Happy Thanksgiving from Guatemala!

I´m Nicole, a new volunteer with Maya Traditions who just arrived last week. My background is in community organizing and working with teenagers, and I´ve come to help out with a youth-led community service initiative that Maya Traditions has helped organize every year.

In addition to their work with local weavers, Maya Traditions has a scholarship program for the sons and daughters of the women they work with (ie the weavers). This scholarship program helps their children finish high school, and even go on to university. As part of the scholarship, the youth are required to do a community service project in their hometowns, to improve the lives of their families and neighbors. For most of the students, this is the first time they have participated in community service, and the experience can be a great lesson in organizing and in helping others.

I arrived in Panajachel just in time to attend the series of workshops helping the students plan their projects. To get the students thinking of ideas, facilitators from the Human Rights Ombudsmen’s Office and the Legal Center for Human Rights in Solola came to talk about this year´s theme, which is family breakdown. Through discussions and skits, the students shared about many difficult topics, from domestic violence to the effects of poverty, and were able to brainstorm a lot of great plans for their projects.

After the workshops, I was also lucky enough to witness cultural presentations put on by the students. They came from 6 different communities, and each has its own indigenous traditions, dances, and
clothing. It was amazing to see the students demonstrating rituals that have been handed down through generations, full of history and meaning. Not only was it very beautiful, but also really funny: like
teenagers everywhere, the students cracked jokes and had a lot of fun with the presentations.

Afterwards, I got to put on a traditional women´s traje myself! The students from San Juan La Laguna dressed me and David, another volunteer from the States, in the clothing that men and women from
their village have worn for many years. Everything is handmade, and very beautiful, so it was great to get to try it on.

All in all I had a great time meeting all the students, and I look forward to seeing the work they´ll be doing with their community service projects!