Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, 1/14/10
So I missed the yoga session I had intended to attend earlier today because I overslept. . Come to think of it, I couldn’t have made it anyways simply because it conflicted with our meeting time at 9am. Anyways, I got up at 9am sharp, showered, and got to breakfast around 9:15am. For breakfast, I stuffed down 3 “pancakas” and a fruit salad. Lately, I’ve been overindulging in food since its so cheap here in Guatemala and frankly this makes me very guilty. Right outside our hotel gate, there are plenty of undernourished children and the sight of them makes me question my habits. Although I am still growing physiologically and at the prime of my appetite, I should eat as much as I need and not more. This is a valuable lesson that I try to practice from this day on.
So we boarded a boat heading to Tzununa around 10am. Today’s mission in Tzununa was a crucial one. We would visit Mayan Medical Aid’s mobile clinic and hold a meeting with the leaders of Tzununa, our client community of approximately 400 families. Luckily, I got to witness Dr. Sinkinson’s consultation sessions with the Mayan families that were visiting his clinic today. Almost all the clients that attended the clinic were there because of their children’s illnesses. We saw about five children today. Each of them was petrified at the sight of foreigners. All our smiles didn’t suffice to stop these children’s crying, but once the doctor pulled out a toy for the children, they forgot their worries and relaxed suddenly.
A shot of the dock at Tzununa
It was devastating seeing all the Mayan women coming in the clinic worried as hell about their babies. These children were suffering from ill stomachs, malnutrition, and waterborne illnesses. This gave plenty of purpose to our water filtration project.
What was interesting was that the Mayans didn’t speak a word of Spanish in a country in which the official language is Spanish. So in the operation room, we had a girl translate from Katchikal to Spanish and another person translate from Spanish to English so that we could understand the content of the medical diagnosis.
Watching the dire circumstances in which these people lived was an extremely humbling experience, which won’t wear off me for sometime. After seeing the hell in which these people live, I don’t think I can complain about a single thing in my life. I am grateful for all the God has bestowed upon me, and I believe that it is my duty to serve others who are less fortunate. Once I “make it,” I will certainly draw on this experience to hold myself accountable to sharing my fortune with others.
After attending the clinic, we climbed up into the mountains where we were due to meet the Emergency Committee, the leadership of the Tzununa community. Surprisingly, for such a primitive community, there was an effective political structure that governed the various affairs of its constituents. In addition to the Emergency Committee, there was the Development Committee, the Board of Teachers, and others…
The protocol for meetings here is very strange. Our meeting was at 3pm, which in Guatemalan time meant that the meeting’s participants could show up at anytime from 3pm to 4pm. Before the meeting starts, everyone shakes everyone else’s hand, and we passed out a banana cake that we had baked for them at he Iguana. There were about 12 Guatemalans, Team Pura (my group), Dr. Sinkinson and his wife, Carmen, and Paulina, our translator. The Guatemalans sat on one side, and we on another.
Once the meeting began, Carmen introduced us and other project. At first there seemed to be much tension in the air. I felt that the Tzununa leadership was skeptical of our project, so we had to win their trust over. Paulina and Carmen did an excellent job of describing our detail in depth. After much discussion and negotiation, we reached a compromise. Fortunately the Committee accepted our proposal, but we agreed to involve them in the monitoring phase of the participant families so as to allow all transparency. Also, we agreed to hold joint education programs with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health. Overall, our meeting was very successful. This was indeed another milestone in our project.
Once again, we expressed our gratitude for their support, shook all their hands again, and were off. As Dr. Sinkinson put it, “We had just killed the dear, the easiest phase of the hunt. Now we had to skin the dear and follow through.” This metaphor meant that we had just received their approval and now we must fulfill our promises by delivering them an effective filtration system. In my eyes, this was the most important phase of our project. We have now crossed from the hypothetical planning phase into the practical aspect of the project. I am confident that we shall succeed.
We took a launch back to Santa Cruz, had a filling dinner at Casa Rosa, and here I am typing this. Tomorrow we have a meeting with Carlos, a member from the Ministry of Health with whom we will be testing samples of the water from Tzununa to determine the presence of E. Choli, bacteria, and viruses. That means that we’ll have to be up by 8am tomorrow. The rest of the group went to the Iguana to chill. I think I’ll spend the rest of the night reading the Bhagavad Gita and get an early night’s sleep.
Asta Maniana!
A shot of the sky at dusk
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