Wayeb - escrito por Felipe Chub

Desde muy temprano el día viernes nos levantamos para irnos al departamento de Izabal donde nos encontraríamos con un paisaje espectacular, el mar Caribe, el municipio de Livingston y el lindísimo parque nacional rio dulce que con su agua salada espera a miles de visitante nacionales e internacionales. En la aldea barra lámpara del municipio de Livingston se encuentra la asociación Ak´ tenamit que actualmente proporciona diferentes programas de trabajo como; Desarrollo Comunitario, ducación ambiental, educación cultural maya, eduquemos a la niña y el instituto particular. Todo estos programas funciona a base de donaciones internacional y trabaja para las comunidades rurales e indígena del municipio de Livingston para el desarrollo y el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de las personas que se encuentra alrededor del municipio y uno de su trabajo es, educar a jóvenes indígenas, que con su instituto ha logrado a que joves del municipio de Livingston y de otros departamento de Guatemala han podido realizar sus sueños y terminar una carrera de formación académica.
Desde hace dieciocho años la asociación ha venido proporcionando becas para niñas y niños con escasos de recursos económicos y con muchas ganas de seguir adelante con sus estudios. En el pensum de estudio las carreras de Perito en Bienestar Rural y Perito en Turismo sustentable, esta lo que es la valoración de la cultura maya, como parte de la educación que reciben los jóvenes, el instituto año con año celebra y recibe el año maya lo que es el WAYEB.
WAYEB, es una actividad que se celebra con cinco días de reflexión y el mayejak o ceremonia maya, que son parte de la espiritualidad y cultura maya que el instituto ak´ Tenamit y los estudiantes indígenas y rurales lo están rescatando, gracias a los guias espirituales que son ex alumnos del instituto han puesto interés para que esto no se pierde ya que es una cultura única y se celebra a cada año.
Para los mayas, cada año tiene trescientos sesenta días y cinco días de refleccion que suman los trescientos sesenta y cinco días del calendario romanos, que para ellos es muy importante ya que les sirve para reflexionar que han logrado y lo que no han logrado durante un año, y para recibir el año nuevo, ellos hacían sus ceremonia o el mayej donde adoraban a sus Dioces y les pedían bendiciones a sus seres queridos, a su cultivos.
Ak´ Tenamit ha dado su esfuerzo para recuperar la cultura maya, ya que sus estudiantes son jóvenes indígenas de diferentes etnias mayas, a través de su programa educación maya y en su pensum de estudio tiene lo que es la cosmovisión maya que en el estuo da a conocer el calendario maya y cada uno de los nawales de cada ser vivo.
En este año Ak´ tenamit celebra una vez mas y recibe un año maya mas, donde nos marca el calendario maya y el cargador del año o el nawal el jun laju kej o 11 venado año tras año este cargador se cambia ya que cada año tiene su cargador. Y para recibir el año nuevo los guías espirituales hacen ceremonias y saturaciones a todos los alumnos de básico y diversificado, cada persona lo saturan alrededor del sagrado fuego para limpiarlos.
En el último día del WAYEB o en la final del año viejo maya, todas las personas se bañan por la madrugada para que sean limpiados por el agua y dispuestos a recibir el año nuevo y celebrar la ceremonia o el mayej por la mañana
Después de que ya estas saturado los guías te entregan dos pulsera uno en la mano izquierda y el otro en el pie derecho las pulseras son de color rojo, en cada pulsera contiene nueve unidad de hilos, que representan los nueve meses de embarazo de las mujeres de donde nos engendramos todas las personas, la pulsera de la mano izquierda significa, unión con la fuerza del corazón del cielo, y la pulsera en el pie derecho significa, la unión con el corazón de la tierra.
Cuando ya tienes tus pulseras tienes derecho de dar tres vuelta alrededor del sagrado fuego y luego tienes que entregar un toj (que significa pagar) dar una ofrenda; una ofrenda que los mismos guias te entregan antes de iniciar la ceremonia o el mayaj. Cada ofrenda es una candela de color blanco, negro, rojo y amarillo que significa los cuatro puntos cardinales de la planeta tierra.
Este evento, para mi, es una valoración de cultura para los pueblos indigenas, y aquí es muy importante que mantengamos esa parte tan integral de nuestra cultura para nuestros antepasados, nosotros, y nuestros nietos.

