This past week my group traveled to Lago Atitlán, a huge tourist site in Guatemala, for our midpoint retreat. Here we took a break from the chilly temperatures and routinized schedule in Nebaj in favor of a warmer climate with adventurous activities like kayaking and swimming.
A panoramic view of Lago Atitlán!
Snapshot I took while kayaking in Lago Atitlán!
In addition to relaxing and engaging in typical tourist activities, one day was completely devoted to reflection about the progress of our projects in Nebaj and our goals for the next three weeks.
Coming in to this retreat, our group was frustrated and lost with the direction of our project because it felt like we kept talking in circles, there was nothing our skills were suited to, and that the problems of the school were so vast and deeply rooted in funding that the only project idea we thought we could do was create a database for possible grants and establish a system of metrics for the school to use in applying to these grants. However, we were unsure about the sustainability of this project, if we could complete it in a month, and how effective it would really be.
Therefore, during the reflection period, we decided to return to the ideation phase, allowing ourselves to be creative in utilizing the resources the school already has to further work towards its mission.
A glimpse into our reflection, organization, and brainstorming process!
After ideating, we eventually came up with a realistic proposal of organizing an annual community event for the school to promote visibility of the school, empower the students, help local sustainable funding, and raise awareness and consciousness of special needs children. This idea utilizes our skills of organization and producing while expanding what the students are already doing: making jewelry, preparing music and dance performances, and attending community events.
After presenting this idea to Jacinta, the director of the school, she mentioned another idea: to create a short video about the school with testimonials from students, parents, and teachers to share not only at the event but also at other schools or churches in the community in order to spread awareness about the school, create empathy for the students, and show others that the students are capable of being productive members of their society. Since another member of my group and I have experience shooting and editing videos, we agreed to also take on this task and are very excited about it.
After the reflection in Lago Atitlán and the long but productive meeting with Jacinta discussing our ideas and the needs of the school, I feel rejuvenated and inspired to work for the last three weeks in Nebaj. Together with Jacinta, we discovered a project that best uses our assets instead of one that highlights our weaknesses and time limitations. I am so excited to see this project through over the next month!
Another fun view from Lago Atitlán!
-Lucia Boyd