Service Trip to Guatemala

At our August 27th lunch meeting, Rotarians Ron Crawford, Wendy Davis and Linda Borton shared their experiences from their January 2009 trip to Guatemala. Ron's wife Diane also made the trip. The group worked in Tatin at the AK Tenamit school, which is the school that our District and our Club has visited and supported in the past.

Students working in groups and their breakfast/lunch/dinner.

The school charges no tuition, but the students must work and serve the needs of the school. The students’ diet consists exclusively of rice, beans and tortillas, which they eat 3 times per day, every day. Ron remarked that the students were very well dressed and remarkably well mannered. The Rotarians’ work at the school consisted of sanding furniture, varnishing chairs, and assembly of a stove. They also carried bunk bed parts to an open air dorm and helped construct the bunk beds, along with installation of screening on the open air dorms to keep the vampire bats from biting the students (yikes)!

Building stoves and the first batch of tortillas.

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Building bunk beds and the water project hike.

The Rotarians also assisted with a water project which involved a 2 hour hike through heavily forested areas, and then educating the families receiving the filters on how to use the very efficient and easy to use ceramic water filtration system. The Rotarians also painted examination rooms in a medical clinic. Their trip finished up with a relaxing stay a five star hotel in Antigua. The Rotarians were accompanied by security during their trip, but always felt safe regardless of the security.

Assembling the water filters and the finished product.

Our Rotary Club will send two groups to Guatemala in January, 2010 at an all-inclusive cost of $1600 per person. The trip may involve work on a library that District 6440 wants to begin building in January.