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| Mariana, Dana, Flory, Sarah, David, Otto |
by Dana Fried
We started our day at the Pavarotti Center in San Lucas Tolimán , which is supported by the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation. It was impactful to see how deep Quinnipiac University is connected to this facility and especially for me, the connection with occupational and physical therapy students.
Along with
other students, I was fortunate enough to meet individuals influencing and
influenced by this trip. Otto is an
unbelievably smart and selfless school teacher who provides therapeutic
services for free at the Pavarotti Center.
He explained to us the importance of striving to make a difference in
the world and he said that failure is ok, but you at least need to put your
best foot forward towards your aspirations.
His kind of good-heartedness and determination despite limited supplies and
obstacles was astounding and I was able to see not only the type of
professional I aspire to become, but also the type of person I want to be.
Flory was a young woman who received services from Otto as
she was unable to walk. Her congenital
disease resulted in surgery and neuropathy.
Otto’s services including his exercise program and encouragement have
given her new-found opportunities to walk and work with kids. She is a strong and optimistic individual who
is now paving her way forward by assisting Otto to make a difference in other
people’s lives, like that which he made in hers. This experience allowed me to see first-hand
how good-natured people can be and how my hope to become an occupational
therapist will have life-changing meaning in people’s lives. I was also able to see where occupational and
physical therapy is going to be built with the help of QU students in the
future. This will only further the
amazing work people like Otto are doing in order to help people like Flory in
maximizing their capabilities.
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| Flory |
After the Pavarotti Center, we headed to Antigua for lunch
and souvenir shopping. Antigua was a
very traditional looking city and it is one of the locations more so populated
with tourists. We were able to purchase
things to remember Guatemala by. It was
interesting to see how the bargaining system works and how cheap things can be
purchased for. Following Antigua, we
went to a market full of women who hand made the souvenirs we were
purchasing. The intricate work that went
into the items and how much time the weaving requires is in no way equivalent
to what they earn. It made many of us
feel guilty for the bargaining and it revealed the harsh realities of life in
Guatemala.
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| Albergues Tecpan, Tecpan, Guatemala |
We ended our day at the “hobbit-like” hotel (AlberguesTecpan) where we ate dinner and slept.
All of us are excited to meet our second set of host families tomorrow
in San Juan Sacatepéquez
and continue helping the communities with work that needs to be done. I cannot believe we are already a week into
this unforgettable trip.
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