Surveys

For the past couple months since I’ve been back in Guatemala, most of my work has been committed to a big grant for a government subsidiary. Felipe and I have seen work days turn into work nights writing and re-writing different sections of this complex proposal. We dedicate hours to find the best way to sell Ak’Tenamit’s alternative, vocational curriculum. We try to paint the picture of what the Río Dulce looked like twenty years ago from an education perspective. We paint the picture of what it looks like today. We draw on parallels between the Río before the days of Ak’Tenamit and the current situation in the villages of Alta Verapaz and El Petén. We make the case that the government can take a concrete step in improving the situation for indigenous communities in one of the most impoverished regions of the country.

This work is all part of something grandiose. But sometimes while sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end and forgetting the meaning of the word weekend, I get lost. Having spent a year working at our first school involved in the day-to-day activities of the students and community members, it’s easy to forget how important a role grant writing plays in the world of development.

This past week, though, I got a chance to get back to working with the communities. Our first trip to Cancuén gave me the opportunity to meet some members of the surrounding villages of Cancuén. This trip helped to develop some of those relationships further as many of the same members were back this past week accompanied by their neighbors to meet Ak’Tenamit’s Board of Directors. Four members of the Board traveled with several other representatives of the organization to explain in more detail our plans for the area, give the villagers a chance to ask questions and fulfill one of the grant’s requirements: an environmental impact survey.

In order to show our appreciation for their taking the time to meet with us, we invited them to a bowl of sak’iq – a traditional hen soup. After listening to the Board and asking their questions, the sixty invitees sat down individually to participate in the survey. The results were overwhelmingly positive. It seems the communities took to heart what the Board had to say and were encouraged by the fact that the organization took their opinions into consideration. This, after all, is the land of empty promises. For Felipe and me, this was the first big trip out to Ak’Tenamit that we organized. It could have gone a little more smoothly, but as we drove home, he and I shared a moment of silent admiration and appreciation for the support that so many had offered that weekend. One step closer, we thought.

School Committees

Yesterday Felipe and I met with members of the school committees from the five closest villages to Cancuén. With the help of the archeologists at the site, we organized this meeting primarily to introduce me and allow me to meet some of the pro-active members of each aldea. I hope these members of the education boards will support our efforts in the communities. I hope they understand the importance of education and can do much of the footwork in convincing their peers and neighbors that education can be a long-term solution to short-term problems. Making the 16-hour round-trip haul from Guatemala City to Cancuén nearly weekly, we will get to know each other well and with hard work and trust, develop a positive working relationship.

Their questions were few, but as the meeting concluded, a representative from each community stood. Each expressed their gratification for not only our future efforts in providing education, but moreover for including their thoughts, opinions and feelings by holding a meeting as such. Still, there behind each of their words was a feeling of skepticism. Having spent some time working in development, I could guess from where this spurred.

Later, I decided anyway to talk with Felipe about his impressions regarding the meeting and the ‘thank you’ speeches from each village. He straddles an interesting border having studied at Ak’Tenamit for a few years. But while my perspective only allows me to understand how and why the organization works to empower local people, his goes beyond. He comes from these communities. He is these communities. Their struggles are his struggles. They are his neighbors and family. And so with this experience, before drifting off to bed in our tent, I decided to get to know each village through Felipe. He said that many people and organizations alike recognize that this as one of the poorest places in Guatemala. Since the time he can remember, individuals and groups have come in and made promises. Some have started to work. Others have continued it. But as we lay in an all-encompassing darkness, Felipe went on to explain that there is little follow through. He told me about project funds from outside agencies running dry and all those promises made to the communities following suit.

“Yes,” he told me. “The people will thank you for coming; especially for taking time out to speak with them and ask their opinion. But that skepticism is a defense mechanism from years of big promises and little results, and it will be some time before that goes away.

These were the last words shared that night. Shortly after, Felipe drifted off to sleep, but his words would keep me up. I left the tent and went to walk around this foreign place, my new home. I thought about the insight of my 23-year old partner. Practically the same age, our life experiences are so different, and together, we are helping each other to understand the world. He helps me to understand the words coming out of their mouths, but equally he helps me to understand the messages coming from their souls.

