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My Experience

By: Caroline Mueller

During these last few days, I have learned many new things, some that I would never imagine learning. As part of Interact, we went to San Gabriel and  built a house for a family in need. I had no idea what to expect, neither did the rest of the Interact members. When we got there, we were completely astonished by the sight of the village. The houses seemed to be in shambles and the roof looked as if it would collapse at the slightest gust of wind. The kids stared and wondered what we were doing in their community.

The first day was relatively hot and humid, as we worked hard. We started off by painting a small house that had recently been built in that neighborhood. We also broke concrete into distinct shapes and stacked the first four layers of the new house. The rain cut the work short, so we went home earlier then usual, hot and dirty.

The next day, I woke up sore from all the carrying I had done the day before. I wasn't going to work on the house today since I had to go to the dentist. I went to school instead, but found myself half asleep and zoning out of whatever the teacher was saying.

I was back in the school parking lot the next morning, waiting for the Interact members that hadn't arrived. We got in the car and the hour long drive quickly flew by. The house had already improved a lot, and it had only been a day since I had last seen it. More concrete had to be stacked up and put into place. Painting was another big part of the day, since all the walls were blank. Many hours later, the walls, roof and windows were being nailed into place. Once again, the rain started when the house wasn't completely done. The rain picked up, and so we had to leave.

Overall, I thought this project was an amazing opportunity. I got to see a whole different life perspective. I learned a ton in just a few days, and made a huge impact on some families. Their life has been forever changed and so has mine. In the end, all I can say is that we all are extremely fortunate.

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Building in Escuintla

By: Savannah Spoor

Imagine living in a shack made out of aluminum sheets and plastic. Imagine having no electricity.  Imagine having, at most, one hour of water a day and the only time you could shower was when it was raining. This is how the people in the village of San Gabriel live.

This past week, Interact (an after-school club that provides service work for the community) visited a village in Escuintla called San Gabriel. We were working with an organization called Recycled Life, a non-profit organization that builds homes for indigenous Guatemalans in need - and by “in need” we mean the poorest of the poor. We committed our time to Recycled Life, to help build a house (a one-room, square building with one window and one door) for a single woman, her three kids and two of her brothers.

Our work consisted of three long and hard, but very rewarding days. There were ten of us, ranging from 7th graders to 9th graders. Every morning we would make the one hour drive from Antigua to Escuintla. We would leave cool, lush Antigua with our fleeces zipped up and by the time we arrived to hot, humid Escuintla we were down to our t-shirts and ready to work. The days were filled with mixing batches and batches of concrete, filling cracks, painting walls, nailing boards, digging trenches, and laying the floor. By the end of the first two workdays we were covered from head to toe in concrete dust and dirt. By the end of the third day, we were covered in paint. We were truly exhausted mentally and physically, our hands were cracked and blistered, but we each felt a sort of rewarding pride that only comes with genuine hard work.

This experience has really, truly stuck with me. I have done service work in poor communities before but this was by far the most impoverished community I have ever witnessed. It was nearly impossible for me to put myself in their place or imagine living under those circumstances. The opportunity to make this community even the tiniest bit better made me feel like I had accomplished something really important. It also made me realize how need there is in the world. I am so fortunate to come from a loving family, healthy and secure with a roof over our heads. I wholeheartedly intend on doing more service work like this throughout my life to help make the reality of a dry, safe, and comfortable home possible for the millions of people who deserve it.

This experience not only made an impact on the family we built a home for, but it changed how I see the world.

