Written by: Esther Alaran It has been three days since I have been back in New York, and it has been the prefect amount of time for me to decompress and reflect on my experience in Guatemala. When I first applied for the GLOBE Fellowship program, I hesitated because I didn't think I would be chosen. There are so many amazing people who join this program that my only option was to write from my heart. An excerpt of how I began my essay: I am black I am woman I am African I am child I am daughter I am educated I am human I am lucky If I was born in another country to a different family, all the things I have mentioned above would be considered weaknesses despite knowing they are strengths. As with many of our GLOBE borrowers, who are predominately women, I have been empowered through my involvement in the GLOBE network. As a first-generation Nigerian-American, I have been privileged to witness severe poverty without being impoverished myself.  I have witnesse...

05/26/19- Leslie Palomares Today is our last day in Guatemala. Although, we are very sad is over, we are really grateful and happy we had such a successful and amazing trip. Now, I can carry many memories from Antigua and Santiago with me to New York. I will share our experience with my family, friends, and co-workers and even recommend them some places to visit in Guatemala. I also want to mention the Guatemalan people; from the staff working at the hotel, loan applicants, daughters of charity, waivers and coffee farmers we met at the different organizations to most of the people we met on the street markets, they made us feel very welcomed and were always eager to help us.  Lago Atitlan  I am going to miss Gabriel and his lovely wife, Elsa, and will not forget the meal she cooked for us and how patient Gabriel was with us and how hard working he is. I cannot imagine climbing the Volcan of Water twice a day or more during the coffee season like he does. His work ...

Dylan Hawxhurst - 05/24/2019 Starting off the day in the surrounding area of Lake Atitlán, we had the plan to visit Maya Traditions. This organization was wonderful and had a similar mission and vision to Cojolya. They are an organization who looks to better the lives of Guatemalan weavers. They believe in fair trade and paying the women as they work and not after the items are complete (some factories or people pay the women once their pieces sell). Upon arrival we received a tour of their beautiful little premises and were introduced to several women who weaves for Maya Traditions. After explaining their personal stories and fulfilled any question we had, they showed us their beautiful art; displayed both as woven cloths and accessories, and pine bowls. The pieces were beyond beautiful, I knew instantly I was going to purchase a bunch of items for my family. And I did just that, I got items for my mom, girlfriend, and sister! After leaving this wonderful organization we had a lit...

Written By: Emily Inzero 1. We have six loan applications! This means that there are six people who want to start/pursue their business. It gives GLOBE a great opportunity to help people of Guatemala alleviate poverty. This is huge! It has been multiple semesters in the making with the help of the Daughters of Charity.  2. Got Lunch with the Daughters of Charity.   We enjoyed a day with the wonderful Daughters. They showed us around Guatemala from the past destruction to the future hope. They are the sweetest people. For Globe, they are our connection to our borrowers. They also have connections in other places of central America...expansion to El Salvador? You never know. 😉 3. Roasted Coffee with Gabriel and his wife.  We learned the ins and outs of coffee which is essential because many of our borrowers work in the coffee industry. NGO’s like De La Gente make the coffee business more stable by making sure the prices are fair and by having a stro...

Written by: Esther A. Nature (Friday, May 24, 2019) Location:  Nature Reserve Atitlan Antigua finca San Buenaventura, Panajachel On of the activities we did today was go to the Nature Reserve where the highlight for me was the botanical garden with butterflies.  Quick side note and unpopular opinion: butterflies are actually kind of ugly. The pretty thing about them are the their wings. I do not know how many of you watch SpongeBob, but there was an episode where they zoomed in really close to the butterfly and you could see their actually face. One could say that scarred me.  The beauty in butterflies is they transform and go from one state to another state like many of the women who are involved with organizations like Maya Tradition and Cojoyla. Many of these women who partner with this organizations are able to provide for their family, assist in alleviating the financial burden, and are empowered while doing so. 

