CHIAPAS VISIT AUGUST 2011

Greetings!

Linda and I just spent 15 days in San Cristóbal de las Casas working with the women of the cooperative and tending to Mujeres' business.
In addition to the joy of awarding scholarships to five more young women (go to Home page and click on "Scholarship Recipients") and delivering a computer to be used by the students a la library check-out mode, we had the opportunity to dialog with the women about the possibility of future projects. It is important to note here that we don't approach these talks with "shoulds", but rather the women assess their own needs and come up with possibilities.

We also attended the Saturday Children's Program in Crucero. 20 children awaited us in the new structure built by their community just for this program. For more photos go to HOME page and then click on "Experiences" and "Projects." The children had written original stories in Spanish and in Tsotsil and had drawn pictures to illustrate them. Some were enthusiasic, some were painfully shy. All were beyond cute!

We spent 3 days at the bi-monthly reunion of the women. They were busy with workshops on the role of women, batik, nutrition for children, and leadership.

The surprise this year was the popularity of the eye exams and glasses! Glasses are still not widely used in Maya culture. Every year we provide eye exams and glasses if needed. This year 23 women have new glasses! What impressed us was three women that received glasses in previous years were back because their prescriptions needed adjustment. And older women are coming when they hear that their embroidery and close work is made easier with glasses. Our budget this year was just under $300 for glasses and we spent $1000 instead! Pictured are our scholarship recipient Juana with a new glasses owner from Zinacantán.
We also had the opportunity of attending the festival of the patron saint in the community of Zinacantán. The Fiesta de San Lorenzo is the biggest fiesta of the year and the time when the women wear their new fashion creations. There are horse races through the main streets, religious observances, dances and processions. Below are photos of some of the new colors and designs.



The next trip will be in December with a group of 8 persons! Can´t wait to introduce them to Chiapas and to the wonderful women with whom we partner.

Abrazos de Judith