Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, 1/11/2010
Guatemala has been superb thus far. I have met some of the most incredible people in my life, gone through some very eye-opening experiences, and really gained some insight into human values by learning from the Guatemalans we are serving and the Americans I am working with.
I just finished dinner at the Iguana once again and have come back early to sit and reflect to myself. Before recapping the day’s events, I would like to acquaint you with Team Pura (the name of my team, which means “pure” in Spanish).
Team Pura
Team Pura is an interdisciplinary team, composed of myself, a Systems Engineering student, Hiba and Liz, two Civil Engineering students, Jake, a Commerce student, and Alex, an Economics student. Each of us has a very different perspective of how we should approach our mission, which is twofold. First, our main objective is to provide a filtration technology that will facilitate with the Tzununa community of Lake Atitlan with pure water. We wish to complement that effort with a hygiene program that will prevent the diagnosis of waterborne illnesses in the community.
For the first time in my life, this project has given me the opportunity to interact with real stakeholders to solve a real-world problem. The success of our mission can set a precedent for a best-approach model for future projects in the region (and I like to think the world). Throughout the project, I have attempted to make input that would allow the group to think with a Systems Engineering methodology, whereby we clearly define our objective, seek alternative solutions, rate those solutions based on metric system, and ultimately implement the most viable solution. Our emphasis in this project is to take a collaborative approach with the community. The success of the project depends just as much on the community as it does on us. The most desirable solution would be a win-win situation. Jake and I have discussed the concept of corporate social responsibility in depth and the humanitarian aspect of this project has come up repeatedly in our meetings.
We are working with Building Goodness Foundation (BGF), a Charlottesville based NGO that carries out development work in Haiti and Guatemala, Mayan Medical Aid, a local clinic in Santa Cruz, and the Emergency Committee of Tzununa. Our liaison is Jessica, a local Guatemalan who has been very helpful and is very friendly, and our mentors are Professor Elzey and Dr. Burt, two UVA professors with much insight into engineering in a global context.
I consider myself to be very fortunate to have selected this as my senior design project because I am passionate about the cause of our mission and it has introduced me to a field of work that I am very interested in. Also, I have met some people with a wide breadth of experience in this kind of work. This is an industry for serving people and making their lives better. I would much rather have a career in such a field than work for some dull industry. This is a dream come true and I pray that in the future I have the opportunity to do similar projects.
Enough said about the scope of our project, let me go over another amazing day in Guatemala. Today, we met the folks from BGF and our mentors at the lobby of La Casa Rosa at 8:15am for breakfast. As usual, I ordered a Chapin (a breakfast meal composed of black beans, fried eggs, and plantains) and a fruit salad and granola for desert.
Team Pura then had a meeting at the dock, which was more like a brainstorming session that lasted 15 minutes. After the meeting, I spent an hour or so reading more about Guatemala in a guidebook that covered everything from Guatemalans’ customs and religion to Guatemala’s rich history.
After my reading session I mounted the hill with the group to Mayan Medical Aid’s clinic, where we met BGF and the mentors, along with Dr. Sinkinson, the director to Mayan Medical Aid. From there, we decided to visit the Tzununa community of the first time.
Tzununa is about a 10-minute boat ride away from Santa Cruz. On the boat ride over, I sat at the front to snap a couple of shots of the lake. Today it was pretty much cloudless, except from the mist surrounding the summit of the volcanoes. As we drove past the hills, there were several houses in the hills that belonged to foreigners. These were mansions that were dug into the mountains. I can imagine how beautiful their view must have been. I would love to own something of the like someday.
Photos from the boat ride:
Some of the mansions owned by expatriates on the shores of the lake:
We reached Tzununa around 3pm. This town was located in a gorgeous, hidden gulf of the lake. Paulina, a native of Tzununa who speaks Spanish and Catchical, the local Mayan language, showed us around. Tzununa is a very shanty town with many concrete houses with tin roofs. We toured the townhouse where the school, the mayor’s office, and a local clinic were located.
What truly amazes me about the villages around Lake Atitlan is how steep they are. Going up the roads of Tzununa was almost a frightful experience as the roads would sometimes be so steep that one would feel as if they were climbing a wall. It actually reminded me of when I climbed the Great Wall outside of Beijing. The locals are all very friendly. I was discussing with Professor Elzey how despite the hardships they live through, the Guatemalans are a perseverant people, always looking towards the future with optimism and ambition. Also, even though we were rich tourists, the poor townspeople always welecomed us with an “Ola!’ or a smile!
The steep roads of Tzununa:
On the way down from Tzununa, I ran in to a bunch of kids playing soccer and had the chance to take a shot with the ball. It was a lousy shot compared to the skill of the Guatemalan kids who were doing everything from bicycle kicks to headers.
The soccer field
As we left Tzununa, we saw a bunch of medics transfer a Mayan teenage girl onto a Red Cross boat who was having birth complications. It was a very sad sight to witness but it reminded me of the importance and severity of the problem in these communities and how much of an impact service projects, like the one I am involved in, can make.
Anyways, here I am back in my hotel room getting really sleepy, so I’m just going to call it a night. Adios amigo!
View of the lake from Tzununa
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