Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's from Guatemala's highlands! Over the past two weeks, I've had the pleasure of working with a friend in his current Peace Corps site in several rural Quiche-speaking communities in north-western Guatemala. To supplement his work as a Healthy Schools Volunteer in three different communities, we took advantage of school vacations to do home visits with the school children and their families to reinforce some of the public health messages they´ve learned over the past year. Through reading stories, singing songs and playing several games with the families, we were able to discuss the importance of personal hygiene, hand-washing, and healthy foods. More importantly, by opening their homes to us, we were able to share with and learn from these families in a very personal way, strengthening the friendship and solidarity my friend is spending 2 years developing in these villages. We were repeatedly humbled by the families' openness and hospitality despite their very meager living situations. Families in these communities are among the poorest in the country, living in extreme poverty and struggling every day to make ends meet. Despite this, they warmly opened their homes and lives to us, offering us gifts, dressing 'the gringa' up in the local 'traje', and ensuring we shared in their Christmas traditions. For me, it was an inspirational reminder of the true spirit of Christmas, sharing faith and love with family and community.
-Erin Stratta, MS2
-Erin Stratta, MS2
Global Health Fund - Guatemala 2009-2010
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