THE QUICHE TIMES

JUNE 1998 TO OCT. 1998

Vol. 1 No.1

My return.

When I arrived at the Guarderia I was greeted with great excitement. One of the first questions I was asked was how long was I going to stay here, I answered a 'long time' but this confused them, was it a week, a month or how long. They couldn't believe a few years! The mothers too are thrilled that I have returned.

Some medical problems.

One of the first things I noticed was that some children had warts and I remember that some of them had had them last year when I was here. The person in charge was too busy with other things that she hardly ever treated them. Warts need to be treated daily so after a while I took over the treatment. The worst was Roberto whose hands were covered in them and his feet were nearly as bad. [Within a month both his hands and feet were clear and indeed were so many others.

Another situation I experienced was of one of the boys with a score on his stomach. I examined it and recognised it as a fungus, as I too had suffered with a fungal score on my hands for weeks and only cleared when I used the proper fungal cream. It turned out that he had a lot more of these scores and when he revealed his genitals they were covered in scores and scabs. The poor child had suffered a lot and never said anything to anybody. I started him on the cream I had used and within a fortnight it had cleared. He, as you can imagine, was terrible grateful for my help. All of the other adults are women and there was no way that he was ever going to say anything to them about it.

We believe that the source of this fungus was the water that we had to buy just before the rains came when there was a water shortage.

At one stage a paediatrician came to the Guarderia to see what it was like. She was a student in the school where I study. When I discovered that she was a

Doctor I immediately got her to look at some of the kids who had small little lumps on their skin nothing serious but while the opportunity availed itself I took it. She really didn't know what they were and supposed it was a local thing. I also got her to look at one of the children who always seemed to shout. The thought crossed my mind that maybe he has a problem with his ears. So she examined him and revealed that yes, he does have a chronic ear problem. It was a great feeling to think that I had helped relieve this poor kids pain.

Clothing.

The children's clothes is another area of concern. The school uniforms have been in use for a few years and it shows. The boys pants have so many patches it is unreal. Their shirts are worm thin and you can see right through them. Their house clothes too are old, worn out and torn. They are not of great quality and boys will be boys! The girls cloths are a lot better. Most of the children wear flip-flops which are also worn out or broken. I wanted to do something about this issue but it was a little late in the school year to be buying clothes for everyone. I hope to start soon by getting some clothes together and having them ready for the new year. One thing I did buy was socks for the boys as what they were using had seen better days. Most have two pairs but again are worn out, no heels and no toes! They need to change them each day and you know what socks are like always going missing!

Improvement of school grades.

After being there two months I got the chance to look at the school grades of the children. I felt that they were not as good as they should have been, at best they were average. So to encourage them to do better I called the 5th & 6th grades together and said that if they get 90+ in 3 of the 4 major subjects i.e. Spanish, Maths, Social Studies and Environmental Studies, I would buy them something special. I know that they all love football so I thought that a leather football each would be the right thing to buy. Of the 6 5th & 6th graders 4 got well into the 90's in everything and some even got 100. I was thrilled with the results and so we went shopping. I asked them what they would like and they really caught me on the hop with there answer. They asked if they could have clothes and shoes to the same value as the football. I was speechless (I know it is hard to believe!) and delighted but I knew that it would cost more than the football but I felt it was worth it. I bought 2 pairs of jeans, 4 T-shirts, 2 belts, 2 pairs of shoes and a jacket. Everything cost about 45 Irish pounds ( American keyboard, no pound sign !!!).! thought it was money well spent. Two great things were achieved 1/ They got rally good grades which is important and 21 They got new clothes which were badly needed. I had hoped to do the same at the end of the year but I just didn't have the cash to do it. Hopefully during the holidays or in Jan. I will get them something.

Typing.

Typing is very important here in Guatemala. Almost every job requires a good standard of typing. It was with this in mind that some years ago they started sending some of the children to typing classes. We make sure that they practice as often as possible and we have had great success. The problem is that we only have one typewriter in the house, so for all the children to practice one hour each one takes the whole day and I feel that it is not fair for the child who has to practice in the evening when everyone else is looking at a film on the television. It would make so much sense to us if we could have 3 or 4 children practice together. So it is with this in mind that during the holidays I hope to look for some good secondhand typewriters to bring to the house for the children to use.

