Guat's Up?

By
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 of the buildings especially stay true to this. They were rich conquestidors, with huge houses and large doorways so they could get through sitting on top of their horses.
  • A lot of the architecture in Antigua comes from Italian influence because the Italians influenced the Spanish, and the Spanish came to Guatemala.
  • Antigua is surrounded by four volcanos, and minor earthquakes are still relatively frequent.
  • Many people left Antigua in 1773 because there was a large earthquake (because of the volcanos) that destroyed many of the buildings. They went to what is now Guatemala City.
  • In 1821, Guatemala gained it’s independence from Spain. The flag is blue white blue which represents the ocean on each side and land in the middle.

Popular posts from this blog

Coffee Addict

By
Image
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...
Read more

Volcan de Fuego

By
Image
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...
Read more

Day 2 - A Day to Remember

By
Image
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...
Read more