Guatemala
For the last 3 years, Spanish students in the Middle School at Catlin Gabel have maintained a relationship with a small in-country NGO, in the highlands of Guatemala. The town is Chajul, and the school is called CEMIK. Chajul is home to the Ixil people, one of 23 different Mayan indigenous groups. Their language is Ixil, though they often use Spanish in work and business. About 70 students attend CEMIK throughout each week at a cost of about $25 per kid. Their parents are often working, harvesting corn in the fields or making handicrafts for export. Chajul is part of what's called the Ixil Triangle, an area of Guatemala that was virtually ravaged by the 36-year civil war. Peace accords were signed in 1996, though these villages have received nothing from subsequent governments.
I have traveled to Chajul twice in the last 2 years, bringing everything from pencils to financial gifts of up to $1000. This money is currently funding a teacher's salary in CEMIK's one-room school house. Plans are underway to initiate a medical brigade in the summer of 2010 involving Catlin Gabel parents, medical professionals and Upper School students.
