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Updates & Stories of Impact |
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Numerous activities begin, and others continue, as part of the process of supporting community members to identify their needs, advocate for resources, and work in partnership with BPD staff and municipal authorities to plan and implement projects that collectively contribute to improvements in health and well-being. Throughout the process, community members - including men and women - gain knowledge, skills, experience and confidence to continue the community development program.
Friday, 10 February 2012
Armira Xicay
El Durazno, San Martin Jilotepeque
(See the September 2011 blog to learn of Armira's life "before water.")
My live has changed very much in the last few months. Water is no longer a problem. The exhausting days spent carrying water are over. My husband, sons, daughter and I are very happy and thankful to God and ABPD for changing our situation. I do not need to get up at 4 a.m. to fetch water. I can now sleep until 5 a.m. and still have time to bathe and make breakfast for my children before they go to school.
They get up at 6 a.m. and leave our home clean and fed. Just a few days ago, this would have been impossible.
My parents live with me. My dad is 81 and mom is 78. Because of their age, they cannot prepare their food and we had no time to look after them. But all this has changed thanks to the water system. I only open the tap and the water is there! I have enough even for my vegetables and flowers and also for my animals--chickens and a pig. They need water, too but this was not possible before. ABPD also gave us an Eco-filter so now we even have purified water We received training on how to use it and keep it clean. It is very useful as we do not boil water anymore, which saves firewood.
All this has come together with the water project, but there is even more! A few days ago ABPD told us they would support the village, helping to build efficient stoves and they taught us how to build them. Thank you, ABPD. This is real now! I have already have my stove built and I am so happy because I will not cook again using an open fire on the floor. I will not have eye problems because of the smoke and my coughing will stop. The best thing is we are not going to need lots of firwwood, which is very limited and buying it is very expensive. I cannot wait to use my stove. It is beautiful but I have to wait 20 days until the concrete is totaly dry.
All this has been so good for us. This is something we will be able to leave for our children.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Carmelina Ajquejay
La Pila
My name is Carmelina Ajquejay. I live in La Pila and am the fourth of 13 children. I am the eldest child still living with my parents.
In January this year my dad had an accident and broke his spine, so he was sent to the Chimaltenango Hospital for a long time. My mom took care of him because we did not have enough money to pay for the treatment he needed.
All the family was under my care, with no support from my parents and with no food for the youngest ones. My mother was unable to breastfeed my 4-month-old brother because she had to travel every day to be with my dad. During this time, he lost weight and got sick. I did not know what to do, but I remembered the Strong Family Center and found support from them with food and activities for my brothers and sisters under 6.
I have been attending the center Tuesdays and Fridays so they can have a good lunch. My baby brother is now fine as he has received vitamins and nutritive drinks there. Also, with support from ABPD, I got help from the local health center and my brother’s weight is good now.
Thank God my brother is fine now and my dad is back at home. And, thank ABPD for the Strong Family Center because I learned how to take care of my brothers and sisters and how to feed them properly depending on their ages. I felt very supported by the other participants and the ABPD educator; they gave me many ideas about how to deal with this hard situation. My brothers, sisters and I are still attending the center because, with their support, I am better able to help my family.
Saturday, 05 November 2011
Estafana Jochola
Xeatzan Alto, Patzun
My name is Estefana Jochola. I am 50 years old and have five children. I was born in Xeatzan Alto in Patzun. Natural disasters are becoming common in the area where we live. Beginning in 1998 with Hurricane Mitch, we have had many problems.
 There was Hurricane Stan in 2005, Hurricane Agatha and Tropical Depression 11E last year, and Tropical Depression 12E a few weeks ago, all of them causing great damage to our community. We were still recovering from last year and now this year it happened again. We have lost our corn, beans and sweet pea crops. We rent our land, so now we are very worried because we have to pay the rent and have no money or food.
What happened to us is very sad. We lost one of our bedrooms. It was made of adobe and the rain and humidity caused it to collapse. (Photo on right.) Fortunately, our children were not inside when this happened.
Another problem now is that my husband lost his job. He works as a day laborer at local farms, but with the destruction of the crops, he is no longer needed. I normally help with the home expenses by weaving huipeles and selling them, but with the crop loss, no one has much income so they cannot afford to buy clothes. The situation is the same for most of my neighbors. They, too, have lost their crops, food and jobs for the last two years. I don't know what we are suppose to do.
Friday, 07 October 2011
Amira Xicay
El Durazno, San Martin Jilotepeque
My name is Armira Xicay and live in El Durazno, a village located in San Martín Jilotepeque, Chimaltenango.
