural
schools in Puerto Barrios and were able to schedule the distributions
with the principles-we were so excited to work directly with the
schools. All of the schools had no grass, playground, or substantial
materials. We had a feeling that this experience would be amazing.

Day 2 Caserio Del Mitch:

Our intuitions were correct-the children were so loving and
appreciative. We had a few marines join us as well as Lyndsey Hodges
from the Greitens Foundation to help distribute backpacks, stuffed
animals, and some toys donated by Heather, our pediatric nurse friend
volunteering for Project Hope. We began by giving the pre-schoolers
stuffed animals, they were so cute and shy. They grasped onto the
animals with a look of curiosity, like “who are these people and why
are they here?” Their teacher helped to raise their level of comfort
and soon they were smiling.

We were surprised as after only our first class, some little first
grade girls started giving each of us Fantas-(My favorite). Orange and
grape flavored goodness! Their only water source was a pipe on the
edge of the property so to receive soda demonstrated a great
appreciation for our visit. We thanked everyone with hugs. The kids
loved pictures, especially with their friends-which gave them the
opportunity to throw peace signs behind unknowing friends’ heads-as
well as hugs. Each class did not want us to move on to the next class,
so they would attempt to keep us around by asking for more hugs and
photos. Each class had a few children that would wait outside the
classroom doors for us to swing back by for more questions and laughs.
We continued to each class, we finished the distribution in the
morning and distributed in the afternoon as well.

The kids loved their bags and toys. One of the marines played soccer
with the kids, he was all over the place-funny thing is the kids were
running circles around him. He was a good sport though trying his best
to keep up. So, I watched some girls walk over to the water spout and
fill up a water balloon. I was a bit confused because it was only one
balloon and in some areas they might drink water this way. However, as
it turned out the girls were plotting to throw it at someone but did
not know who to hit. My thoughts were to throw it at one of the
marines-of course. I pointed to two of the marines that had been
helping us out and they immediately all chose David, the marine who
was playing soccer. We all gathered in a crowd and approached his
position slowly. He had no idea what was coming. On command one of the
girls launched the water balloon, but unfortunately she completely
missed aiming at his feet. David, the marine, was still caught off
guard and we all laughed at the attempt. As we were leaving the
school, the children gathered around the windows of the van laughing,
yelling “Adios”, jumping, and waving us on our way. They were going
crazy! There was so much energy everywhere, I was sad to leave such
wonderful children.

Day 3 Escuela Barrio Mixo Rural:

We had five marines join us for our second distribution in Guatemala,
each time we try to get different marines that have not had the
opportunity to visit the countries prior. We arrived at our
destination and the kids were laughing from each of the classrooms.
You could sense that they were just waiting for their turn. The school
was settled in between buildings, the lot seemed similar as to where
you might see a residential space. However, they had managed to
construct an open space for the children to play despite limited
space.

We lined up the marines in four rows, the system worked well for
directing each kid up to the marine waiting on his knee with a
backpack and high-five. One of the marines and I grabbed some toys
that were donated and went down the lines passing out one to each girl
and boy. It was a little treat on the side. Janina did a fantastic job
organizing the classes and directing the children. Once we had
finished distributing to the children, the principle requested
additional backpacks for a few children that were absent. We were more
than happy to oblige. The principle and cook were also kind enough to
provide each of us with a chicken-sub sandwich and a local soda. We
felt so thankful to have received such a gift. Food really makes me
happy! We talked and hung out with the children for an hour or so
afterward. The children started taking some of their new notebooks and
pens and were requesting autographs from each of us. It was so
cute-one of the marines exclaimed “I’m famous, I’m famous” as he was
surrounded by children saying por favor (please) sign my paper. With
just a simple signature, we were able to bring additional smiles to
the kids, something small but impactful.

Day 4 Escuela Barrio Mixo Rural- El Lara:

Our third school had a wide courtyard with a concrete space for soccer
or basketball, with a little bodega (store) on the side. It was
convenient for the children to have the ability to walk a few feet to
delicious snacks and drinks. It was brightly colored due to the
Coca-Cola endorsed sides, which was interesting as the stands seemed
to be a running theme-we saw similar ones at medical site 1 which was
a high school.

We had a veterinarian technician Jill (World Vets) and a nurse Brooke
from (National Nurses United) join our team for the day, along with
the marines that volunteered. We had to move quickly since the
majority of the distribution had the students standing in a line
outside as we rotated in and out to hand deliver the backpacks. It was
also a national holiday for Guatemala so the schools were all letting
out early. The scene ended up resembled an assembly line with
exchanges of pounds (fist to fist) between the volunteers and
students. There were a lot of older students at this school, finishing
out the sixth grade a bit later. There response to the donation
included a cool handshake and smile. We met with the director and a
few teachers before our departure and gave them some teacher satchels
and hugs. Next, we jumped in our red van and headed back to the
medical site for a change over in personnel.

A Naval Ace Team member (a friend by the name of “Panama” who is
amazing) helped us to coordinate our distribution in Guatemala and was
able to facilitate a donation for us to a small orphanage as our last
stop in that journey. When we pulled up to the orphanage all of the
kids were in their eating/meeting room where the military volunteers
were painting as part of their community relation project or Comrel.

There were bright blues and purples throughout some of the rooms with
Disney characters decorating the walls. It is amazing to see how much
Disney is integrated around the world, being from Orlando it reminds
me of home and also how lucky we are to get the opportunity to see it
in person.

One of the girls took me on a tour of their living quarters; it was a
concrete building up the hill with some pink paint. It was not obvious
at the time; however, later in a meeting on the ship I learned that
they did not have running water for a few months before the Navy came
and fixed their water pump. The girls slept in beds all in a row with
a variety of sheets and blankets. I remember wondering how it would be
to sleep in a building all concrete with nothing for windows but bars
and a ripped screen to keep out the critters at night. All of the
children were sweet.

We gave all of the children backpacks and left some extra for some
children that were not present. Due to the kindness of the other NGO
volunteers and some military we were able to collect some donations of
toiletry items (soap, shampoo, etc.) and clothing (shoes, pants,
shirts) prior to our visit to give to the children. Every little bit
helps and goes a long way. It was great to see the director’s
appreciation. As we pulled away from the orphanage all of the children
and adults stood in the entrance waving, smiling, and laughing. While
we all said goodbye, I knew that there was a great impact there and
hoped to surely return to Guatemala one day.