The Peacework team with Adriel, a technician at Coopesqui, a coffee cooperative in Huehuetenango.
This month, we welcomed our annual Peacework visit to Santiago Atitlan. Peacework is a non-profit organization that connects U.S. students with communities abroad, with the goal of inspiring sustainable change. For the past four years, Peacework teams have been traveling to the Lake Atitlan region to partner with Pueblo a Pueblo on its health-focused projects.
This year’s team of six Ohio State University students dove straight into action with a visit to Rxiin Tnamet, our partner clinic with the Maternal Child Health (MCH) program. The team learned about the challenges that many expecting mothers face in rural Guatemala and what Pueblo a Pueblo is doing to implement sustainable solutions. Later, the team traveled to our beneficiary communities of Chukmuk, Tzanchaj and Chacaya to install stoves for six of our MCH mothers.
The team then journeyed to Huehuetenango to check out our Beekeeping Project and meet “Las Diez Rosas,” the women-led beekeeping cooperative we partner with. Peacework learned how this project is strengthening the economic security of local coffee-farming families and helped by constructing beehive boxes for the cooperative.
This year’s team of six Ohio State University students dove straight into action with a visit to Rxiin Tnamet, our partner clinic with the Maternal Child Health (MCH) program. The team learned about the challenges that many expecting mothers face in rural Guatemala and what Pueblo a Pueblo is doing to implement sustainable solutions. Later, the team traveled to our beneficiary communities of Chukmuk, Tzanchaj and Chacaya to install stoves for six of our MCH mothers.
The team then journeyed to Huehuetenango to check out our Beekeeping Project and meet “Las Diez Rosas,” the women-led beekeeping cooperative we partner with. Peacework learned how this project is strengthening the economic security of local coffee-farming families and helped by constructing beehive boxes for the cooperative.
The team building beehive boxes.
The team also visited one of our beneficiary schools, Nueva Providencia, and saw our Child Education Support program in action. At a school that previously had no play space, the team collaborated with Nueva Providencia students and Pueblo a Pueblo staff to build a tire playground. Now the students have a safe place to jump and play as well as sitting space to read a book!
Nueva Providencia students helping with the playground construction!
The heart of Peacework’s mission is to partner with existing organizations on self-sustaining projects and in collaboration with local community leaders. Jessica Falla, Peacework’s Field Director, noted that this was why Pueblo a Pueblo is a “perfect fit for Peacework, because it is a growing local initiative with a sustainable impact in Guatemala.”
During our final debrief at the Pueblo a Pueblo office, we asked the Peacework team members what part of the trip had the most impact on them. Here are some of their responses:
During our final debrief at the Pueblo a Pueblo office, we asked the Peacework team members what part of the trip had the most impact on them. Here are some of their responses:
“The construction and installation of beehive boxes in Huehuetenango. The women from the beekeeping cooperative said that although it didn’t seem like we did a lot, it meant so much to them."
“I think for me it was the installation of the stoves and to see how blessed the beneficiaries were to receive them.”
“I loved working with the students from Nueva Providencia to build the playground. A student ran up to me and said, ‘we have to help you guys because this playground is for us!’"
Thank you Peacework!
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