Whirledvision.com Travel Adventure

This is the Garcia Family of
Guatemala. In the photo the only one
missing is little Kalina who was born
in May of 2005 just before our most
recent visit there.

Maria is Rosa's mother. She was a
single mother raising two daughters
during some really hard times. Maria
is 68 years old in this photo. She
frequently walks to the local market in
Solola to sell a dozen oranges she
has purchased at a discount. She
speaks almost no Spanish...she
speaks Kakchiquel, a Mayan
language.

This is Rosa, mother of the five
children whom we assist with their
schooling. Besides taking care of the
household, she is a weaver and
weaves fabric for her huipil...the
blouse she is wearing. She is very
quietly the power behind the success
of the family and currently dreams of
opening a small bakery in her village.
She is saving for an oven.

This is Benito, Rosa's husband and
father of the five children. He works
as a gardener taking care of a house
owned by some retired and elderly
American music teachers who have
lived in Guatemala for 40 years or
so. He is well known and respected in
his community. He knows lots of
people and works hard to find work
for his sons.

The oldest of the five Garcia children, Irma, on the far right in this
picture taken in the family kitchen, was earning a pittance doing bead
work when we met her in 1999 but her eyes were suffering and she
had terrible headaches. She really wanted to be a nurse. Now, six
years later, she has been working for five years as a nurse's aide after
taking a one year program. While working at the local hospital she
decided that she would like to be an instrument nurse in the operating
room but had to finish 3 more years of basic education before she
could get in to an instrument nursing program. In October of 2005 she
finished those 3 years of basic education while working full time and
starts her new nursing program in January of 2006. She no longer has
headaches and volunteers her time to others in the tiny village where
she lives by giving injections and stocking a small amount of
medications that she acquires as samples.

Olga, the second oldest, is a beader who has finished the 3rd grade
by studying at night after beading all day. She really likes her
beadwork and does not care to go to school any more. She is very
quiet and quite independent.

Fernando, the third child, works driving a pickup truck taking
villagers back and forth from Solola and Panajachel. He finished the
9th grade but felt that he needed to devote more time to work than
school as he now has a wife, Estela, and two children. Fernando is
a major contributor to the income of this extended family.

Flavio, the fourth child, is the first member of his family to graduate
from high school and is working at a local hotel after studying
tourism and hotel management. He finished his schooling last year.
We made arrangements with a family in NM to have him live with
them while he learned English, but we were unable to figure out the
Visa issues and so he will not go to study English in the US for now.

Beni, the youngest of the five children, was not cut out to be a
student when we first met him and failed his seventh grade year. He
then went to work at the age of 13 assisting his father who works as
a gardener and eventually finding a job as a housekeeper for an
elderly, retired family in an adjacent town. After 3 years of working
at menial jobs he has now completed a night school program where
he re-did the seventh grade. At 17 he is now ready to continue to
finish school at night from 7-11 pm after working all day and we will
see to it that his tuition is paid as long as he sticks with it.

Beni is also learning to play the keyboard and plays for local church
services with his brother Flavio who plays the drums.

Jose is a street kid whose mother is unable to care for him. The
Garcias have taken him in. Some friends of ours from the Loose
Chickens group with whom we traveled to Panama took up a
collection to pay for some shoes, a backpack and some better
clothes as well as pencils and paper so that he too could go to
school. He has now finished first grade (at the age of 13) and plans
to continue so that his future is not so bleak. I think that the extra
trips Colleen took to his house our last trip there to read with him
out of his primer really gave him the boost he needed to be
successful. He sometimes struggles with the expectations of this
family but seems to be thriving.

Nandito, Fernando and Estela's son, was born in August 2003 and
is 10 months old in this photo. As of May 2005 he has a sister
Kalina. His future is much brighter today with the education of his
aunt and uncles.

We have felt so fortunate to have met this family and supported
these kids as they worked very hard to succeed at their studies. It
does not cost us very much money and knowing them all has made
a real difference in our lives.