Leslie Palomares - 5/24/19 Today, we went to Maya Traditions where we met 3 women weavers. The 3 are from different provinces of Guatemala. They told us about the process of weaving in their communities and working with Maya Traditions, an NGO certified by the US.  They also told us that their husbands used to get angry at them because they arrived around 5 in the afternoon after work. Their husbands would tell them that it was too late to come back home as they did not have the time to take care of them and even question them for their tardiness. Their main reason for working late was that, in the morning, they had to take care of the house and their children. These mothers were worried and unhappy that their children did not have shoes to go to school. Now, their husbands are still not happy with them working late but they support them because they have seen the economic benefit their work brings to the household. At the same time, it empowers the wives to make mor...

Day four was probably the most intensive day when it comes to traveling. To begin our day off bright and early, we left the hotel with Keara (from De La Gente) at 6 A.M. to travel towards Lake Atitlán. The drive there was estimated to be three hours so I got comfy and started reading my book to help time go by faster! About two hours and fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the cooperative in San Lucas Tolimán where we would be introduced to Arnulfo and Roberto. This cooperative works directly (but not solely) with De La Gente with selling coffee beans. With warm welcomes, the two of them explained their entire process from start to finish. Following the explanation, the showed us where the processes occur and it was great to visualize it. To end off our visit, Arnulfo’s wife prepared a traditional snack that was similar to empanada (which was delicious). After visiting the cooperative, we traveled to visit Pueblo a Pueblo. With a mission similar to Common Hope, they wanted student...

They gave us all smiles, yet we couldn't help but feeling guilty we were slowing their role. The Katrina Sisters are women that do all the traditional household chores, and then spend the rest of their day weaving beautiful traditional garments. Our tour started at the shop Cajoyla where they sold beautiful handmade goods from local artisans. Then we traveled with Antonio down the road as we saw the bustling neighborhood of Santiago with Tuk Tuks (a small golfcart like taxi), street food, and people playing basketball. We were the first tour group from Cojoyla to ever visit these sisters, and they were more than excited to see us! They work together to make a piece, and they each do a different step of the process. It takes about three days to make a traditional skirt (because they also have to take care of the household). They reminded me of professional friendship bracelet makers, doing the most advanced macrame I have ever seen in my life! Not to mention the embr...

Author: Esther A. Would you sacrifice yourself or your family for the good of the whole? On Thursday, May 23, 2019, we went to another De La Gente Co-Op in Santigo where we met Arnulfo, the Secretary of the cooperative, and Roberto, the Vice President of the cooperative. They told us about the history of the cooperative and how they use to have over 100 members with a strong community. When a natural disaster occurred around 2008, it destroyed a lot of the area and blocked the farmers access to the area we were currently sitting at. The Co-Op lost their leadership and was left in a bad place. Roberto, Arnulfo, and a couple of the other leaders came together to rebuild the Co-Op. There are currently 50 members but 35 active meaning they bring some of their coffee beans to the cooperative. The members are paid when they bring their beans to the cooperative. If you're wondering how they get paid, selective members take out loans where they sometimes have to put their land as coll...

Dylan Hawxhurst - 05/22/2019 Day three in Guatemala and my time her has been amazing. Each day has brought its own experiences to add up to an irreplaceable trip. Today we traveled to San Miguel to visit a non-for-profit called De La Gente. De La Gente works with small-holder coffee farmers and cooperatives in Guatemala to create economic opportunities that improve the quality of life for their families and communities. Upon arrival, we met Keara, head of development, who would bring us through the town to meet up with Gabriel. Gabriel is a farmer apart of one of the cooperatives and would be taking us up the volcano to see his coffee bean plantation. After a long hike up, we made it to his plantation where he explained the difference between a ripened fruit that’s ready to be picked and fruit that still needs to grow. Once picked he explained the whole process from extracting the beans (or seeds) from the fruit to making a pot of coffee with it. After visiting his plantation, we tra...

