This morning was all about getting packed and ready to leave
San Lucas Tolíman not only for the school inauguration in San Gregorio but also
for good. We would be traveling to
Antigua from the inauguration so had to be packed and ready. Candace and Aroldo were running around to
finalize preparations and such so we left for San Gregorio at about 10:00
am. Our last open truck ride was filled
with anticipation of what the community had planned for the inauguration of
their new school.
When we pulled on to the road leading to San Gregorio, it
was lined with balloons and, as custom would have it, the sounds of
firecrackers and mortars being set off.
The kids were running around and soooo excited for the day. We made our way out of the truck into the salon where the first part of the
celebration would take place. The salon was decorated with colorful paper
decorations and there was festive music being played over giant speakers. Our group was led to the front of the salon and asked to sit while we waited
for the ceremony to begin. The leading speaker of the inauguration continually apologized
for things taking a while to begin but the women of the community were still
cleaning up and changing clothes to attend.
I learned they had been cooking since 3:00 IN THE MORNING to feed the
mouths of 250. WOW. We were not short of immediate entertainment,
however. With all the fotos of kids to take and fun
conversations to be had we were quite content.
Also, I kept thinking they should not be apologizing to us! This was their event, for their community and
these hard-working women could take their time to present themselves however
they wanted!
When the majority of women had arrived, the M.C. (as I will now refer to him) gave
an opening declaration and said that he would first like to take us up to the
project site for the presentation of the school. I have to insert here my own personal story
that touched me greatly. A young girl,
dressed in beautiful traditional clothes, held my hand the entire way up the
hill to the school, throughout the entire presentation of the school and all
the way back down the hill. She never
let it go. Every once in a while she
would squeeze my hand and I would squeeze hers and it was this beautiful
connection with an 11 year old stranger that I have never had before. I know I will not forget her gesture and her
darling face. Anyway, once up at the
school the M.C. said a few words
about the future and thanked Rolling Hills for making it all possible. He said that in our honor they had installed
a plaque on the outside of the school.
When it was revealed, it was jaw-dropping. The plaque is beautiful green marble and says
that the community of San Gregorio is thankful to Rolling Hills Church for the
construction of the school. It has the initiation
date of construction when Rolling Hills brought their first group down to work
and the finalization date as Friday, June 27, 2014 – the day Rolling Hills last
worked on the school. They had crêpe
paper across each door and a member of Rolling Hills and a member of the San Gregorio
coccole both had scissors to cut the
paper. It was very fun. Candace explained that she was not able to
turn over the keys yet until a few little/big projects are finished but that
soon they would have those as well. How
exciting for the community!
After we went back down to the salon, they continued the inauguration by describing a little bit
about what the school meant for the community and what the community had to do
to get the school. It was said that each
family was required to contribute equivalent to 40 Quetzals and 16 hours of
volunteer work. They clarified that this
was in volunteer work and not monetary. They
also quickly recognized the fact that the reason so many more women were in
attendance today than men were because most men have to work a half day on
Saturdays. Remarkably though, many men
went to work from 1:00 am to 7:00 am so they could attend! Next, they recognized each of the Rolling
Hills church members present with a gift and kind words. We were called up one by one and given a
woven water bottle holder and an amazing carved wooden figurine. Each figurine was different and beautifully
crafted. They then had entertainment in
the form of singing and traditional dancing by young girls and young women. The
first four young girls (the oldest was probably 12) sang a darling song in
Spanish about what a friend is – a blessing from God. They then did a traditional dance which was
followed by the dancing of three younger women.
All of these girls were dressed in traditional outfits and beautiful
jewelry, some of which came from the gift bags we gave the day before.
Finally, the M.C.
said men of the cocode would be
passing out diplomas to two women who were essential in the solicitation of the
school and making the project happen. As
I understand from seeing these diplomas, they are similar to a certificate of
recognition we might have in the U.S.
The first diploma was given to Zuli and the second was given to Carmen
Gloria. As I said, these two women
advocated for their community to bring a school to their children. In a society where men are the heads of household
or the patriarchs, it was a big deal for the women to be recognized in this
way. It was also just pretty significant
to me to observe two women work so hard to fight for a SCHOOL for their
children. Schools and education, while
not always the best in the U.S. are at least a given. I am so proud of these women for insisting
that their children have a school right there in their community. The cocode
members also gave a diploma to the head mason Aroldo for his dedication to
the project and to another gentleman, Romeo, for always lending a hand (and for
his dedication to Che Guevara and fireworks J). Before they wrapped up the inauguration they
asked Pastor Ted to stand and represent our church. They presented him with a beautiful hand
woven scroll that thanked Rolling Hills and told the dates the project began
and ended, similar to the plaque. They
said the plaque is for them to always remember us and the scroll for us to
remember them.
We then ate another delicious lunch that had been prepared
for us and sat at tables with the cocode. We happened to sit beside the M.C. who is a
teacher at a high school in a neighboring town.
After visiting with him for awhile, meeting his children, and talking
about the new school, he started crying because he was so emotional about all
the help we had given them and was sad that we would be leaving.
Our van arrived to take us back to Antigua and our journey
home. Thank you to Candace and
Transformational Journeys for an experience of a lifetime. Candace provided us with interesting
educational experiences all through the week, took us to fabulous restaurants
when we were not eating at the hotel, kept us organized and most of all kept us
safe. Thank you again and a fond
farewell to the beautiful people of Guatemala!!
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