A taste of danger

It's Monday, the start of a new week. I showed up to the project as expected at 8:20 a.m. but like always waited awhile for the day's plan. It's hard to believe this is my third week with the project. It sure doesn't feel like it because of the many wasted days with no outreach.

Because of this slow start I expected yet again to be told we weren't going out, but this time Debbie Downer was wrong, as Marcos arrived and away we went. This time to Parramos, a little town about 20 minutes from Antigua. The plan was to scope out more families in need of houses.

Marcos shared a little about himself on the way which always gives you a better perspective on someone. I had thought he was a bit of an odd duck on our first day together, but now my take on him has changed completely.

He shared that his mother suffered a lot at the hands of his father and that as a result she fled with him to Mexico when he was quite young. Three months later they returned to Guatemala but it seems that his mother wasn't able to care for him as he then lived in a "hogar" which is like an orphanage or permanent foster home. After a year there he returned to live with his mother, but continued to spend time at the hogar with the kids that were not as lucky to return home. It seems that he eventually started working there, for years I believe, but left once he got a job with Nuestros Ahijados. He said that the kids had a hard time when he left and didn't want him to go as he had been with them for so long through their childhood. He tries to go and visit them every Sunday despite working for the project 6.5 days a week and studying Law 5 nights a week after work. That is true dedication I tell you..

Sadly his mother died a couple years ago and he now lives with his sister. He is only 22. I asked about his dad, and he lives in Antigua, but I suspect given his mother's history with him, that they are not so close. So Marcos may be a bit awkward, but he's young, and his heart is clearly in the right place.

We arrived in Parramos and simply walked around looking for houses in bad shape. We knocked on the doors of a couple places, typically those made of corn stalks, but there were none suitable, either because there were no children in the family, or they didn't own the property. This town seemed to be in pretty good shape to me, and to Marcos as well, so we left for another town called Nuevo Pueblo.

Have I mentioned what the buses are like here? They are literally old school buses from the US, which are now pimped up on the outside with bright colours and designs. On the inside they are built for small children, so needless to say there's barely room for one's legs, never mind aisle space. The Guatemalans are quite skilled at manoeuvring but for a Canadian girl twice their size it is more than difficult. Every trip is a real feat and I am pretty sure that I am quite the show for the Guatemalans to enjoy!

Anyway, once in Nuevo Pueblo we went to visit a family whose house was made of shiny new lamina (think tin grain shed). Inside the one room house was a mother and her 3 boys. My first impression was that they seemed rich (by Guatemalan standards) with an actual stove, TV and bunkbeds. It was clean, they had a bottle of bought drinking water (which you never see), and one of the kids was wearing an Old Navy sweatshirt! Now, perhaps the sweatshirt doesn't say much as there are many factories making brand name clothing here and apparently you can buy the clothes secondhand or defective for really cheap. But still, this family seemed to be doing pretty well. So I was surprised when Marcos started taking an application as I wouldn't have thought they would qualify. I asked him after and he told me that no, they wouldn't qualify, but he still needed to get data from families. Perhaps it's a way for them to prove they are actually working. So I was relieved about that as I was sure there were tons more families in much greater need. Once again Marcos didn't tell the family that they wouldn't qualify though. Avoidance is commonly used here it seems.

After that we went to visit a couple of families involved in the project, and I was pumped as I wanted to see what those meetings would be about. It was quite a jaunt to get to the first house, through the countryside, down roads and paths. The first family wasn't home though so on to the next we went. Lots of exercise here I tell you!

Thankfully the mother of the second family was home so we sat and chatted with her for awhile, just getting a sense of what was going on for the family and how the kids were liking school, as they had just started again in the New Year. Like many others here, it seemed that times were tough for this family. Three kids and two parents with the father being the sole income earner as the mother can't find work. The house and yard were pretty messy and they just looked poor unlike some of the other houses I had seen so far. They couldn't afford all that the children needed for school such as shoes and uniforms, but the kids were going anyway which is great. I have noticed at the project's school that some kids are in uniforms and others are not, so I am assuming that uniforms are not mandatory. Otherwise I am sure that they would probably have few students.

There had been another couple hardships for the family lately; some water issues due to their property being on the edge of a mountain, and as well the mother had been very sick recently and had almost died. She used the term "Gracias a Dios" a lot so I take it she has a strong faith and that is what gets them through some tough times.

I was feeling a bit frustrated with my Spanish today so only got the gist of the conversation rather than it all. As we were leaving Marcos reminded the mother for the second time that he wants to see the place cleaner the next time he comes. A tad awkward.

After this visit we continued walking through the beautiful countryside with the Fuego volcano in this distance. The plan was to look for more houses in a more remote area. Not far into the search we came across a man coming in the opposite direction and telling us not to continue farther as someone had just robbed him of his motorcycle. I didn't notice at the time but he wasn't wearing shoes. Marcos scored a point with his stellar observation skills on that one. So we turned around after which I asked Marcos what had happened. He was clearly nervous and told me in English (he rarely talks in English as he can't really), that we should walk faster and that he would tell me later.

So we booted it out of there, and shortly after the guy, who had perhaps stopped for help but didn't get any, caught up to us again, wearing only socks as he walked briskly up the hill with us into the town. We learnt that he had stopped at a store in Antigua, and that as he was getting on his motorbike, a guy came up to him, put a gun to his side and told him to drive. He had to drive to this little town with a gun held to him, but eventually ran out of gas just down the road from where we had met him. At that point he ran for his life, abandoning his beloved motorcycle, which he was clearly upset about losing. As we walked together back into the town, he was crying while telling the story and was in a lot of pain as he had apparently been kicked in the side. He stopped at one point grabbing his side but Marcos encouraged him to get up and keep going in case the guy came back. Marcos also told him that we could help him once in the town as he had nothing, not even shoes. Marcos wasn't sure what had happened to those.

Marcos kept looking back as we walked but nobody came from that direction. We eventually arrived in the town where the guy was waiting at a little store. Marcos let him use his phone to call someone, and as he told the person what had happened he continued crying.

This guy was in his late 20s probably, was pretty good looking and stylish with his Addidas hat and ripped jeans (purposely rather than plain old worn out). You're probably thinking that I was hot for the guy, but no, I'm describing him because you wouldn't typically see a man like him crying in public like that. It was hard to see, I felt so bad for him. I can imagine that it is not only extremely difficult to afford a motorcycle here, and that as well that it would make life so much easier. He works in a factory and uses his motorbike to go everywhere. He also has a 3 year old son. Marcos was really good with him and tried to emphasize that his life was more important than his bike. Afterwards Marcos explained to me that in that area, which is pretty hilly, that there would have been ample opportunity for him to be pushed off the side and been left for dead, so he made a smart decision to run. We left the poor guy sitting in front of a store waiting for someone to pick him up :(

In my earlier post I was almost mocking Marcos' comment about the work being too hard and dangerous for women. After today I got a taste of how it can be for the people of Guatemala. Everyday there are countless robberies and murders, not in every area, but it is certainly a reality that they have to live with on a daily basis.

After that experience Marcos was ready to call it a day, poor guy! Me, well, after years of working in the hood in Winnipeg, it didn't really phase me much. I just felt bad for the guy. Otherwise I loved the whole experience :)