AUGUST 2015 CHIAPAS TRIP
Yvonne Starkey, Mujeres supporter, and I, Linda Finch, board
member, went on the annual summer trip to Chiapas. As always, the trip is
informative, invigorating, and offers a much cherished time to spend with the
women in the cooperative.
We arrived a day before the women's meeting and found ourselves immediately
at the optometrist with seven women getting eye exams and glasses. After the eye exams, we delivered the dental supplies donated by the Soroptimist International of Sequim. The night before, we had purchased the school supplies that we always give to the scholarship recipients, so we presented those as well. This year there are seventeen
recipients. Their studies range from secondary
to university level.
At the bimonthly meetings, there are always informative, fascinating
workshops presented. This year an excellent presenter, Marta, talked to the
women as a group and later to just the scholarship recipients about violence
against women. Marta's opening question to the women was "What do you like
about being a woman?" It was very telling that not a single woman could think
of a positive aspect of their gender! As a part of this presentation, we walked
a couple of blocks to a university where there was a memorial mural for a woman
who had been murdered near the school.
Later that afternoon, three young university women doing their community
service did a workshop on color theory. This sparked interest among the women who are all amazing weavers. The following day Alfredo gave an excellent talk on how the
government works, some of its flaws, and the importance of women becoming a part
of the process. We missed the talk on nutrition but it is very gratifying to
see fruit being offered as dessert rather than marshmallows and lollipops which
were the standard fare several years ago.
Linda with toothbrushes |
We visited the children's Saturday program in Zinacantan. As a retired
math teacher, it warmed my heart to watch young Erika's lesson on long division
using manipulatives as well as paper and pencil computation. Her mother, Maria
Teresa, worked with the younger children (3 to 6 years) on letter formation and drawing
skills.
The highlight of our visit was a day's outing to to see the adult
literacy program in action. The small community where it takes place is on a mountainside. A
river runs through it and it is surrounded by rich plant life. In the classroom, one young woman
was there with her baby. An older woman was struggling with letter formation.
But the room was filled with students determined to get an education no matter what.
As usual, Carmen, the cooperative coordinator gave 125% in making our visit worthwhile. It is
incredible to compare the confidence and education of the women with how they were in 2005!. We should all be proud of the accomplishments of the last ten
years.
I want to thank Yvonne for accompanying me on this trip. May you always
have a steady supply of those delicious churros, fresh from the street
cart!
Linda
August 27, 2015