A Special Place For Learning!

The sounds of drumming and howls of voices and marimba beats coming from the village wake me this morning. The roosters join the commotion only after the ceremony begins and the whippoorwills, geckos, and outrageous blackbirds come later. It is Saturday morning and a spiritual gathering; perhaps even a fire ceremony is taking place up on the hill. The audible hum of this place is exceptional. Wild pigs, chickens, roosters, goats, and a multitude of very unusual birds, along with various human chatter, make up a cacophony of sound unlike any I’ve ever experienced. Children, so many children, playing in the streams and hills around the village round out the resounance of life here.

 

We have spent the last few days here playing and working with kids at Nuevos Mayas School, (www.NuevosMayas.com) servicing students in kindergarten through 12^th grade.  There are approximately 100 students attending, all of whom receive sponsorship from an outside source. Many of the students live too far from this remote village to trek back and forth, and so provision for room and board is necessary for the 25 students who live here. Others return to their homes each day, helping to support family farms and community businesses.

 

We are in the western highlands of Guatemala in a small village called Ixil (pronounced Eesheel), one of the villages in the Nebaj region. Here the people are known for their tenacity and their relentless attempts to stay close to their Mayan cultural practices. Their focus is living in complete harmony with the environment. Their resourcefulness is apparent here and the lively fiestas held in honor of patron saints and Mayan deities round out their existence. There has been history of extreme brutality here and almost everyone we meet has history of familial genocide and atrocity. They are recovering!

In this small village, families of five - ten children are common. Children taking care of children is prevalent and as I walk down the unpaved roads I see sisters and brothers, cousins, all playing together and watching out for each other. Some of the ‘sisters’ are actually mothers. Very early pregnancy is common. Children having children having children. The pattern continues.

At the Nuevos Mayas School hope prevails with an emphasis to break out of some of the old patterns.  This residential school was founded 10 years ago by a group of interested people wanting to provide an alternative to the challenging and limiting life that exists here in the western highlands of Nebaj.

Young boys and girls are encouraged to come, live here, and be schooled. The curriculum focuses on basic subject areas and also concentrates on promoting and highlighting the history and culture of the Mayan Indigenous people. It is definitely a place of hope and growth! The youth here are happy, energetic and appreciative.

Students come exclusively by sponsorship, and the school functions by donations. Needless to say, the resources are scarce and teaching practices are weak. Trained and qualified teachers who can find employment elsewhere rarely choose such a remote and depressed area.  The administration is young and generally ignorant of simple pedagogy. It is not unlike trying to find good teachers for under-privileged communities in Canada.

Volunteers are welcome. The visitors’ accommodations are basic. There is no heating and the showers offer tepid (at best) trickle with water.  And the nights are very cold!

The dormitories where the students sleep are similar, although the kitchen also has a large communal dining area. As gringos we have been warned to avoid the food they cook. The repeated use of beans and tacos and concern for the water makes it necessary for us to bring our own food supplies. There is no refrigerator, but it doesn’t really matter because it is cold enough to keep all of our perishables by leaving them next to a (closed) window. Gringos repeatedly get sick, even those that frequent the area and are used to life here.

 During our time here, we spend hours in various classes promoting language skills and encouraging story telling. Together we constructed a felt storyboard, and, with lots of felt material that we brought with us, students designed cutouts to help illustrate their stories. Then we wrote them down in Spanish and translated them into simple English. The youth love the chance to learn English. They recognize the importance of learning for their future advancement.  We had only 2 pair of scissors for everyone. The children really know how to share and the process works well even with the limited resources. Young children cut out pictures that help describe what they know about their lives here and place them on the board. The hope is that these illustrations help to make their story more permanent and alive.

Simple templates for poetry writing that we used, gave the older students an opportunity to share a deeper perspective about themselves. We translate their poems into English (with the help of Spanishdict.com), photograph each person and display the results on their classroom walls.  After walking way up the hill to the local printer, we make 2 copies of each poem, one for the previously bare classroom wall and one for each student to take home.

 

Whatever strategy we used in the classes allowed for communication through verbal dialogue, written word, music and drawing. Regular Yoga sessions lead by our friend, Maalaa, were enthusiastically attended and seriously practised by many.

Learning through real life experiences is the greatest way to learn. Young people in Guatemala are happy. They have what they need and somehow they know how to get what they need. Education is not even close to a priority and by the time children reach 15 years old, school attendance is no longer free. Many children are discouraged from attending school, because they are able to work and help support the family. Young girls are set up to walk the streets with wares to entice people to buy. Boys are prompted to build, farm, and hustle in order to help support the family.  

I am learning more and more the benefits of education. It is not to impress our western values on an already rich and vibrant people. Instead, providing educational opportunities is a means of providing choice. It is choice that makes knowledge worthwhile. Attending school at Nuevos Mayas gives many children availability to choices they never had before.

Xix feels a bit different today. Many of the students with whom we shared time with this week, have gone to their homes. There, they will help with family chores for the weekend, and, perhaps work to help support their families.

I know one thing…. the joy on the faces of the children, the excitement of having us here, and their absolute openness to share their daily lives is evident. I have absolutely loved being here with them (I even started to consider spending a month here) and to know how much they need and appreciate our being here!