Guatemala: Visit with Don Victoriano
Link to larger size image. Far right: Don Victoriano, 56, is a K'iché linguist from Sololá who has contributed to the development of textbooks and dictionaries for the K'iché Mayan language in Guatemala.
In the middle, his grandson Claudio, 13, wears a homemade uniform for the indigenous school in their village where kids study K'iché language and culture along with general education courses.
Their economic circumstances are extremely harsh. Claudio's father is no longer with the family. His single mother now raises him and his 4 sisters on a weaver's meager income. Claudio is suffering the physical effects of malnutrition. It's hard for a kid to learn on an empty stomach.
At far left, with the big giant blonde head, me.Labels: Guatemala
2 Comments:
There are ways Americans can support weavers in Guatemala. I know of this weaver's co-op
in Xela:
http://www.xelapages.com/asotrama/
Maybe coming up in the future, you may be talking about the kids that used to live
in the dump at Guatemala City. Here is a group that helps with them:
http://www.safepassage.org/
A short documentary about that is on the short-list for an Oscar this year, "Recycled Life":
http://wbff.org/films/detail.asp?fid=593
Thanks for the info from Guatemala Xeni!
In 1973, when I was much younger, I spent a summer in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala working with a non-profit group. One of the high priorities was to teach the Quiche people Spanish so they could seek employment. (one of the ways the government contols mayan people is to keep them from learning a more-universal language)
I have fond memories of the work and yes, I do have the tee-shirt that I bought from the Interamerican School in Quetzaltenango. Please ask Don Victoriano if he remebers the Stanley Wick family that ran the I.B.Q.
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