We learn how sustainability takes precedence at Somos: Earth bags, which are filled with a mix of earth, sand and cement, reinforce homes bamboo posts support interior walls of eco-bricks. On our tour, we see volunteers from another group levelling ground for an outdoor seating area. Agua and Acatenango aren’t as active as Fuego, which puffs plumes of white smoke almost every 15 minutes. The crowns of seven volcanoes frame the view. This sanctuary will include an organic garden and several cisterns for collecting rainwater and there will be a community hall and education opportunities.Īfter a breakfast of bananas and mosh (Guatemalan oatmeal), we arrive at the project site, 2,133 m above sea level. The stats in Guatemala are shocking: In 2008, a child was abandoned every four days in Guatemala City there are about 370,000 in need of placement throughout the country, most born to parents too poor to cope. UNICEF identifies these children as “orphans” as they are the most vulnerable members of society in developing countries. ![]() Each will house widowed and single mothers who are at risk of losing their children. By 2016, this 145-acre plot will be transformed into a haven of 12 self-sufficient homes, as part of their orphan-prevention program. They’re leading the trend of travelling to far-flung countries on what they call “holidays for humanity.” Their businesses are non-profit.Īaron Smith and Jane Reitsma work closely with Canadians Heather Knox and Greg Kemp, the creators of Project Somos Children’s Village. Some of the people putting the art of giving on the map are Vancouverites Aaron Smith, creator of GoVoluntouring, and Jane Reitsma of Stratosphere International. This isn’t self-indulgent it’s a chance to test your strength, to get a little scared doing something new and to see your efforts take shape in a very real way. Voluntourism is a cultural exchange that’s great for the soul, but not in the style of Eat, Pr ay, Love. This experience lends a whole new dimension to travel. We’re told entire families live in a single room held together with wood and tin.Ī common sight in Guatemala: children taking care of even younger kids. Smoke from unseen fires swirls into the thin mountain air, carrying the faint scent of corn tortillas. On the doorstep of cozy Casa de los Abuelos, our lodge, bony goats and cows are tethered to rotting fences. Pulling into Tecpán feels like a sock to the gut. Then it’s onward to grittier Tecpán, a Mayan city near our building site, with dirt roads and a vigilante justice system because there are few police. We spend our first day walking Antigua’s cobblestone streets, taking in Spanish baroque architecture and eating tortilla soup at the 16th-century Café Condesa. Stray dogs dodge cars a man beside us rides a motorbike with a toddler on his lap and a woman at the back no one wears helmets. The next thing I know, I’m in a bus barrelling down a twisting highway toward Guatemala’s old capital city, Antigua, with a group of like-minded travellers. I explain that I’m here to help build a “children’s village.” I heave on my backpack and head toward border control, patrolled by men with guns on their backs. So I have no idea what to expect when the plane touches down in Guatemala City. ![]() I’ve never been to a developing country my passport is sparsely stamped with imprints from places where tap water is drinkable, roads uniformly paved and dogs leashed. ![]() Volcán de Agua (Volcano of Water), one of 22 volcanoes in Guatemala, forms the backdrop to the city of Antigua.
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