Support system.

When I arrived in the Guarderia, George an American psychologist was working there. We have become good friends even though he has left us and is working with drug addicts nearby. He has been a great support to me and is very encouraging. I am constantly running things by him and he says that my approach is very professional and my relationship with the children is wonderful. He also says that more than anything else I offer the children stability, which they haven't really known and a father figure, someone who loves, listens, cares and deals with their problems.

Off time.

I haven't taken much time off. Normally every two weeks I take a day off and go to Xela ( about 3 hours away by bus ) where I book into a hotel, eat well, drink etc. and return the next day. I always have a list of things to bring back i.e. copies, pens, shampoo, toys, soap, socks etc. So it is not all fun !! The kids hate me to go and always worry if I don't arrive back at the time I said. When I do return I always get a great reception. I think that their reality is one where their fathers went out one day and were picked up by the army and were never seen again.

Stories.

Donald, an Irishman from Belfast who has been here a long time gave me a present of 3 tapes of stories which the children absolutely adore. I like to play them for the children at night in the dark where there is no distractions. It works a treat. I hope to get some more and start a small collection. I have asked some parents if

they would put on tape some of the stories of their own culture. This is another thing that I hope to get going in the new year.

Chest of Drawers.

The person in charge received some time ago a donation from Minugua ( N.U. ) -I think. With this she decided to buy chests of drawers for the children as they have lived out of cardboard boxes for years. These have made a wonderful difference to the lives of the children in that they take more care of their clothes and have pride in how their drawer is organised etc. but the powers that be came to visit the Guarderia from Guatemala City and asked where the money had come from. When told, they said that all donations have to go through their HQ and that the chests of drawers would have to be returned. They know nothing of our fund only the local person in charge knows anything and even if they find out they will not be getting their hands on a penny of it. They said that the children don't need them and that they can live out of cardboard boxes as they always have. I couldn't have allowed this to happen as I have seen the difference that these have made in the lives of the children. So I approached the fund and asked if they would consider paying for them. I got a positive response and have started buying them. At present I have paid for 8 @ Q 475 each which works out at about 400 Irish. There are 4 left to be paid for and I will pay for them in Nov. and Jan. These chest of drawers are so well made that they will last for years to come. Again I feel it is money well spent. It makes such a huge difference.

Day trips.

We only got to the swimming pool (Pachitac) 3 or 4 times mostly because of the rains. The last two Saturdays we went and although it was full we had a great time and we all went home clean !! Yet another goal to be realised in the new year is to give swimming lessons that is if it is not too cold ! These trips cost between Q65 & Q70 ( 7 or 8 Irish ) that includes hiring a pick-up @ Q50 to take us there and back and entrance into the pool of Q15 - Q20. We always play football before the swim so it is really refreshing to get into the water. In the afternoon we are all good for nothing and tend to just play quite games like scrabble (one of the games I bought) or watch TV.

Last year when I was here I bought a number of children videos 21 in all and this year I added to the number by 3 and hope to add more during the holidays.

K'iChe' ( Many trees)

As and from the 19th Oct. I will be studying the local language. This will allow me to give classes to the children and to read from the Popul-Wuh (the indigenous bible ) at night. I know it will be a slow process but I have about 7 weeks of classes, one on one, before Christmas. I also plan to visit one of the families for a

few days where I can practice the lingo and also get a more in-depth insight into this wonderful culture.

I plan to visit my friend, Miriam, in Mexico City in December for a few days and then head farther north to where I worked before on the frontier of Mexico and Texas Eagle Pass / Piedras Negras. Where I will spend Christmas with the children in the orphanage in Piedras Negras. When I return from this trip in the new Year I hope to do a weeks revision course before I return to the children in the Guarderia around the 15th Jan.

Painting.

The individual desk, that I got the school that I study in to donate last year, were in need of a little maintenance as were the tables etc.. I decided to strip the paint and repaint them and varnish all the other tables etc.. The children were a great help and sanded all the desks and the tables and then varnished all the wooden parts many times. The Guatemalans were a little bewildered as normally they would only varnish something once and that is it but I wanted things varnished about 5 or 6 times to give a really good finish. I also had to paint the metal parts of the desks myself with spray paint. They are turning out really well in really nice and bright colours not like the grey they were before - not a good colour for children! All this cost a little but they are now ready for next year.

