San Antonio Summer Update

Happenings at the Casita

   

Every month we receive updates and photos from La Casita — the house and garden that now houses a learning centre for kids, a library, a twice-weekly lunch and social program for poor and elderly women, adult literacy courses, and more. The news is heartening. Teachers at the two schools are referring students in increasing numbers to the centre, and our coordinator, Yesenia, along with her part-time helper, Lidia, are engaging these kids in maths, reading and writing activities in interactive ways that are very different from the rote-based methods used in most Guatemalan classrooms. Plus lots of kids come just to read (many are members of the kids’ book club), and to use the computers for research. 

In July there were 643 student-visits to the centre — over 20 a day. 

Tuning Up San Antonio’s Stoves

Those of you who have been involved with the San Antonio project in the last few years will already know about the stove project. Mayan families have traditionally cooked over an open fire in their tiny, windowless homes — a practice leading to respiratory and eye diseases, burns, and deforestation. For over 10 years, our ICO group has worked hard to replace these open hearths with clean-burning, vented stoves that have improved health, and reduced deforestation because they use less wood. This year we decided that we’d achieved our goal in terms of stove installation — we’d managed to install almost 1,500 stoves. Now the problem is that many of these stoves are getting old and needing replacement parts in order to burn efficiently. 

So in June and July, Brenda Pérez— a past employee and currently one of our scholarship students in her 3rd year of university — visited homes, identified parts needing replacement, ordered the parts, and worked with a helper to get the parts properly installed. In all, 97 families received replacement parts and tune-ups, and we hope to continue this program into the future.

What a great feeling for all of us involved in various forms of support for San Antonio, to know that lives are being transformed through our partnership with these strong, motivated Mayans making a difference in their community.