Leslie Palomares - 05/23/2019 Today, we met two organizations in Antigua, De La Gente, and Common Hope. Keara, from De La Gente, gave us a tour of a coffee farm in Antigua together with Gabriel. Eight years ago, Gabriel only had one hectare where he planted coffee. Now, he has 13 hectares where he grows up to 4,000 coffee beans a year to export to countries like Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands. Gabriel received a loan from De La Gente to buy more land for his coffee and so he could leave his other job as a waiter in Guatemala City, and be closer to his wife and four children. In addition, he tours approximately 2 hours to teach foreigners about the complete process of making coffee in Guatemala. Afterward, Gabriel invited us to his house where his wife cooked us a delicious meal with chicken, avocado, and Jamaica tea. We also drank some homemade coffee which was amazing before leaving to Common Hope. Common Hope is an organization that provides educati...

Written by: Esther A. If you go up a volcano, hill, or mountain, eventually you must come back down.  During the coffee tour with Gabrielle, one of the farmers of the De La Gente San Miguel cooperative, we learned he does a commute up the dormant volcano everyday at 7:00am (local time). He walks up to check his land and crops, and sometimes during harvest season this must be done twice a day. I am young, but once was good enough for me. Gabrielle started with 30m x 30m of land, and he has expand his business to where he is able to hire and pay employees to help harvest. He explains how the partnership with De La Gente and all the benefits helping him pay his worker twice as much as the other large farmers. Everything about the land and the tour felt so surreal. It was motivating to see someone take so much pride in what they do. I felt the unity, especially as we walked up the volcano and Gabrielle said hello to everyone. He also noted that he was checking to see if the per...

Day 2 (May 21, 2019) Author: Esther A. A Daughter of Charity and Two Dogs Today, we learned about the volcanic eruption that happened on June 3, 2018. Volcan de Fuego erupted and caused severe damages. It is said that the "poor people" were not given a sufficient warning and several hundred people were adversely affected. (Side note: WE WENT TO THE SITE. Second, we went to the site, but I digress.) The Daughters of Charity along with four other organizations bought land to assist some of the families affected by the disaster. The families and volunteers worked to clear the land, and they have been building cinder blocks to build the houses. The blueprint design for the houses are beautiful and each family would have some land in their backyard to use for their desires. However, they have been faced with some opposition from the community and the project may not go through. I write this prayer for the Daughters and their goal to provide homes to 35 families. I p...

Written By: Emily Inzero Before today, I have only had one cup of coffee in my life. It was bitter, and I couldn't get it down. Today, was my second cup of coffee, and it was delicious. Maybe I was biased because we roasted it ourselves, but it was smooth, and not too bitter. Making coffee is an extensive process and today Gabriel showed us from start to finish the process. We started by hiking up the bottom of the Volcano de Agua, an inactive volcano that many people farm on because the soil is rich. As we hiked we got a beautiful view of the villages below. The coffee is first picked when it is bright red. If it is too green (not ripe) or too brown (over ripe) it is considered a lower grade and sold for less. After it is picked it is carried down the mountain, and then a machine is used to get the seed from the fruit. Once they get the seed from the fruit they leave it out to dry for 10 to 15 hours (Depending on the climate). Then the skin needs to be pealed off...

Dylan Hawxhurst - 05/21/2019 Alike the first day I will discuss my day in chronological order, but the second day in Guatemala was a day that the group and I would not forget. The day began when we met the daughters of charity and some potential borrowers at the daughter’s property. Luckily the property was a few blocks away, so it was very easy to get there. Upon arrival, we were greeted with loving hugs and it felt as if I was walking into a family members home. Besides the joy we saw out of the daughters, it was obvious to see how thankful the borrowers were. They were grateful to be there and have this opportunity to better their lives. After our introduction of what GLOBE is and who we are, we successfully received six loan applications. This was extremely pleasing to witness because Esther and I were two of the five members who expanded into Guatemala last year. Being able to witness this process firsthand from the beginning to where it is currently has been a beautiful experie...