E-Mail.

I have set up my own E- mail number. I now can be contacted at-

david_deegan@hotmail.com

My school's number is................ plq@c.net.gt

and my phone number in the school is ......................... (502) 763 1061

and people speak English here so don't be afraid to call me. My mailing address is

P.LQ.E.

APDO114

QUETZALTENANGO

GUATEMALA

CENTRO AM ERICA.

Current situation.

Politically things are heating up again. I heard some time ago that a coup was expected at the time of Gerardi's killing. The military leaders both past and present had been meeting and I am sure they were not having prayer meetings.

Some of the women I work with have received death threats and are quite concerned. These are never taken lightly. Some are talking about leaving but the reality is that if they leave they will turn up dead somewhere. So they will have to leave the country for their own safety.

The ex-president, during whose regime most of the massacres and human rights violations were committed, want to run for president next year. The lay at present prevents him but he is trying to change it. If he does most feel that he will get elected as he has a huge support. If this comes to pass I have no idea what the implications will be.

Exhumations.

There are so many exhumations at present. My friend George have been involved with some. What follows are some of his comments.

The first exhumation he was involved in was a group of 31 in a cave on the side of a mountain. When he entered he was struck by the number of small skeletons. These were of the children of the adults also in the cave. On further examination he could see quite clearly that the skulls had all been smashed. There were a lot of rocks lying around which were probably used. The team that was with him, had experience with exhumations and said that from the position of the bodies, it looked as if the children had been killed first. This of course means that the parents had to look at their poor innocent children have their heads smashed and they could do nothing about it. Can you imagine it ? It probably made the parents accept their own deaths a lot easier as they could not have suffered a worse torture. Not one bullet was fired. Why waste a good bullet on these people. Bullets cost money. It is cheaper to use a rock !

The second exhumation was a bit different in that there were 4 graves. The first 2 had about 6 or 7 bodies thrown into them. The second 2 had about the same number but these had been buried alive. Again the position of the bodies indicated that they were struggling to get out as the earth was thrown in on top of them. The size to the graves were about the same size as we know graves to be. I don't recall him saying if there were children in these graves but it would not surprise me.

The atmosphere at these exhumations is very heavy as the local community are there hoping that maybe they can recognise and identify their loved ones. This is done mostly by the clothes that remain or by the sandals etc. Most of their clothes would have been repaired at some stages or their sandals broken or have some mark or by the clothes that the women themselves would have made and recognise.

There is a whole range of emotions found. Delight that their loved one was found. Relief, that the uncertainty is now over. Gratitude, that they can now give their loved ones a burial with respect and honour that their culture calls for. Sorrow, that

their loved one is dead. Anger. Frustration. A release of energy that has been building for years and years etc. You can imagine.

Budget.

Things are quite bad financially in the Guarderia. The budget has been cut to Q5000 a month. Out of this has to come 5 salaries, the food foe 40 people, school fees, uniforms, school utensils, maintenance, etc. As you can imagine ends do not meet.

Sponsorship.

I want to make a very special appeal. I am not going to ask you, who have been so generous to the fund, to contribute more but what I would like is that you find more people to contribute. It really makes a difference.

We are going to have problems with school fees in the coming year and I am hoping that maybe someone out there would like to Sponsor a child's education for the coming year. In all we estimate that it will cost between Q1200 and Q1500 for the year. This includes all the school fees, typing classes, uniforms, shoes, books, pens, paper etc. In real money it costs between 120-150 Irish pounds a year. We have at least 30 children to cater for and for a country as poor as this it is a lot of money.

I hate asking for money, especially from those who have been as generous as yourselves. I also am aware that at Christmas time people have other priorities in their lives and that the money just isn't there for causes like this and besides there are so many collection, carol singing etc. That is why I say that if each one of you could find one person or group ( maybe families, friends, work-mates, neighbours, etc. could do it collectively) who would commit themselves to contribute this amount for the year or part of it ( maybe a new years resolutions ) it would help to relieve so much suffering.

For those who wish to do this please contribute to the fund in the normal way but please contact me and let me know the amount you are contributing to this so that I can keep a separate record of this.

Again there is no way I can ever thank you for your kindness and generosity to the fund. The only thing I can do is to keep you informed of what is happening here.