Simply put, there is no such program that I have encountered in the past 20 years of being involved with the investigation and implementation of such programs. If only it was so simple. Governments and NGOs have thrown 3 trillion dollars at poverty, and it appears that we are not much better than … [READ MORE]
Not for Everyone…
Greg has written about it before. There are women that accept our invitation to come to Project Somos and there are others who don’t. It is impossible for us to truly understand how their decision is made. We never evangelize or push. The women always have an opportunity to talk in private with the women […]
The Value of Opportunity
Have you ever reflected on an opportunity that you passed by or didn’t value? When opportunity knocks, how is it that we don’t move heaven and earth to open that door? How do we evaluate the value of an opportunity at any given moment in time? And why is it that sometimes we only can […]
Finding Fifty-Guest Blogger Michele Gole
For several months leading up to my 50th birthday, I adamantly declared that I would NOT have a party. I guess I was hoping that my fifth decade on the planet would just quietly and unobtrusively sneak in with minimal fanfare. Turning 50 did not seem like a reason to celebrate. Then I was introduced […]
Social Justice/Social Outrage
Living and working in Guatemala is always a learning experience. The political and social fabric is a colourful and somewhat chaotic weave of traditional values and a push towards “modernization”. Today the political arena is imploding with numerous scandals of serious corruption by the highest administrative officials, including the VP, who recently resigned in disgrace. […]
Somos Mamas (We are Mamas) Felting
Every Thursday our little group gathers to visit, drink tea and review the work from the past week and to look ahead at the next week. Our mamas have been producing needle-felted products since last May. For Ana and Tita, that is 14 months. For Antonieta, it has been nine months. And for Myra, it […]
Let Them Eat Tortillas
Yesterday morning we had a visit by a young mother with three young children under eight. They came with her sister and knocked on our gate to inquire if she could find a home for this abandoned sister and her children. She was married for eight years and her husband abandoned her 4 years ago. […]
Competing Priorities
It seems as Project Somos develops in its depth and width of activities, the quantity of competing priorities intensifies. This is not as easy to sort out as financial capacities or targeted and committed priorities, but has a complexity exponentially complicated by the human factor of families with mothers and children. On a daily basis, […]
Tika Talks-The Responsibilities of a Dog
According to child psychologist, Boris Levinson of Yeshiva University, troubled, withdrawn children became more talkative and engaged when he had his therapy dog around with the kids. An interesting study done by psychologist, Sigal Zilch-Mano said that people’s stress levels went down when taking a test with their pets close by. Another study showed that […]
Family #4 Arrives!
Yesterday was another monumental day at Project Somos. Yesterday we welcomed our fourth family to the Village! For the last number of weeks, Lucy (our recently hired local employee) has been out in the “field” meeting with different community leaders and groups. She has been introduced to various women and their children, who are living […]