The following excerpt is from the June, 2010 newsletter of Avivara. To read the article, and newsletter, in its entirety please click here. To view a video of the aftermath of TS Agatha, and Avivara’s response, please click here.
Embracing Guatemala…(by Tara Byrne)
Two months ago I said goodbye to family and friends and boarded a plane for Guatemala to begin my three month internship with the nonprofit organization, Avivara. While envisioning how my journey would unfold, I greatly underestimated the depth and breadth of the experiences I would have and the bonds I would develop with this new community.
Currently, I am teaching English in the Mayan village of El Yalu where even Spanish is a second language. I have been befriended by an amazing group of teachers, one of whom gives me a ride to school on the back of his motorcycle so that the students at his school can learn English. I am also seeing first-hand the state of education in Guatemala through other school visits with Avivara. It is disheartening to walk into make-shift schools and see bare walls, shoeless students, and empty seats where children could be. (They are most often out in the fields with their families.) Yet, at the same time it is incredible to meet teachers who endure traveling long distances, and teach with few resources because they believe so much in the power of education.
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