Pozo Seco

We started out the second leg of our journey in the dry lands of Guatemala City and 3 1/2 hours later arrived in the luscious, green, mountainous region of Coban, Alta Verapaz. Over lunch in the city of Coban, Constantino taught us a little about the history of the area. The area itself is known for it's minerals, such as: petroleum, silver, and nickle. It is also home of many African Palm Oil trees which are used for cooking and perfumes. What may seem like a profitable resource of the region has come to cause problems. For instance, the abundance of African Palm Oil trees has taken over the farm land for corn; in turn increasing the price of corn, making it harder for some people to buy the necessary staple for making tortillas to feed their families. Coban is also known for supplying most of the energy needed for Guatemala City through hydroelectricity.

Pozo Seco is a small village in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala, about an hour drive outside of the city of Coban. Pozo Seco translates to "dry well" related to the continuous depletion of oil from the region. When we arrived to the village of Pozo Seco we were mesmerized by the back drop of sunset over the mountains. Once settled, we immediately attended a meeting with the committee members of the village. The committee included both men and women of the community who spoke a mix of Spanish and the indigenous language of Q'eqchi. It was a surreal experience as we met under the moon and stars, with flashlights in hand, as words were translated from Q'eqchi to Spanish to English and vice versa. Each member of the committee was in disbelief that we actually came to visit their community. This skepticism stems from a 36 year Civil War that just recently ended in 1996. It was largely a genocide of the indigenous Mayan population of Guatemala. It left families displaced, and as a result people of indigenous communities such as this one have a hard time trusting people from outside of their community. The committee expressed their three greatest needs in order of priority: 1) Computers for the High School 2) Roof repairs 3) ideas for their 25 acres of open land such as cattle. Through further discussion we agreed that their first need could not be met without first addressing the condition and structure of the school building. The infrastructure of the existing school building is rotting, has no windows and has many holes in the roof. Currently this is not an appropriate environment for the safety of children and the sustainability of computers. Through discussion with the school board, we agreed on the necessity of a more sustainable building before computers are a viable possibility.

Living with host families in this community opened our eyes to a whole new level of poverty than any of us had previously experienced. The three of us were split up into two neighboring homes, each with 9+ kids. Instantly it was clear that the children had never seen "Gringos" before. It was an immediate assumption in both homes that we had a lot of money and donations to give because we were from the US. This lead to some unsettling dinner time conversations with the host families. We were continuously asked to send money and help because they are "very poor." It's difficult to be asked for donations when giving donations isn't going to solve the problems of poverty. The goal of ASI trips is not to give handouts but rather to work WITH the community and empower them while developing sustainable projects.

This was a very challenging week for us emotionally and physically to see the enormous need of this community. The raw look of hopelessness and desperation in the eyes of the people showed their lack of basic needs, such as food, shelter, safety and belonging. Although this may seem to be overwhelming, further discussion among our group members allowed us to see some possibilities of  working together with this community. Building a trusting relationship with the people will be the first step towards future development in Pozo Seco.

"Muchas Thank You" - Constantino

Ellen, Kristen, and Marianna