Villa Madonna's Guatemala service team and the staff of the compound where they stayed

Ten Villa Madonna high school students, accompanied by teachers, parents, alumni, and friends, joined with HELPS International to perform service in Guatemala from July 2 through 10.  The group visited the highland community of El Rosario in Solola.  There, they worked side-by-side with members of twelve Guatemalan families to install concrete floors, stoves, and water purification systems in homes and in the local school.  The idea for these specific improvements was generated by observations of medical mission teams in previous years.  They noticed health problems such as respiratory distress and burns caused by open-fire cooking, and parasitic diseases resulting from dirt floors and untreated drinking water.  The newly installed stoves, made of concrete blocks and pumice with metal cook tops and stove pipes, were designed by engineers with input from Guatemalan women. The stoves not only minimize the chance of burns and vent smoke out of homes, but are fuel-efficient.  Each stove will use only about one third the fuel required for open-fire cooking, saving one tree per month per stove, and saving in fuel-gathering time and cost.  Villa volunteers also assembled and installed water purification systems for the classrooms of El Rosario Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta and for the twelve homes.  Made from inexpensive plastic buckets and a ceramic filter, each will provide up to ten gallons of safe drinking water every twenty four hours, and will require minimal maintenance.

Abby Gerst and Anna Neikirk build a water purifier

Katie Desmarais, a May Villa grad, worked on a stove-building team with her father, Norm.  “I felt happy to see the change happen so quickly,” she said.  “They [the Mayan families] could use their new stoves and their water purifiers right away. So I already feel like I’ve made a difference.”  “The families were with us in the rooms as we built the concrete and sand stoves,” added Mr. Desmarais.  “We watched the reactions of the mothers and daughters as the stoves were completed, and you would think they’d just received a new Jenn-Air convection oven or stainless steel appliance.”  Volunteer Jake Schubert agrees.  “The reason I came back for a second service trip was because seeing how the little kids and families appreciate what we’ve done is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever experienced.” 

Katie Desmarais, Norm Desmarais, and Jake Schubert assemble a stove in a family's home.

Team member Sister Kim Porter, OSB, helped mix concrete and smooth concrete floors in several of the mountain homes.

Marla Specht, Sarahmarie Specht-Bird, and Sr. Kim Porter, OSB work on concrete

Upon her return from Guatemala, she penned these words: “I was struck by the sense of cooperation, community and gratitude as people worked side by side, transcending the differences in language, experience and culture to make the lives of others better.  It was an awesome and humbling experience that has broadened my perspective of the world and kindled a desire to continue to find ways to touch and enrich the lives of others.” 

Walking up and down mountainsides at elevations over 6,500 feet, mixing and pouring concrete, and building stoves from concrete blocks required a great deal of physical exertion on the part of Villa’s team members.  However, all agreed that opportunities to get to know and interact with the Guatemalan families more than compensated for their efforts.  Reflecting on pleasant afternoons spent playing games with Mayan schoolchildren, 2011 graduate Cecily Kennedy said, “The kids were incredible.  They were so enthusiastic and wonderful, and amazingly receptive to our broken Spanish and good intentions.” 

Katie Desmarais, Abby Gerst, Luke Nybo, Anna Neikirk, Cecily Kennedy, and Elena Hamilton entertain children by blowing bubbles.

Luke Nybo, Villa Madonna junior, was one of the volunteers who accepted the challenge when men of the village expressed the desire to play a game of schoolyard soccer against  American teens.  “Playing soccer with the kids of the village and then with the men was very fun,” he commented. “It was another way to connect.”  (The Guatemalans outscored the Americans, but players on both sides enjoyed the match.) Villa representatives Eric Lamping and Vince Kreinest also joined the soccer match. Eric’s take on the trip:  “It felt good when I saw that the families were using their new stoves right after we installed them.  I feel like I’ve already had an impact on their lives.” Vince has been on four Villa Madonna service trips to Guatemala since 2007. His motivation?  “Knowing that you can help change the world by just putting in a concrete floor and a stove gets to my heart.”

Jake Schubert, Luke Nybo, Eric Lamping, and Vince Kreinest represent the Americans in soccer.

Sarahmarie Specht-Bird and her mother, Marla Specht, sum up their Guatemalan experience: “Before the trip, I was a little resistant,” said Marla. “I always feel like there’s enough work to do in our own community.  Why do we need to leave our country to do service?  I came away with more than I expected, because we worked side-by-side with the people of the village on a common project, and that was very enriching.  I had thought, ‘I’m going there to help,’ but I ended up learning so much about the people and the culture.”  “It was interesting to see how appreciative the people were, and how happy they were with so little,” added Sarahmarie.  “This experience has made me appreciate my life more.”