Hello to all!  

We just wanted to let you know how things are going in San Antonio. 

So far, there have been no COVID cases in San Antonio. It is hoped that schools will open at the beginning of February. Although there are still no tourists to buy weavings and pottery, a few visitors are trickling in from the capital, and there’s a little bit of business. For now, we are continuing with monthly food distribution to the neediest families.

Families are so Appreciative

German passing out beans

Ronaldo helping load the food

This week marked the start of the Christmas holiday. Students had to get all their completed assignments handed in, in order to pass their year. The Casita has been going full bore, as Evelyn and Lidya, the two teachers, worked tirelessly with over 50 kids coming to the Casita in groups, to help them with the concepts they needed to get through their assignments. Now the Casita will be closed for 3 weeks of holiday. Since there are now no COVID restrictions in Guatemala, things finished up with a bang — a big fiesta. 

Ancianas enjoying Tamales

Lunch for the Students

Petrona, Lidia and Evelyn receiving their gifts

The Casita Team enjoying their Christmas Lunch

The Children received Surprises from Candelaria

The Students Christmas with Punch and Tamales

The Ancianas (elderly widows) were all presented with special Christmas food to help them through the holidays. 

Candelaria shares a special moment with the ancianas

Petrona Distributing Food to the Ancianas

The Ancianas December Birthdays

Our scholarship students have been working hard this term, keeping up with assignments and doing online courses whenever possible. Right now, interviews are in process to identify more poor, bright students who could join the program in the coming year. Here are some of this year’s students — kids who wouldn’t have a chance at an education without financial support from ICO.

Scholarship Students

So, thanks again to all of our donors for enabling us to offer these programs. Your gifts have made a huge difference to this community. All of us — the volunteers here on Vancouver Island, and all those Mayan families in San Antonio — wish you a very warm and peaceful Christmas, and a happy new year.

Un abrazo fuerte,

La Casita Team

San Antonio Christmas Cards

Once again, our team has created a set of gift Christmas cards for those who would like to make a donation to the work of the Casita in the name of a friend or family member.  Here are 2 designs that highlight the work being done at the Casita with children and elderly widows.

For the past few years, we have invited donors to pay for a library book. Each year we gathered books from various places – Victoria bookstores, Mexican bookstores we stopped at en route – to build up the Casita library.  (Children’s books in Guatemala are scarce and expensive.) This year, COVID has temporarily put a stop to our book-packing routine. However, we’re hoping that our Casita team will be able to purchase some books in Guatemala, and that next year we’ll once again be able to return to Guatemala and resume our regular book program. 

This card is for those who would like to pay for a book in the name of a friend, or family member (perhaps a grandchild).

If you’d like to receive these gift cards, please let me know (or contact any of our team) and we’ll make sure they get to you: susangage@innovativecommunities.org.  

La Casita in the time of COVID

Fortunately, as of October 2020, there are no COVID cases in the small village of San Antonio Palopó.  However, the government mandated lock-down has been devastating for most families, who are now without an income. The La Casita Learning Centre (Centro de Aprendizaje la Casita) continues to be a hub of learning and support for all ages in the small community of San Antonio Palopó. 

Despite the closure of the schools in March due to COVID, Evelyn, the new teacher-coordinator and her part-time assistant Lidya are working with small groups of children (masked and distanced as much as possible) who come to La Casita for reading or learning assistance.

Evelyn and Lidya are also using this time to work intensively with the scholarship students – five in university, 4 in senior secondary in Panajachel, and 6 in junior high in San Antonio.  They come to La Casita to use the computers for on-line courses as well as work on their English skills.

Food Security

A new initiative to combat hunger in the community has been an increased emphasis on growing food.  In San Antonio, which is built on a steep hillside, there is little agricultural land.  The families coming to receive food through the food distribution program are encouraged to grow food and, if they show interest, are given seeds and advice.

Evelyn and Lidya encourage the children to help in La Casita’s vegetable garden

Food Distribution

Equipo La Casita - staff, scholarship students, and volunteers - have responded to this crisis over the last eight months with a food distribution program for 200 of the neediest families.  They meet every week to plan, order, and package-up, much needed staples.

Mostly mothers come to La Casita to pick up their food, bundle it up, and pack it home, balanced on their heads and smiles under those masks.

The Ancianas

For the last several years, La Casita has hosted a twice-weekly lunch and social time for the Ancianas – 25 frail, elderly women.  Since March, volunteers have delivered their lunches in conjunction with the food distribution program.  However, in October, the Ancianas were delighted to return to La Casita for their hot lunches..

