The Ripple Effect

This last week was my last week in Spanish school. La Escuela de la Montana is working with two communities. One, Fatasma, has a new school but no teacher or furniture. I am planning to buy 40 desk at less then $20 each. The other community is putting a proposal together to build a candle shop to provide work for 30 women - costing about $1200. The following photos are of last Saturdays adventure gathering firewood. Everywhere in Guatemala you see people caring huge bundles of wood, food or what ever. Neither of these communities has land to farm and they have to gather their firewood from a nieghboring finca. It is a 1/2 hour walk up the mountain and has to be repeated every two days. The present spot has enough wood for one year. When Maria, who cooked for me the first week I was in school, tried to raise up for her knees and lift her bundle she couldn't and I had to take some of the weight off as she tried to raise. I do not think I could have done it myself. She is one of the women who would benefit from the candle shop. I feel like weeping when I view parts of this life, yet I can not count the times she laughed that day (mostly at me). During the rainy season there is up to three feet of water in the draw.It was quite a day for me.