My husband is Otto Leopoldo Xicay and we have 3 kids: Claudia Carolina age 7, Santos Fidel age 5 and Dulce Gregoria age 1.
One of our big problems is the lack of water at home. This is the reason why I have to get up every day at 4 a.m., take a jar and start my two journeys to get some water before dawn. There is not a single day when I can have a break; it is a daily routine if we want to have water during the day, at least to prepare food for my family.
Life is hard. Water is in puddles about 2 kilometers from home, but it almost disappears during the dry season. The path that leads to the water is narrow, hard to walk and very muddy during the rainy season. It takes half an hour to get to the water source if I walk fast, so it takes me one hour each round trip.
Water is a treasure for us; we take care of each drop like if it was the last one. During the rainy season we try to harvest as much water as we can, so at least I do not need to go to the nearest river to do my laundry; we even use this water for drinking.
Hauling water is a women’s activity. I have been doing this since I was a child. My daughter helps me, I do not want this hard work for her. I wish something better for my family.
This is why we asked ABPD for support. We need home water in El Durazno and then we will stop this suffering; this life is the same for all the families in the village.
Thanks to the generosity of Create Good Foundation, Armira and all of the other women and girls in El Durazno will no longer have to make arduous daily trips to haul water. Construction of a water system began at the beginning of September and it will take about four months to complete the project.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Nancy Xiomara Vielman García, 25 years old
Choabajito Alto village, San Martín Jilotepeque. 
Nancy is a local promoter at the Choabajito Alto strong family center. She is married and has a 7-year-old boy and an almost 2-year-old girl.
“I have participated in leadership, nutrition, nutritive recipes, health, agriculture and handicrafts training sessions at the strong family center, and also have received talks which help women know we have good skills and capacities we can use and allow us to be better mothers, even learning how to treat our children better”.
She thinks she gets important benefits at the strong family center, mainly food for her kids and learns to prepare nutritious recipes and do early childhood stimulation. She also receives seeds for her garden and some fabrics and threads for her handicrafts.
“My family has experienced very positive changes since I have participated at the strong family center we learned many new skills, thanks to the ABPD technicians. I can give injections now, something that not many people can do in this village and that other organizations do not teach people. We did not have latrine before, we had to share one with my parents, but ABPD provided us the materials and the skills to build it and now we have our own latrine. I also can prepare more nutrious food now for my children and ABPD has shown me how to grow vegetables. I harvest a part of my vegetables every month, and use them to cook at home because my children love them. I have had excess production, so my neighbors come to buy some carrots, radishes ad cucumbers. This has made me see I can have a bigger garden and make some profit from it so I already have started fencing another piece of land and I expect to have vegetables all the year for my family and to have some income.”
Nancy wants to keep on participating and learning at the center A she thinks a skilled woman can give a better future to her kids, pay for their education and provide a decent life and home. She believes her house is humble, with only a kitchen and a bedroom for the whole family, made of wood and metal sheets on the roof, and with no floor. She thanks ABPD for the latrine, which is a big improvement in their quality of life, but she would also like to have a better house, specially have a floor and an improved stove.
“Thank you ABPD for all your support given to me and all the group of women participating at the strong family center, God bless you.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
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Projects begin in Popabaj, Patzun
Thanks to the generosity of several Rotary Clubs in CT, MA, RI, OR and the Guatemalan Families Association in the UK, projects in Popabaj began in early July and will take about six months to complete. The first component to be built are the vented stoves and then the latrine followed by the gray water filters and the water system. As of the end of July, 90% of the stoves were constructed. Two training sessions to 8 community leaders took place on how to construct the stoves and they shared their knowledge with other people in the village. There were also two training sessions on the use and handling of the stoves and the importance of enviromental conservation. Initial test of the levels of carbon monixide were don in each home so we could measure the difference once the stoves were being used.
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Construction of the latrines will begin in early August, following training sessions on hygiene, picture here. Families were trained on the use and maintenance of latrines, as well as educaional talks about human waste the the importance of hygiene.
Chlorination Systems Installed
The installation of six chlorination systems serving 8 communities was also completed in July, thanks to support from the Aspen and Everygreen, Colorado Rotary Clubs. These chlorinators reduce gastrointestinal illnesses and skin diseases and are an important component of good nutrition. Community Development Committees (COCODES), the Water Committee members and community plumbers received training. Staff from the municipal health center will follow up on the proper use of the systems to make sure the amounts of chlorine used by he communities are correct and the quality of the water is perfect. Each family will pay a modes fee to buy the chlorine.
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