Written by: Emily Inzero We stood on top of piles and piles of ashes. The destruction from the devastation of the volcano explosion still remains a year later. They are still looking for bodies a year later. There are entire communities still struggling from the ashes a year later. Only the rich and those in hotels were notified in time that the volcano was exploding. Those that lived in the poorer communities found out by the time it was too late. The devastation is beyond any words. It was heartbreaking to see. Families were taken from those that were "lucky" enough to be out of town when it occurred. Those that were severely burned were flown to Mexico to receive care. Where did all the people go after their community was destroyed? Many were left on the streets without homes. Some Daughters are helping to pay for families rent's in expensive parts of town. The government helped minimally when they built what we would consider low-end-one-room-cam...

Today, we visited El Volcan de Fuego, or the Volcano of Fire, with the daughters of charity. We were less than 4km from the volcano (which is still active). Last year, this volcano destroyed all the houses and killed many families, living in San Miguel Las Lomas, with it. When we first arrived at the place, it was hard for us to imagine how the lava buried houses and people. The sisters told us that some people were saved because they went to work but they are not really lucky, as many believe, because when they returned home, they found themselves homeless and without their families. The feeling of sadness and emptiness is very strong and even if you take pictures or tell someone about the terrible event, they would need to step on the ashes to understand a little better what they went through.  Several of the potential borrowers live in the homes of relatives or friends and others in shelters built by the government. Three of the people who live in the shelters are helped by...

Dylan Hawxhurst - 05/20/2019 The first day in Guatemala has been a wonderful time from the beginning to the end. Starting off the day bright and early, the group and I arrived at La Guardia Airport around 5 A.M. to depart for Miami, Florida. I do not like the idea of transfer flights because I often want to get to my destination in one shot, but to my surprise it was great. Though it took up a larger portion of the day, we took the time to stretch our legs, walk around, and grab some food. In no time, we were on our next flight to Guatemala City. The flight felt extremely short, and we landed before I could finish the movie I was watching (The Big Lebowski). After waiting on the immigration line for almost an hour, we got through the airport to be welcomed by our driver who would bring us to our hotel in Antigua. Upon arrival, it was poring and made me feel as if the day would be taken over by rain, but luckily it did not. Around four o’clock, local time, we went on a walking tour wh...

Day 1 (May 20, 2019): After getting up at 4:15 AM (EST) and rushing out of my house to be at the airport at 5:00 AM, the day had finally arrived. We had several fellows meetings throughout the semester to prepare for the trip and it was finally time. I graduated Sunday with a lot on my mind. I was terrified that I would miss my flight, so I relaxed in my house and finished packing.  I met Emily at the airport who was already in security, and soon after Dylan, Leslie, and Dr. Sama arrived. We had a little time before we boarded the flight, so we talked and caught up. Picture of clear skies as we head into Guatemala.  Both flights were great, and if they were not I would not know because I slept like a baby. On the first flight to MIA, I slept shortly after takeoff and woke up before landing. Usually, I am half asleep in order to listen out for the complementary drinks and snacks. This time, however, there was no movement or care. I was truly tried with taking graduation...

Guat's Up Written by: Emily Inzero Our trip started at 5am this morning when we got to the airport for our early flight. Leslie, Esther, Dylan, Dr. Sama, and I are traveling to Guatemala for the week to meet with borrowers, the Daughters of Charity, and other nonprofits. Our goal is to get our first borrowers to apply for microcredit in Guatemala, learn about the community, and visit other nonprofits in the area (to learn and for a potential partnership). Yesterday we landed in Guatemala City and took a cute van to Antigua, Guatemala. This is the old capital of Guatemala. We went on a tour, and here are some cool facts and photos about the area: Guatemala was home to the Mayans from 250 AD to 900 AD, and their most valuable item was Jade. Jade is still mined in Guatemala today, and the rarest can be worth more than diamonds (we saw a bracelet for 17,000USD). Antigua, Guatamala was owned by the Spaniards, so there was much influence of language and culture. The colors o...