We stopped but the good work continues!!

Last week we received a report from the Guatemala Partnership of New Castle Presbytery. What a great email it was. In 2009 our little Help for the Highlands of Guatemala NGO started a project in Guatemala working with a local Guatemala NGO in Quiaquix called AJPU. It was a partnership that was to last for about 10 years. In that time we had built Biosand water filters, vented pit latrines, and fuel-efficient vented stoves. We introduced AJPU to some great ladies connected with New Castle Presbytery. That led to a connection with the Mam Christian Women’s Association. Our three groups worked together providing water filters, VIP latrines and stoves right up to 2019 when Help for the Highlands of Guatemala came to a close as many small NGO’s do after a period of time. However, the work did not stop and as the following article shows, the initiative started in 2009 is still going strong led by the Guatemala Partnership. Please read the article and then look at the links provided to get a small idea of how a good work started can keep on going. Thank you to AJPU, the Mam ladies, and all of the invested people from the various churches who are helping to make life better for many families in Guatemala. Please support their good works.

Stoves: A Hot Commodity  In celebration of the Supporting Our Sisters initiative, we will be sharing real-time updates of the many projects and programs we support in Guatemala. And as summer heats up, there is no better way to start than with the delivery of Fuel-Efficient Stoves!     Just last week, our manufacturing partners of AJPU delivered 30 stoves to Association women in a remote village in the Western Highlands. The location is so remote, in fact, that the AJPU team had to stay there for three days to complete the installations! (The recipient families graciously hosted them, providing meals and lodging.) These 30 families are now cooking their daily meals on new stoves that use less wood, save money, vent smoke outside, and provide heat for the home. Loading the truck to make the journey into the mountains.AJPU typically has a quick turnaround time for delivery and installation of their products, but the COVID crisis changed all of that. Travel restrictions and building material shortages caused significant delays last year. Thankfully, everything is now back on track.Alfredo teaches the women how to use their new stoves.To date, about 300 stoves have been delivered to Association members, with another 40 stoves scheduled for delivery in late July. We are grateful to all of the generous donors who made this possible! These stoves are so popular that there is still a waiting list of 60 additional women who have saved up their share of the cost and are waiting for a stove. If you would like to purchase a stove with one of these women, simply donate online or use this order form. You can learn more about these stoves and our partnership at www.ncpguatemala.com. Thank you for Supporting Our Sisters!Support our sisters today.Share and Stay Connected!ForwardShareTweetWebsiteFacebook

HHGS is Formally Dissolved as an Entity

It is with some sadness that we are letting you know that It is now time to bring to an end the work that Help for the Highlands of Guatemala Society has been doing since 2010. This non-profit has now been legally de-registered and financially wound up.

This society started by offering subsidized home water filters and improved wood stoves. As a result of wider surveying and investigation of the community needs, it progressed to other topics as well. That included women’s empowerment; financial support to keep kids and young adults in schools from grade 7 through technical schools or university; ventilated improved pit latrines; training in self-managed microfinance; contributions to start-up capital for a cooperative entity in the community; training for non-profit management; and equipment to assist the community’s forest protection teams.

A couple of key factors make it seem more feasible to end the project work now. First, the local non-profit partner Asociación Ajpu, is on the road to turning the production and sale of water filters, stoves, and latrines into a business that can generate cash flow for community benefit. Second, the new cooperative entity will focus on financial services such as small loans and savings accounts. We feel that both factors have developed due at least in part to the work that Help for the Highlands of Guatemala Society has done.

There have been friendships developed over the years, and it will sadly mean less personal contact in the future. There will hopefully be occasional opportunities for the Canadians to visit with those from Quiacquix.

This decision was made reluctantly. But the three original founders of the society have all developed reasons to proceed in different directions in their lives and volunteer activities. As is typical for a very small non-profit, it is very difficult to develop a succession plan. Managing the projects and finances was becoming too difficult for the founders. And essentially there never was a consideration that the society would be a long-lived entity. Ten years seems to have been a good run.

We thank all those individuals and Rotary clubs which have contributed funds to this 10-year process. We wish all the residents of Quiacquix and other communities which we have impacted the best possible future, in a social, financial and political sense.

Forestry

This report is a summary by Vicente Menchú, of his participation in the 22^nd Conference of the Parties (COP22), a climate change event based in Marrakech, Morocco, under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Vicente is a leader of Asociación Ajpu in Quiacquix. His participation took place in Espace Tamount, near Demnat, as well as Marrakech, Morocco, in November of 2016.

Introducing Village Savings and Loan Associations in Quiacquix

Many types of micro finance have been introduced in poor communities around the world over the past few decades. In Guatemala there are multiple agencies, both non-profit and for-profit, that offer such services. Most offer loans to small groups of (mostly) women and charge interest rates that are low relative to other options available to the women. Some offer related micro insurance or simple savings plans. Many such agencies have a restricted area of operation, such that a large number of families do not have easy access to financial services. Conventional banks are also commonly not easy to access due to location or restrictions on the minimum value of accounts that is too high for the poorest people.

Latrine Project – CIP Funding

Help for the Highlands of Guatemala Society in conjunction with our in-country partner organization Ajpu and based on consultation with the community of Quiacquix was made aware of the need for latrines in that community. Upwards of 190 families indicated their latrines were non-existent or in very bad shape.

In 2016 we had successfully completed the installation of 51 latrines in Quiacquix. This was a project we had started in 2015. In 2016 we raised funds to construct and install another 56 latrines in the community.

The money raised for this project was a combination of funds from private donors, from Rotary Clubs in Calgary, Alberta, and from the Government of Alberta through a Government initiative called “Community Initiatives Program International Development Grant” (CIP).

Please look, below, at the before and after pictures of some of the latrines we have installed, as part of this project. The pictures also give the number of people in the family and the reason they needed a latrine. The pictures show the value of this project. Please click on individual pictures to enlarge them and click on the return arrow to go back to the blog.

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

2016 Latrine Project

Nathaly’s July 2016 Field Report

Last July, Nathaly and Norma met with students and our in-country scholarship director, Hector. Here are Nathaly’s comments:

Latrine Project

Over the last year we have been installing VIP latrines in the area of Quiacquix in Totonicapan, Guatemala. We have a 51-latrine project and 32 have been built and installed to date with the rest nearing completion and ready to install.

July 31, 2016 Field Report

Norma left Guatemala on July 27, so part of this week Bill was on his own.

The main highlight of this week was the review of the proposal for creation of a Village Savings and Loan Association. Norma and Bill over 2 ½ hours made presentations to a group of 19 women. Most of those were participants in the original full course last December. The women of Quiacquix are very conservative, and largely fearful of the cost of loans. Hence they had not started up a group as we had hoped. This time after our review and encouragement, with most of the original participants and a few new ones, they have plans to meet next week to start a group. They now understand better the very limited risks that they will incur.

July 24, 2016 Field Report

Norma, Nathaly and Bill arrived in Totonicapán on July 17, and once more settled in at the posada (B&B) called Doña Elvira. We have multiple purposes to accomplish during this visit.

January 30, 2016 Blog Update

 

This last week I have spent some time updating the various pages on the blog.

Have a look at the Project History heading to see a discussion on activities in 2015 and what we are hoping to accomplish in 2016.

You can also see a new slide show under the Biosand Filter heading on the Biosand filter slideshow Quiacquix, Guatemala page.

Under the Sanitation heading, all of the pages have been updated.

Next week I will be completing the updates on the About, Education and Donors sub-pages.

If you see some spelling errors or have questions leave a reply at the bottom of the page you are reading and I will receive it and respond.

Protector

Should I ?