2007 CHIAPAS MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Education is multi-faceted. One day while watching the women sew, we realized that their eyes were under a great deal of strain. Not only do they do very close work, but the pervasive smoke inside their homes adversely affects vision. Our first thought was to make sure that our scholarship recipients had eye exams, but we were able to extend the offer to women at the workshop who also felt they were not seeing very well.
A vision clinic had fortuitously been set up in San Cristóbal while we were there, and we took three of our newly awarded scholarship girls, as well as Yolanda from last year. Four women from the cooperative accompanied us. All received exams and all needed corrective lenses. They enjoyed trying on and selecting frames. By the next day, all eight had new glasses.
WORKSHOP
Linda Finch and Carol Bell, Directors, and Martha Lumia, a designated Friend of Mujeres, joined me in San Cristóbal at the end of July. Carmen, our invaluable associate there, asked us to put on a class for the women of the cooperative who were coming for their bi-monthly workshop. Some of their products are shipped to the United States and the accompanying packing lists need to be in English. Carmen wanted us to teach the women how to do a packing list in English. We spent two hours translating lists of products, descriptions and sizes from Spanish to English. Then we came up with a color-coded formula, made practice manipulatives with note cards, and were ready to go. By the end of an hour, the women understood the necessary word order of a packing list. It was a fun experience for all.
COMPUTERS
One of our goals this year was to provide at least one computer. Happily we were able to donate two! The first was a Dell Inspiron purchased in the U.S. but equipped with Spanish programming and a Spanish keyboard. This computer will be shared among the villages. The second computer we purchased in San Cristóbal. It's a desktop model that will provide the cooperative with computer practice, increased communications, and a wider knowledge of the world. In the future we hope to add more laptops to share among the eight villages that participate in the cooperative.
TRIP TO GUATEMALA
Mujeres de Maiz Opportunity Foundation and Adopt a Village of Guatemala jointly sponsored a workshop at the Maya Center of Adopt a Village in Northern Guatemala the first week of August. The purpose was to facilitate an exchange of ideas among the indigenous women of the two groups, with a hope of empowerment. Carmen, our associate, and Ceci and Viki from the cooperative made the arduous journey....hours in the back of a pickup on rough, mountainous roads. The workshop consisted of a number of role playing exercises and discussions about current problems and ways to surmount obstacles. Both sides felt that they had benefited from the exchange.
Judith Pasco, August 28, 2007
Labels: english