Gracias!

It’s hard to express our gratitude – not only from our little team of Canadian volunteers, but from the many, many young people and families receiving the benefit of our donor’s generous support.  Thank You!

La Casita Blog - Generous Volunteers and Grateful Families

Remarkably, San Antonio Palopó has no COVID 19 cases reported so far, although there are many in other villages around Lago Atitlan.  In July the Guatemalan government sponsored the distribution of corn and a few supplies to families in need. Therefore, La Casita Volunteers waited until the first week in August to distribute food supplies.  Since we know a country-wide lockdown could happen at anytime and the threat of COVID 19 will probably last for many more months, we are trying to spread our resources as far as possible. 

La Casita volunteer checking the distribution list.  There are 6 core volunteers and
4 “becados” (scholarship students) who purchase, organize and distribute the food.

The villagers read an information sheet about nutrition and growing vegetables in small containers while waiting in line in front of La Casita to receive their food supplies. 

A young mother and her boys look forward to a good meal.  For the most part, young children have been confined to their homes.  The older children have been able to come to La Casita for short periods and work with Evelyn on their math, reading, and writing.  We don’t know when the schools will re-open.  Evelyn also hosts an educational TV program that airs once a week and is able to talk about gardening, nutrition and the advantages of growing vegetables – even in small spaces.

La Casita volunteers deliver food and have a chat with the elderly Ancianas who weren’t able to come to La Casita.  This time we were able to provide 2 dozen eggs s well as other basic supplies.

The families are incredibly appreciative of the food.  Many need support.

Last month we were able to provide vegetable seeds along with the food distrisbution.  A village man learns more about gardening in small containers.

Watch Gregorio's Video 

Getting Food to the People

In this difficult time of COVID lock-down, the La Casita team of scholarship students and community volunteers continues the work of getting food to 200 needy families. 

Men lining up at La Casita to receive emergency food rations while our volunteer checks the distribution lists.

Because of the government’s lock-down on transportation and people’s lack of mobility under strict curfews, food security – access to basic food staples – is a huge problem. While La Casita projects continue to adjust to very difficult conditions, we’ve also been distributing food to the poorest families of San Antonio Palopó.  

The La Casita Team (Equipo Casita) distributing food to the poorest families

Once a month the families come to La Casita to receive corn, beans, protein powder, milk, eggs, rice and hygiene kits. They are also given information on nutrition.

Families need basic food supplies. The people are so grateful for the little we can give.

This month, La Casita staff provided some basic information about vegetable gardening and the use of vegetables in cooking, as well as offered some vegetable seeds and fertilizer, so that small gardens can be grown and used to enrich their diets. They haven't had vegetable gardens due to the topography but now we are encouraging them to try planting in recycled containers or to try even in a tiny bit of ground.

The older scholarship students continue to work on their studies with Evelyn at La Casita and on-line. She is also offering a StoryBook time with learning aids for younger children on a local TV Show. 

Wearing masks and social distancing has been a slow learning process but it seems that awareness is improving. The scholarship students are developing a little side industry sewing face masks, giving them to the Ancianas, and selling them to the local villagers. 

We are hoping to ship some to Vancouver Island to encourage their efforts. 

Sewing the face masks at La Casita

         

The avocado and mushroom crops from La Casita garden have been quite successful and are being distributed to the Ancianas and volunteers. 

The Ancianas are so relieved that their twice weekly lunches are  being brought to them now that they can't go to the Casita.

The Scholarship students proudly displaying their mushrooms and avocados grown in La Casita garden.

In May, Guatemala reported 7,055 cases of COVID 19 and 252 deaths. The nation is largely made up of rural communities with very little income and very few testing sites so we know there must be many more cases and deaths. The pandemic is straining health care systems and compounding the hardships of the poorest people. While there are no identified cases in San Antonio Palopó yet, other villages around Lago Atitlan have been hit hard. In Guatemala, white flags are being raised to indicate hunger – sadly it may be that this country faces two health emergencies - hunger and COVID 19. 

Scholarship Student Rony helping an Anciana at La Casita

It costs about $22.00 CAD per family for the Casita Group to distribute basic food staples for one month to the poorest families. Food security is a growing issue and will most likely get worse in the coming months as COVID 19 moves through the villages. A donation of any amount towards the distribution of food will be gratefully received. 

Packing his food to carry home

Your generosity means so much to these people