High School Students Build with Eco-Blocks

As many Mayan Families donors are aware, Mayan Families collaborated with the work of graduating high school students building a new classroom for their community service project.

"Winsy's group" inaugurated the construction of their classroom today at the Panajachel public school. Yesterday "Eliezar's group" inaugurated their classrooms at the Panajachel public preschool and kindergarten facility.

The building was absolutely beautiful, and all the elementary kids wanted inside!

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THANK YOU

These high school students spoke of their personal sacrifice in getting it this building accomplished. They had to sift, bag and carry sand from the river bed, themselves to help make the cement for the foundation. Talk about sweat equity.

And they went all around town selling hamburgers to raise money for other building expenses. In the end it would have been completely impossible without the help from Mayan Families and 10 other donors in town who pitched in for extra building supplies.

ICI THANKS YOU

The Institute of Information Technology and Computers spoke on and on of the generosity of Mayan Families. Mayan Families was given a certificate of appreciation.

The Institute was so grateful for the donors of Mayan Families, and Sharon, for having a history of coming to the rescue, such as for 10 typewriters donated when they needed it most.

PUBLIC SCHOOL KIDS THANK YOU

Although the building project was originally designed to be a school store, it was just too good. The principal saw the school needs were more urgent for a classroom. The school houses 300 elementary students in the morning, and junior high and high school students in the afternoon. So on Monday, 20 delighted kindergarteners will move from their old narrow, long wooden shelter, to this permanent eco-block classroom.

What a great testament to recycling! A small part of the building leaves a visual reminder of how the parents and each student had to bring in the cleaned trash-stuffed plastic bottles daily to make it all possible.

Taq Sanik (The Little Ants) Invite Mayan Families

A local reforestation group invited Mayan Families to the inauguration of their most recent project. They call themselves Taq Sanik, which means The Little Ants, in the local Kaqchiquel language.

These local nature-lovers collaborated with a group of 13 graduating high schoolers doing their internship-community service project. Together they acquired 1500 seedlings and planted over 300 pine and native cypress on a particularly erosion-prone mountain, as well as along the lake's edge.

With fresh memories of the trauma of mudslides, this project has such poignant relevance for the whole Panajachel community right now. But it has been a long-term commitment of these Mayan naturalists.

THE LOCAL REFORESTATION GROUP
Taq Sanik, is an astoundingly understated group. They have been working together on the land that is not theirs on the dry side of the mountain in Panajachel for over 10 years.

They told their story of sacrificing time and their own money. They told of repeatedly failing, and learning from their failures, as they watched their first plantings from over 10 years ago die again and again before they set up an irrigation system to keep the trees alive with the "living fluid" of water, as they called it, throughout the dry season.

In the beginning they carried the water up the mountain on their own backs to care for the trees. Now they have an irrigation system, recycling water from runoff from the onion and corn fields above.

THE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
With the volunteer efforts of the ICI (the Institute of Computers and Information) high schoolers, they installed a new water well so the many trees they planted have a chance of surviving once the rainy season ends.

The high school students are hoping to graduate from a weekend program with their high school degree in Computers or Accounting from ICI. Of the 13 graduates this year, 9 men and 4 young women, over a third were parents, and every single one was working at least one or two jobs to be able to afford school.

The high school students chose to work with Taq Sanik for their required community service project in order to graduate. Many have delayed their education because they could not afford it, and were joined by their spouses, children, and grandparents to celebrate.

FUTURE
The local group, Taq Sanik is what makes this community service project a little different from the common tree plantings that often get abandoned and forgotten as the students go on their way.

Taq Sanik, will follow up with continual care, as they regularly check on and water the trees. They meet most Sundays, since some members have jobs and commitments in the week.

The group is fundraising for materials to make permanent signs to make the reforestated areas well-defined. They have learned from experience that they need to make their private work more public. Many of the trees they planted were chopped down as firewood by people who didn't understand what they were doing.

They are selling T-Shirts with their own screenprinting and designs to help pay for the expenses of continuing their work.

Thanks to Taq Sanik and the High Schoolers for inviting us to celebrate with them, the beautiful values and resourcefulness of the Mayan people.