We will return to Cancuén next week.

Pre-Departure

Well before the sun comes up tomorrow, Felipe, my partner, and I will start our journey to Cancuén. Some eight hours from Guatemala City by a couple buses and a culminating boat ride, we will embark for a few days to build consensus for the next school.

Starting soon, we will begin to document our joint experience. As a short introduction and preview to our collective blog:

Felipe Chub Jolomna is a 23 year-old who recently graduated from Ak'Tenamit's first institute last November with a title in Sustainable Tourism. After finishing middle school near his home in Sayaxché, Felipe traveled to the Guatemala City in order earn sufficient funds to continue with his studies.

Without a reasonable option to continue on with his studies near his home, Felipe heard of a school nearly half way across the country from where he grew up. This school was unique in its efforts to avoid cultural barriers, teach Felipe's Maya cosmovision, celebrating Maya ceremonies, and view his Maya language as an advantage and not a point of shame.

His journey speaks to how determined an individual he is. For many reasons, Felipe's peers from the communities that surround his, encounter too many obstacles to continue studying past primary school. The bloodiest region during the Armed Conflict, families still struggle to meet basic needs; education often at the top of this list.

Felipe's story is not unique. Ak'Tenamit, although half way across the country, houses almost 100 students from the area around his community. But for every student that has been able to overcome the innumerable obstacles to continue their studies, countless are left behind.

From the beginning of Ak'Tenamit's involvement in Cancuén, Felipe has been right along side. It was he who accompanied the organization's Board of Directors to act as a liaison between his home where he grew up and his new home where he became an educated, young man. Going forward, Felipe will be the school's local coordinator. As a recent graduate, he has been given the great responsibility of representing Ak'Tenamit in each of the communities from which students will arrive. For the organization, he is an incredible resource and a true success story.

Felipe had to travel half way across the country in order to continue his studies due to a lack of opportunity near his home. Education for this young man has paid off, and he feels it his responsibility to pay that forward by helping to develop a school in his own backyard.

Stay tuned for how our consensus-building trip goes. And remember, this page and soon-to-be blog are ways to make you all feel a part of this process. So keep reading and posting.

Saludos,

Jesse

Welcome, Bienvenido, K'ulbilex Chi Cha'ab'il

Dear Friends,

A few years ago while still in university, I took a course in Belize for two weeks. The trip was beautiful, enlightening, and introduced me to new schools of thought and people. But upon my return to the States, two particular hours out of the entire two weeks kept me up at night. At the time I didn’t know it, but it was our brief stop in Guatemala that would alter the next chapter of my life.
A small, non-governmental organization, Ak’Tenamit is a social development project tucked away in the Guatemalan jungle. The organization seeks to provide a pertinent education to Mayan youth; one that teaches about indigenous heroes like Tecum Uman – who was a principal in the resistance to colonialism – as opposed to the standard praise of Christopher Columbus; an education that vocationally prepares them in fields that can help to build up their communities; a place that offers opportunities to study for young women and men alike.
Steve Dudenhoefer and several other international volunteers founded the organization eighteen years ago in collaboration with local community leaders. Ak’Tenamit’s school started in a single classroom with six students. But Steve and his team understood that for an organization to have success, the local community had to be the final authority, and so today the Board of Directors is 100% indigenous, made up of half men and half women. So what started as a school with six students in a tiny, makeshift classroom has grown into a boarding school that houses over 500.
I returned to Ak’Tenamit after graduating college to do a year of volunteer work, but as my year drew to a close, I searched for a way to let the experience continue. When the Board of Directors made me aware of plans to start a new branch of the school in Cancuén, one of the poorest regions of Guatemala, and offered me the role as the chief adviser to the project, I accepted immediately.
This blog will follow the journey of me and my partner, Felipe, as Ak'Tenamit works to build up education in an area where it is currently lacking. Following this blog, you will read both my and Felipe's impressions and experiences. The entries will be posted in English, some in Spanish, and even in Q'eqchi.
Thank you for being a part of this voyage. Feel free to comment away.