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"True insight depends on the laborious unraveling of many historical strands."

John Anderson

Maya Historian


Guatemala
     

Lake Atitlan

A volcanic lake surrounded

by seven volcanoes. 

Guatemala is a land of

many volcanoes.

 

These children of San Martin (girls) are

not in school.  Rural female Maya

children are not offered education if

there is a male child in the family. It costs $250.00 per year for each child to

attend school, which is not affordable

for most indigenous families.

 

Corn Ceremony is performed

by young girls in the village;

but only for guests if they

have gained the trust of

the people in the village.

 

Women in Waiting

2 Maya women are awaiting

their first medical examination,

even though most women have

had as many as ten or twelve

children over their lifespan.

 
     

Panajachel Market, where child

labor is an important part

of the economy.  Children sell

what their relatives have made,

and work 12 hours a day

 

Reading in Spanish to a few children who are fortunate enough to attend

school.  Rural  Maya children are taught lessons in Spanish, not in  their native indigenous languages.

 

Xela Market, where women

can offer foods they have

prepared, or clothing or

accessories they have made.

 

Selling rugs in a hotel is sometimes

also done by children,  or by a

combination of parents or older

siblings, along with children as

young as two years old.

 
     

The new clinic is celebrated by

everyone in the village of San

Martin Chiquito; and will be used

by many others who will walk for

miles to get health services.

 

Volunteers, like myself, and Dr.

Flora from Clairmont, California

offer services free of charge.

Volunteers pay for their own living

expenses and airfares from various countries around the world.

 

Children in a cornfield, where

many of them labor to help in

sustaining their large families. This

is a primary reason for most children

not attending school.

 

    Here I am teaching Dental Health to the

children of San Martin Chiquito.

Guatemala has the worst dental health

of any country.  Families cannot

afford milk, and have no refrigeration,

so children eat candy and drink Pepsi

to curb hunger pangs.