This week's happenings in Guatemala with Mayan Families!

This week we have welcomed back the dental group , Kids, which has been coming for the last 4-5 years attending to the dental needs of the children here.
Monday they saw 200 children in Panajachel.
Today they went to Nahaula and saw over 200 children.
Tomorrow they are in San Jorge.....
Thursday ...they are in Tierra Linda.
Friday they are in San Jorge.

Tomorrow , Wednesday, we have the monthly meeting of the Diabetic club at 8.am. They come early , have their blood taken, have a talk about diabetes, see the medical doctor for a check up and as soon as they have their blood taken , we serve sandwiches and a drink.

Today, Tuesday ...was a wonderful day...we had the graduation of our first group of students from the carpentry workshop.
Several came with proud parents...and brought the beautiful things that they had worked on, others are still finishing up their projects.  It was a great to see how they had learned how to make such great items.
The students were all excited to receive a diploma, photos were taken and plans made for some of them to continue on with the carpentry.

One young man made an incredibly beautiful wooden base for a small clock. They copied these items from a magazine we had brought back from the U.S.

We were also pleased that on Monday we were able to help a family contact and visit  the birth mother of the daughter they had adopted from Guatemala.  It turned out to be a great experience for all involved.

Monday we also had this amazing young 10 year old girl come to our office. Her father is American and her mother , Guatemalan.  She lives in the U.S. and decided that she wants to help animals...so she came to interview us about our animal project and how she could help raise funds for the animals.  She was incredibly mature and well spoken. .....I think this girl could rule the world one day!  In the meantime , we are very happy to have her help in any money she can raise to help the animals.

Which speaking of animals, we had 3 newborn kittens dropped off to us on Monday.... ..they were just a few days old.   I asked the people who brought in the kittens if they could please find the mother, they said that they didn't know where she was.  Today , I was overjoyed when they came in with a corn bag and they had the mother cat in the bag.    I am not sure if the mother cat enjoyed the way she was reunited with her babies but she is now in a large cage outside with her 3 little ones, and she has food and water.  Something that she looked like she really lacked.

We have another funeral to attend tomorrow...the elderly mother of our sewing teacher, Alberto passed away today.  The family has been gathered by her bedside for nearly two weeks looking after her and hoping that she would recover but it was not to be.  It is the custom here that everyone who works with you will come to the funeral.  Many times whole classrooms of children will come to funerals to support their classmate who has lost someone.  Tomorrow was supposed to be the graduation of another sewing class but we will have to cancel it now for another day.

Thursday...we have a Micro Loans Meeting.  We have approx. 350 loans out to various women...they apply for the loans in groups of 10  and they are responsible to each other. If one person does not pay back the group is responsible for paying that loan. So far, we are happy to say , that this has not had to happen.

Friday...we will be giving out bags of emergency food supplies to the elderly who will be able to have something to eat over the week end.  We do this every Friday.

Hope you all have a great week!

Sharon Smart-Poage
MAYAN FAMILIES
a registered 501.(c).(3) Non Profit Charity

Recipe for Pepian de Pollo
















Many people have been asking whether we could publish some of the wonderful Guatemalan recipes that we teach in our cooking classes. 

So first off here is a recipe for Pepian de Pollo – a traditional Guatemalan stew. Every Guatemalan makes it a little differently—richer, spicier,  thicker or meatier so feel free to experiment with the quantities. It’s typically served with an array of chilies rice, and a corn tamale and makes a fantastic feast to impress your friends with. 

(Serves 10)

10 pounds of chicken    
2.5 pounds of tomatoes  
2.5 guisquiles (or Chayote if unavailable)
2.5 carrots                      
2.5 pounds of potatoes    
1 dried chili
1 dried Huaque (Guatemalan Chile)              
1 pound of green beans
2 ounces of squash seeds
1 ounce of coriander                  
2 medium onions                          
2 ounces of sesame seeds
4 loaves of French bread (sliced)    
1 bell pepper                   
½ head of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil the chicken, carrots and guisquiles for 10 minutes with water. 
2. After the ten minutes, add the potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes. 
3. Drain and set aside
4. While the chicken and vegetables are cooking, toast the tomatoes, onions, chilies, garlic and coriander in a skillet.
5. Separately toast the squash seeds (but you have to be careful or you’ll burn them!)
6. In the same skillet, toast the sesame seeds & bread on a low heat (again - make sure not to burn them!) but keep them separate for blending. 
7. When everything is toasted, blend the squash seed and sesame without water (just those two ingredients)
8. Then blend the tomatoes and the remaining mixture including the bread. 
9. Slowly add water while blending these ingredients (make sure it is not too liquidy). 
10. Add to the pot with the chicken. 
11. Continue to stir until thickened. 

Buen provecho!