El Castillo

This week I've been visiting El Castillo (the Castle). It works with street children in Guatemala city and is supported by Toybox in the UK. They have a very well developed programme, which helps children and young people aged between 5 -15, leave life on the streets and be reintergrated into a family and education. The work starts with the street teams, who go out to the city centre every day, and form relationships with those living on the streets. They often take simple games and colouring for the children, and talk to them about God, and about the El Castillo programme. After a couple of months, they have the chance to coming to a day centre. Here they are able to shower, wash their clothes, eat good food, and begin to think about educational options. They are beginning to offer vocational training at the day centre. If all goes well, then they are able to move to a temporary home. Throughout this time, the 'reintergration team' having been working with the children and their families to see if they can be reunited or supported in their relationship (as well as attending to their physical and pyschological health). If the children don't have family or reintergration isn't appropriate they can then move into one of the El Castillo homes. These are normal family homes with Christian 'house' parents, who can support them in their development, and education. As many of the children have been out of education for a number of years, or never been in it, El Castillo also runs a school, which is able to provide education for each child at their level, and help them to advance. Of course for some children, the process isn't quite as straight forward as I've explained and there are often complications - but there are also many success stories - of children whose lives have been changed and transformed.

Honduras

I've just come back from a week in Honduras. I was mainly in Siguatepeque, (half way between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula) where I was staying with Ken and Sue Vissers, who are LAM Missionaries working with Union Biblica (Scripture Union) Honduras. They run a camp there in a beautiful spot, and have a vision to use it for leadership training. They introduced me to lots of other projects in the town, which could be placements for stride volunteers in the future. These included the children's ministry for UBH, an afterschool programme, CCUH, the Honduran Christian student movement, a (very impressive) Christian hospital and it's outreach programmes, a couple of churches, and a bilingual school. It was also great to be able to help Sue with a few swimming lessons she teaches! (and enjoy a proper size pool!) I finished off the week with a flying visit to Tegucigalpa to meet the executive directors of RedViva, a network of Christian projects working with children throughout central america – giving me lots of contacts to follow up! Watch this space!

(A bit tired now after 13 hour bus trip home!)

Lake Atitlan

So at last I made it to Lake Atitlan. It's really beautiful - framed between 2 or 3 volcanoes (although it was quite hazy when we were there). It was Flick's last weekend here in Guatemala, so she spent the weekend there relaxing with some of the other striders and then I spent a day debriefing her - it was great to hear about what she's been doing here - as well as what God has taught her through it. (of course I also had time for a few swims!)

Making Tortillas in Patzun

In Patzun, I've been staying with Naomi, one of the striders (www.latinlink.org/stride), who lives with Letty and her family. So here's a quick video of Letty making the tortillas!

Naomi, with collegues at the milkshake bar after a game of football. (Losers buy the milkshakes!)

PS - I scored 3 goals!

Life Association - Patzun

This week I've been in Patzun with Asociacion Vida. Patzun is a market town in the mountains - not interesting or big enough to make it into the guidebooks. The majority of the population are indigenous and speak Cakchiquel. Asociacion Vida is passionate about 'integral mission'. They run a clinic and farmacy, but realise that many of the ailments of the local population are caused by the poor standards of living in the area, and that in turn is caused by the political and social structures which keep them poor and alienated from the decision making processes in their own communities. So alongside the clinic, for about 10 years now, they have facilitated community development in many of the surrounding villages and communities, many of them high in the mountains with little infrastructure. Initially this was focused on health promotion work, but has led on to a number of groups educating themselves about participative government. (15years ago, indigenous groups meeting together and talking about getting involved in decision making would have merited a visit from the military and even death.)

Now there's a network of womens groups and an association of community midwifes, who are fighting for better recognition from the health authority. In this area only 5% of births happen in hospital, the rest take place at home, often with earth floors, in rural villages and attended by local midwifes. Despite their wealth of experience and knowledge, the atitude of the health authorities towards them is still marked by prejudice and racism.

Over the last 8 years, Asociacion Vida has also run sexual health education projects within schools and colleges. (In Guatemala, the 15th birthday is like a coming of age for girls and many start having children before then. Yet sexual health or even puberty is not talked about within families or the education system). The programme teaches about puberty, self esteem and relationships, all based on Biblical principals. They are now teaching teachers to deliver the programme themselves, and are expanding it to include educating community leaders and churches. They also facilitate a series of workshops about integral mission for local pastors, helping them to see the social aspects of the gospel.

I have been really impressed.

Their vision isn't about buildings or giving money, like so many charities or NGO's, but it focuses on the local communities themselves, helping them to have confidence in themselves and to find solutions to the issues that effect them. They recognise that their work is long term - and over the years they have built up a reputation for facilitating and working alongside local communities and fighting for justice. As a result they're well respected by the communities. For exactly the same reason, they're not all that popular with the authorities and have recieved threats in the past, but they know that this is God's call for them and that He provides all they need and strengthens them in their work.

My first Marriage Proposal!!!

So yesterday a nice taxi driver asked me to marry him - The whole conversation kept my laughing for a long time. He was quite old and had a big grey beard - looked slightly like Santa Clause!!!! The conversation started off as normal - where are you from?, why are you here? blar de bla. Then he asked if I was married here or in England - when I said neither he asked if I wanted to marry him. (People here really can't seem to grasp the concept of being happy being single!) He said that he'd always dreamed of marrying a women with green eyes but had never met one - until me. I did explain that my eyes are grey and not green but he just said 'But still so beautiful' --- I kept on laughing! He asked my age and said that he was 50 - but that if he shaved off his beard he would look 20 years younger!!!!!!So it kept me amused for a while.