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Interact in Escuintla

By: Maria Duran

My experience to San Gabriel, Escuintla to build houses was amazing. When we got there it was like a little village with all this kids playing outside soccer or jumping in big and small puddles. The house we were going to was a bit up the village. When we got to the house I could see the smile of the kids faces waiting for us to change their lives. We got off the car and the kids were just waiting there with their arms open. I was so excited to start building the houses. The Raymundos gave us the instructions and a little tour. We started to build and build. It was tiring but very fun. The kids were just adorable! They just have one hour of water a day like from 3 to 4. When it started to rain, the little girls came out with their little dresses and a shampoo bottle and started to bathe out in the rain. A girl named Andrea who was 13 years old and also lived in the village came to help us because she always helps build houses but she does it voluntarily without getting pay or anything, even if it’s not her house she still helps. This little girl named Sandy was my favorite. She hugged me all the time and followed me around. She was so cute and my heart was touched when she told me that she was very happy that we were about to change her life and that she was thankful. The second day was pretty hard. Savannah and I were the only ones who came the second day from our class because Caroline and Juani couldn’t come. Savannah, Blakely, Miss Carmen, Antonio, Jose Pablo, Arturo, and I spent the morning digging, digging and digging under the hot sun. We had to fill 100 buckets of dirt to do the floor. After we finished digging we had to carry buckets of cement from one place to another to put it on top of the dirt so we could do the floor. It was a long and very tiring day but we had lots of fun! We were very sore but it was worth the pain. The third day we had to paint the walls with blue paint and had to put the roof. When we finish we all went inside the house with the family and the family told us that they were so thankful and really appreciate our hard work to make a change on their lives. I was so happy that we did this because we made their lives easier and we help and improve our society. We did a huge change to their lives and we are so proud of it.

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Building Dreams

By: Juani Coelho

Writing a summary about this amazing trip is very hard since so much happened in just three days. Coming up with the idea to go build houses in this poor village in Escuintla was probably one of the best decisions our interact club has ever made. This was a life-changing experience that I am sure not a single one of us will forget. Getting to the village was a 45 minute trip. We left Antigua at 7:57 after meeting at school. The village is not the safest and is very poor. They have only one hour of water per day which is sometimes reduced to a half-hour. The water they drink throughout the day is very dirty so the people are very malnourished. The process of building the house was hard and left us sore after coming home at 5:30 PM. The process took three days in which Tuesday I couldn’t go. There was extreme heat, I got many headaches, we got very dirty, risked our health by having a lot of contact with the little kids, and had to catch up a lot of work. All I have to say about that is that it was all very, very worth it. The kids are now part of our hearts and I miss them SO much, the family of a mom (Blanca), her 2 brothers, and her son (Kevin) now have a home painted the colors of our school in which they are very happy. After leaving on Wednesday at 4:05, with still a wall and half of the roof missing, (do not worry the organization took care of it) and soaking wet from pouring rain, we were and are very grateful for this experience and very feel very fortunate of our wonderful lives. I told you I could not write a summary of now a part of my life, so here you go, hope you smiled.

With all my heart,

Juani

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Haunted House Fundraiser for El Hato Village School

By: Daisy Bailey

This October, our amazing 10th graders helped set up and run the annual haunted house in Finca La Azotea. There were tons of fantastic ideas. It was hard to decide which was going to be this years theme. We finally decided on a scary asylum. "It was an amazing experience," said one of the students,  "I had a blast setting up and scaring people." “I really like helping other people and I liked feeling that we made people’s night fun and spooky,” said another student. This has been an amazing experience for our Sophomores. We are glad that we were able to help the community, and were able to be part of something fun.

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Seascape Sister School: Teaching Art in El Hato Village

Written by: Ms. Maria Morley

In 2014, the current grade 10 artists prepared art materials, taught a creative lesson, and installed a seascape at El Hato Village School. The AIS artists worked with approximately 85 students who were so excited at the opportunity to make  puffy fish. The artists from both schools had a chance to collaborate, work creatively and make colorful soft sculpture. The art installation added color and movement to the village school, bringing joy to to all involved. This project based learning experience provided an opportunity for us to make connections while making art.

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Serving in San Gabriel, Escuintla

Written by: Sofia Van Den Outenaar

“There's nothing more rewarding than giving back and making a difference in the lives of people in need. It might seem little to you but the world to them.” Last year as I visited the dump, in San Gabriel, Escuintla, a sense of sadness invaded my soul. Observing all those mountains made out of trash, all that smoke in the air and the innocent glance of children, made me realized how fortunate I am. I remember arriving and hoping to make a difference in people’s lives, with all that food and shoes; however, they made more of a difference in mine.

