Work Update

Part I: Stove workshop

          A few weeks ago, my most awesome school director and I got invited to a 3-day workshop on how to build "improved stoves". While I recently got the disappointing news that we won't actually be able to do the project in my community (Peace Corps has a rule that volunteers can't do more than one fundraising project at a time, and unfortunately my computer project won't be officially done until January, which won't leave me enough time to start a new project), it was still cool to learn about the stoves, which drastically reduce many of the health risks associated with the less-modern open fire stoves - shown below. 

Although this kitchen has good ventilation, the smoke pouring
out from this open fire stove is still likely to produce potentially
fatal respiratory problems, including pneumonia. The smoke is especially
harmful to children. Open fire stoves are common in Guatemala, and most
often are found in enclosed (aka poorly ventilated) kitchens.

Peace Corps requires that family members who are receiving the donated stove help in its
construction.  This family also was required to provide this clay, which they found locally,
and limestone (the white powder, also found locally). The woman in the picture is the wife/mother
in the family receiving the stove, and she is using a sieve to separate rocks from the clay.

My school director, who surprised me by telling me that he already
knew how to build stoves (though of course he still gained lots of knowledge
from this workshop), is mixing clay with limestone. The limestone makes the
clay - which is used to cement bricks together - more heat-resistant. Observing
him is the Peace Corps Guatemala Country Director (aka head honcho of all of PC
Guatemala), who made a surprise visit to the workshop.

Local volunteers and Peace Corps counterparts spread
the clay/limestone mixture on the half-completed stove.
I was surprised by how much the Guatemalan counterparts
already knew about masonry and stove-building.

Almost done. The arch-shaped hole is where wood/fuel will be inserted
into the stove. The small size of the hole makes the stove much more
fuel efficient than an open fire stove - another major benefit of this
type of stove, as Guatemala is facing deforestation problems and the
price of wood/fuel is rising rapidly.

We made a house visit to a family who had received an improved
stove six months ago, to make sure that it was being maintained
properly and there were no problems with it. Notice the chimney
on the left, which channels smoke out of the house.

Peace Corps paid for everyone to stay at an "eco-lodge", located in the village where we were working.  On the roof, we had a spectacular view of Santa Maria volcano (in the background) and the very active Santiaguito volcano (in the foreground, erupting). The night view of the erupting Santiaguito was especially amazing.

Part II: HIV/AIDS activities with girls' groups


          I have mentioned in previous blog entries how much I love teaching sex ed. As if Peace Corps were reading my mind, they recently invited me and a local counterpart to attend an HIV/AIDS workshop. Since this counterpart works for the local municipal women's office, which had recently established girls' groups in around 15 nearby middle schools, we decided to use the knowledge we gained from the Peace Corps workshop to conduct HIV/AIDS activities with these girls groups.
          In order to make these activities more sustainable, we decided that the "leaders" of these girls groups should be in charge of leading the HIV/AIDS activities for their respective groups. Therefore, my counterpart and I held one four-hour training for these "leaders" on HIV/AIDS and other sex-ed-related topics, and in the last few weeks, I have been going out to the various middle schools to observe/help the leaders do their own activities in their schools.

In this ice-breaker activity, students identify slang and euphemistic terms for sexual organs
and other potentially uncomfortable topics. We then discuss why it is important to use
proper/scientific names. Obviously, this  activity can be embarrassing and/or funny.

In this activity, students differentiate between actions/activities that can and can't
potentially transmit HIV (shaking hands, getting bit by a mosquito, getting a tattoo, etc.)

While condom use is relevant to HIV/AIDS education, my counterpart and I also added
some activities related to pregnancy and STDs to really drive home the importance of condoms.
Here, students ask participants to literally move them around, so that the posters they are
holding are put in order according to the steps of correct condom usage. We also included multiple
activities related to abstinence.

It's impossible to convey in a picture, but on the way to one of the schools, I had the most spectacular view of San Pedro/San Marcos and my town. Seeing all of the intricate mountains and valleys from an aerial view for the first time made me finally understand why it takes me so long to get anywhere! And also why my town is shaped like a long, skinny peninsula - there are steep valleys on either side of it, on which building houses or planting crops would be nearly impossible.