The Project
Volunteer on a community construction project in Guatemala

Please note: our education and community projects in Guatemala are unique to Global Vision International. All funding of these projects comes directly from Global Vision International and volunteer contributions, included in the programme fee. We receive no other outside source of income, apart from that raised through GVI and volunteer contributions. Suffice to say, without this funding from GVI and the volunteer contributions, the projects simply would not exist.

Working with Indigenous Maya Communities:

The indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala make up a huge percentage of the population, yet many live off of just $1 a day. Global Vision International is currently working with two indigenous communities in Guatemala, the San Andrés Itzapa and Santa Maria de Jesus, both which live within a 45 minute bus ride from Antigua, through lush mountain scenery and typical Guatemalan villages. Our aims are first and foremost to improve the standard of living of hundreds of indigenous families, who often live in extreme poverty. Global Vision International, with the full support of the indigenous leaders of the communities, aims to tackle these issues in many different ways through basic funding of simple, but essential, physical sustainable projects. Once the initial starting phase has been funded and completed, it can be continued for many years without further funding, helping the families become self-sustainable and even start micro-businesses to increase the family income.

Global Vision International currently has education projects in Guatemala, funded and run by volunteers:

San Andres Itzapa:

In October 2003, with the help of the indigenous leader, Elena Siquinajay Suy, GVI set up the Pajaro de Fuego (Phoenix) project. On a piece of disused land we renovated two buildings, with the help of volunteer donation money, into suitable teaching areas for over 60 children. In 2005, due to an increased number of children, we also rented out an abandoned house for more classrooms and at the start of 2008, rented further space as the number of children passed over 300 split into nine different classes, both in the morning and afternoon. Thanks to volunteer donations we were able to act quickly to help over 80 families affected by Hurricane Stan in October 2005; providing shelter, basic food supplies, medicine, clothing, water, cooking utensils, livestock and reconstruction.

Santa Maria de Jesus:

In July 2004 we set up our next project in Santa Maria Jesus – an indigenous community on the foothills of Volcan Agua – with the help of Santiago Colin providing first time education to many children whose ages range between 5-13. In 2005, due to the increased number of children we opened our second project in another house, and now give education to over 200 children.

Here are some facts which highlight the problems facing the indigenous populations in rural Guatemala and why the individual projects are so important:

A Few Facts About Air Pollution:

• More than one-third of humanity, 2.4 billion people worldwide, use solid fuels, including wood, dung and coal for their energy needs.
• Solid fuels have been used for cooking since the beginning of time and when used properly, they can be an effective way of heating a home or cooking a meal. Unfortunately, due to economic, political and cultural factors, most families today use what is referred to as a three stone fire, which is three round stones surrounding a wood fire, over which a metal plate is placed for cooking. Coupled with poor ventilation in most homes, this is leading to high levels of indoor air pollution.
• Smoke in homes from these cook stoves is the fourth greatest risk factor for death and disease in the world’s poorest countries.
• Worldwide, 1.6 million annual deaths, predominantly women and children, are caused by indoor air pollution, including one million children’s lives each year (more than malaria or AIDS).
• Children under the age of 5 account for 56% of deaths from Indoor Air Pollution.
• The main killer caused by indoor air pollution is called acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI). Pneumonia, serious burns and eye infections are other health risks. Many women go blind in their forties due to smoke from the cooking fires.
• Women typically spend between three and seven hours per day by the fire, longer when fires are also used for heating the home. Children under the age of five are also particularly at risk, because they spend most of their time with their mothers; often very young ones are strapped to their mother’s body. The impact this length of exposure has on small children is exacerbated by a number of factors:
• Children’s airways are smaller, therefore more susceptible to inflammation.
• Their lungs are not fully developed until they are teenagers, so they breathe faster.
• Also, their immune systems are not fully developed – a process that may be further delayed by malnutrition. These facts mean that children absorb pollutants more readily than adults and also retain them in their system for longer.
• Another major problem from these cook stoves is depleting resources and the time necessary to collect the firewood.
• Up to 85% of the energy generated by a three-stone open fire is wasted, which is a real problem considering that poor families spend up to 20% of their income on solid fuels and/or spend one quarter of their time gathering wood.
• In most societies it is also the women’s responsibility to provide the biomass fuel. The time cost alone, in rural areas, can be extreme. Estimates range from two to twenty hours per week spent collecting fuel, and the distances covered over difficult terrain can be considerable. In Nepal, for example, women can walk over 20 km per journey in search of wood. This level of work not only reduces the amount of time women can spend on other activities, such as earning money or resting, but it contributes to a range of additional threats to health and wellbeing.
• Often, if the mother cannot collect the wood, it is the responsibility of one of the daughters in the family, thus taking away from time that could be spent in the school.