The people at the dump has so little, yet they were so content. In absolute poverty, with nothing to eat or drink, with no bed to sleep and no cloth to wear, they were grateful for the gift of life. They were so rich of love, kindness and hope, that made you believe, that their living condition was not a barrier to them. I relive the moment when I felt the warmth and tenderness of a little boy, who was holding my hand, tide and strong. He was not letting go, as if he told me that “everything was going to be fine”.

As mother Teresa said once, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.” It is true that all these people needed food, shoes, clothing, ect. to “survive” but what they needed to “live” was someone who care about them. A person who is willing to give out a little of his time because it is more important that what he can “physically” give.

It is very sad how we believe that “suffering and poverty” is so far away from our lives, when is just right on the corner. After visiting the dump, my life took another course. I learn to appreciate what I have, the opportunities life has given me and all the people that surrounds me, who cares and loves me unconditionally. Because there is children out there, who dream to have all this things. And remember: “As you waste your breath complaining about life, someone out there is breathing their last breath. Appreciate what you have.” So, why wouldn't you?

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Niños de Guatemala

Written by: Alejandra Vasquez

A couple of years ago, I had the great opportunity to be a volunteer with an NGO called Niños de Guatemala. This NGO created schools around Ciudad Vieja for unprivileged kids that lived there. I was able to go to these schools and read in English and in Spanish to the students. After reading, we would go outside and play whatever game they decided. However, my experience did not end when I finished the book and the game was over, there was much more to it than that. The children's’ face sparkled whenever I read to them, more when it was in english because they barely have the opportunity to learn a new foreign language. They also felt special knowing that someone really cared enough to go and read to them once a month and play whatever they wanted with a good soccer ball. Apart from only reading to them, AIS helped the school by creating a book collection which we later donated  to the school. This was also a very nice experience, to watch the kids fill up with joy with the new books in their library. This is something I will always treasure and this experience makes me really value my education.

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Translating in Santa María de Jesús

Written by: Paulina Birk

The translating project was something very interesting to do. It is obvious that they don't have any medical access because just from the first day to the last if was completely full. There were cases very innocent but some really hard and dangerous. I loved it and is something I would do ever and over again.

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The Puppy Kissing Booth

Written by: Ms. Maria Morley

The Puppy Kissing Booth was a sweet St. Valentine’s Day 2014 service project that raised awareness for animal welfare in and around Antigua. AIS raised nearly $600 for Unidos Para los Animales! We had a wonderful and loving learning experience, right on our school campus as students had their photos taken with a cute puppy. Everyone received a few pointers on proper animal handling, and being a responsible caregiver.

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Proyecto Génesis

Written by: Andrea Bejarano

In summer, I went to this project in Chimaltenango for a week to spend time with some kids. The project, that started 3 years ago, is about helping kids with their educational progress. Most of the kids go to school but a bad one. The kids that are part of the project are kids that want to outdo themselves so they go to the project everyday from monday to friday to do their homeworks and also to learn something new. There are kids from 2 years old to 16 years old. When I went, I helped the little kids teaching them the vowels, numbers and also some words in English because is something they don't learn at school. We arrived at 2 in the afternoon and left at 5. So we spend a lot of hours with them learning and playing. The place isn't that big, they just have like 4 small classrooms and there are like 90 kids. The owner of the project is working really hard to make the place better for the kids. I really liked that project and I really felt an excellent connection with those lovely kids. I learned that I should be grateful for my education and that I need to take advantage of it because there are kids who want it more than me but they can't have it.

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Long Way Home

Written by: John Jacobson

In one of the most rural areas of Guatemala, there is this wonderful place called Long Way Home. It is a place where a group of American builders came and decided to help the community. Most of these people are poor, lacking in opportunities and education. They now have an elementary school and a bit of a high school and each day these kids get closer and closer to greatness!

A group of students from AIS went to Long Way Home with very few construction skills, but after spending an entire school day building, we sure learned a thing or two. The important thing here is that we helped those who really needed help and that we contributed to building a better education for them.

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Equinos Sanos Experience

Written by: Alejandra Gomez

Equinos Sanos para el Pueblo is an organization in Guatemala to promote the welfare of working equines. The purpose of ESAP, is to inform the equine owners how to take proper care of the equines, this is very important because they are the basis for most people’s work at rural areas. This organization promotes and strengthens the practices through educational programs with community participation.

