Sofía (Costa Rica), Sergio Felipe (Spain) and María Lorenza (Ecuador) are three of the volunteers who have spent time volunteering in Totonicapán (Guatemala) with the help of the Augustinian-Recollect International Solidarity Network, ARCORES.
ARCORES has formed a group of twelve volunteers to collaborate in different solidarity actions of the mission of the Augustinian Recollects in Totonicapán (Guatemala) during the month of August. They were five Spaniards, one Costa Rican, one Ecuadorian and five local volunteers who are receiving a university scholarship.
The daily life of the twelve volunteers, intense, has been of enormous cultural richness, associated and added to that experienced by getting to know the local society. Tasks related to education and home visits have been the main focus of her stay.
Sofía is from Pozos de Santa Ana, in the province of San José, in Costa Rica. An advertising designer, at 24 years old she has decided to do this volunteer work: “I wanted to make my heart happy by helping and making others happy, to learn about other cultures, to be inspired and use my creativity, to grow emotionally and mentally, to have awareness and solidarity,” she says.
For almost ten years she has witnessed the socio-evangelizing task of the Augustinian Recollects in Costa Rica through her parish and she knows that a more humane and just world can only be built with more sensitive and supportive people.
The reception in Totonicapán has been, for her, incredible: “those who have been part of this experience now have a very special place in my heart,” she says. She also believes that more young people should be encouraged to decide to volunteer:
“Now, I am going to tell my people absolutely everything I have experienced. I hope more people can be part of this project because of the great positive impact it has. I see that educating, encouraging people to continue their studies or offering them tools so they can study, from love, respect and solidarity, changes lives.”
Sergio Felipe, 19 years old, has been another of Sofía‘s companions in this volunteering project. A former student of the Augustinian High School of the Augustinian Recollects in Madrid, Spain, he is currently studying at the King Juan Carlos University, and is a coach and monitor.
“Volunteering makes me leave my ‘comfort zone’ not in a conventional way, but giving everything of myself to make the lives of others better. It has brought new people into my life with the same desire as me to help. With them I have shared this experience that defines me as a person and that helps me in my personal development.”
He also highlights the welcome from the people in Totonicapán:
“It has been encouraging, both my fellow volunteers and the people welcomed me with open arms, willing to give me the opportunity to get to know me and to let themselves be accompanied and helped. I couldn’t have asked for more, I have felt welcomed, almost like at home, from the first moment they picked us up at the airport.”
Sergio Felipe is very clear about his objective and his desire to be a volunteer: “My main objective is to help, to leave my mark, to change the lives of others with my joy, to receive the affection of those around me, to meet new people, and to improve as a person through this experience.
To anyone who truly feels a calling for it, I recommend volunteering, with good preparation and a good attitude you will enjoy it and it will serve you personally, as well as helping many people.
Now it is time to tell the reality that I have lived, which does not often reach people’s ears: how they live here, their traditions, their particularities, the love with which they welcomed me, how grateful they feel for being able to enjoy life.
We can all find out how to help, because there are a thousand ways that suit each one. The simplest is the economic one, which is greatly appreciated in the destination, but you can donate clothes or toys in good condition that are no longer used, travel and help as I did… Each one must find how to do their bit. A lot of help is needed to combat poverty and inequality.”
María Lorenza is a social management worker and Ecuadorian, and she joined this volunteer group in Guatemala to “acquire new skills, new experiences, meet new people and the reality of another country taking advantage of the comprehensive approach with which ARCORES works, which in addition to immediate help manages long-term projects to promote social justice, peace, and equality.”
She highlights the people of Totonicapán for their hospitable and grateful way of being, resilient and committed to service. She also highlights the experiences shared with the Recollect community, with the sisters who work in social work, and with other volunteers.
After the first days of adaptation and getting to know the immediate environment, the days of the twelve volunteers were spent especially with the educational reinforcement camp with three groups of students in the mornings and two groups in the afternoons. A total of more than 60 boys and girls from third grade of Primary to Secondary participated.
In addition to the classrooms, sports and games were offered to improve performance and ensure positive and active interaction among the beneficiaries. In the school gymnasium, the volunteers participated in basketball games; and volleyball and soccer matches were organized.
Five children who for various reasons could not come to the parish for the camp received help at home. Their progress was slow, but significant.
In addition, visits were organized to 17 families to whom basic necessities were donated: sugar, beans, rice, powdered milk, oil, soap and incamparina, a food supplement made of corn and soy flour with vitamins.
Yolanda‘s house was rebuilt after Hurricane Mitch (1998). There was time to drink barley, eat “chuchito” (an emblematic dish of Guatemalan cuisine, made with corn dough, tomato sauce and stuffed with meat) and a photo session with the colorful traditional costumes of the region.
In another home they met Ezequiel, a child with oral and palatal problems. He received reinforcement in mathematics while other volunteers helped with laundry, cutting firewood or preparing incamparina. He was one of the five children who received home tutoring.
Ten families from a rural community proudly showed off their tomato greenhouse and chicken coop. They produce enough for themselves and to sell a little to the rest of the community.
Other visits were more shocking, like when they met four small children who lived with their widowed mother with alcohol problems in a house without hygienic conditions. The volunteers cleaned and made a meal for the children.
In another rural community, volunteers helped clear a woman’s corn field of weeds to improve her crop yield.
At the home of Simeona, 47 years old, mother of one of the children who benefited from the school camp, they noticed that she was washing clothes on a stone on the ground, in a very uncomfortable and harmful position. They managed to buy and install a concrete sink. Simeona tried it for the first time in her life and washed clothes standing up, in a much more natural position. All the volunteers agreed: “We have never seen a happier face.”
In addition to the homes, there was time to visit the parish medical dispensary. The doctor, Israel, explained how some of its most frequent users are prisoners in a prison located next to the dispensary. The volunteers left medical supplies. Once at the hospital, they visited the emergency area and heard from the professionals about the main challenges they face.
Last week, the community radio station Xetinimit invited ARCORES volunteers to the program of the Youth of Catholic Action to share their experience with the audience and to thank the local community for their welcome.
Omar Bulux, one of the university students who has volunteered for ARCORES during these days, presented his book A Life on the Edge of Eternity, aimed at young people and focused on personal growth.
To sum up, the ARCORES volunteers left a blog on the website of the charitable institution: “Totonicapán, magical land, has captivated and enamored us with its people, its way of being and living, its landscapes and its thirst for dignity and progress.”