The purpose of  of working with equino sanos is to be able to understand them and see how can humans have better relation with this amazing and powerful animals. During this practice we learn skills that allow horses to feel comfortable with our presence. Also we learn what we can not do in front of horses because they can see it as a danger and react negatively and hurt a human by their strength.

One of the activities that we performed during the Equino Sanos volunteering, was  going to a community in Chimaltenango with the purpose of educating people about their equines. Before working with this community, people used to mistreat their horses with terrible working conditions, poor alimentation, and physical abusement. Because of the way they lived in, the life expectation of a horse was less than 3 years. The purpose of this organization is to educate people of the importance of the living condition and communication with the horses.

When we had the opportunity of working with this community, we saw how people can communicate with their horses, and they way they can feed them in order to enhance their health.

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Teaching Tennis in Chimaltenango

Written by: Ryan Mueller

I contribute to my community by visiting an orphanage and teaching kids the basics of tennis. Unfortunately, during the week I run on a very tight schedule spending my time primarily on school and tennis. Running on very limited free time I can’t contribute to my community during the week-days. Nevertheless, I try my hardest to make up for this time on Sundays.

On Sundays, I drive up to the department of Chimaltenango all by myself. There, I meet my tennis coach who lives in the area. We walk to a very run-down public tennis court filled with cracks and faded lines at an orphanage. One by one, kids ranging from the ages of 4 to 15 years show up to the tennis court. The routine is simple and basic. We start by warming up with some jogging/stretching exercises then begin to play tennis. At first it feels kind of weird coaching someone tennis because of how I’m always told what to do throughout the week by parents, coaches and teachers. These kids always pay full attention to me and even look up to me which is very humbling. My coach and I teach them the basic tennis techniques and make sure we’re all having a blast the entire time.

These small visits teach me to be appreciative for what I have. Living in a third-world country gives me such a big opportunity to contribute to my community in many different ways. Sadly many people in third-world countries don’t contribute to their community. They are born into very privileged lives (as I was) and begin to expect things instead of being grateful for them. These privileged people begin to compare themselves to people who have even a greater wealth than them. Instead of focusing and being grateful for what they already have, they envy and emphasize what they don’t have. Realizing this, I have given back to the less fortunate and those who haven’t had the same opportunities I’ve had.

The impact these small outings have had on me is beyond anything I would've ever imagined. Seeing their scared smiles, watching them laugh and have fun is something I will always look forward to. There is much help needed in third world countries and it’s a honor to be a very small portion of that help.

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Teaching the Importance of Music

Written by: William Miller

During this summer vacation, I was teaching underprivileged children music in Tecpan. It was a wonderful experience and I got to meet tons of new people. Even though I only helped with the program about five times, I learned a lot from the experience. Music is a form of expression so powerful, that you may connect with people without even saying a word. I knew about this before the program, but had never witnessed it with such magnitude.

We arrived to Tecpan at 7 am with some other musicians, and had a group of about 20 kids. At first they did not show much interest, but after playing a song or two they became hypnotized. Because of there being so many kids we weren't able to teach them a different instrument each, so we made them sing. We would play the instruments while the kids would sing to the music. It was mostly christian music because the program was part of a church, but we still had a lot of fun. After we were done singing, we all had lunch together at around 2 pm. After lunch, we'd say goodbye to the kids and leave.

When seeing these kids get so happy from just a ham sandwich and beans, I understood how lucky I am. All the kids were super sweet and I really enjoyed the experience. It's amazing to think that by only playing a few simple songs these kids would become so happy. It was a great experience and I'd love to do it again.

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Translating Experience

Written by: Fernando Franco

In November 2014, the now 12th grade class helped with Helping Hands, an American organization that does medicals trips throughout the world. For three days we helped to translate for the doctors and nurses, who would do free check ups to people from Santa Maria de Jesus. Some of us volunteered with actual cases while others worked in the first step, which is classifying the patients medical histories. The project impacted everyone because, although it sounds cliche, everyone got a reality check about the tragic things surrounding us. We have access to world-class healthcare and education, while people that live down the road have to wait for months to get basic aid. Students were so impacted that they can’t wait to be back in November 2015.