Calle Principal,
Sector D-1,
Colonia La Esperanza,
Zona 12, 01012 Guatemala City, Guatemala

E-mail:  upavim@itelgua.com

Tlf/fax: (502) 24 79 9061

To order a retail or wholesale catalog of UPAVIM's crafts, please contact:

Mary Joan Ferrara-Marsland
UPAVIM Crafts
12604 W. Old Baltimore Rd Boyds, MD, USA 20841

tlf/fax (301) 515-5911

E-mail:
info(at)upavim-mayanhands.org

Valérie Larivière, Canada

Trabajo en el Reforzamiento: hora de lectura, escuela alternativa con ninos pequenos con mi querida Arlene

Impressions of your experience: No hay palabras para describirla. Me ha encantado todo mi tiempo por que cada dia era una nueva adventura. Ahora comprenda que dar amor es lo que me da la felicidad. Siempre me acordare de la gente de alla, tan los ninos que las mujeres tan valientes. Yo se que pronto quiero regresar.

Muchas gracias a todas las personas que fueron tan acogedoras conmigo durante todo el viaje. Gracias a Barbara por su hospitalidad y especialmente a Arlene que sigue estando un ejemplo por
migo.

Goyo Norman, USA

I learned lessons about hope, resistance and suffering. The women of UPAVIM are powerful warriors for a better future and the children are deserving of a future free from violence and full of opportunity.

Please get involved with supporrting UPAVIM!

Hans Hedvall, SWEDEN

Kathy Mayorga, USA

Community needs a lot of programs and help to undego a very needed change

Anything else you might want to add: I think that every volunteer who spends time in UPAVIM should know that the experience they get there or at least have a chance to acquire is a once in a life time opportunity and they should take full advantage of it. The country has many resources. The community needs all the LOVE more than rigor that it can get. At the same time discipline and organization needs to be taught. Thus it is our duty as volunteers to change what is at the time of our arrival, for the better. Click here for more of Kathy's experience.

Ali Borque, USA

Timothe Croteau, CANADA

Impressions of your experience: It was great work. I felt really usefull in my work whether I was driving the car across the city, doing manual work, or helping the kids to learn to read and write properly... i also really enjoyed playing with the kids between classes and on Saturdays. I felt really loved by the kids and the Upavimas. That is a feeling that I will always remember. it is in my heart for ever.

Ryan Estevan Byers, USA

I was a tutor during library hours for the kids who would come in off the streets. I read to them, and with them. I also helped them with writing, and math. We played with them afterhours, made home visits, and had activities for them on Saturday mornings (which usually included soccer, yeah!!).

Impressions of your experience: It was truly a life transforming experience that gave much needed praxis to theories of social justice and Christian ethics. I highly recommend this experience,
it's hard work, but the conversion is not so much the kids, but yours.

Jonathan Croteau, CANADA

Impressions of your experience: UPAVIM is the work place where I met the most
wonderful people of my life, amongst both Guatemalans and foreigners.

Anything else you might want to add: UPAVIM is a wonderful NGO having a deep
family spirit and commitment. UPAVIM greatly contributes to empower local
women, it allows them to improve the quality of life of their families in
all aspects, and it also generates important female leaders in La Esperanza.

Kate MacLaughlin, USA

Bas van Tongerloo, HOLLAND

Shiu Mei Chiu(May), HONG KONG

Louis Bourque, CANADA

Impressions of your experience: I had a wonderful and unforgettable experience with the children and the life in La Ezperanza. I really appreciated working with Barbara and the women at UPAVIM.

Clara H. Whyte, FRANCE

Jacqueline Bucio, MEXICO

Excerpt from impression: At the beginning I was on charge of the Tutoring Program. Volunteers come and go and the main problem I had was not havingthe necessary people all the time. Many kids need special attention and sometimes we choose give attention to few of them in stead of helping big groups.

Please, do not forget this kids... click here for full message.

Brandon Protas, USA

Impressions of your experience: This is a difficult question because I'm not sure what you want - a few sentences or a few pages, I could do either. In short, I spent a year at UPAVIM after finishing my undergraduate degree and I know that I learned a lot from that year in many many ways - from the dedication of Barbara and Richard and the Friars up the hill and understanding (as a Jew) the
Christian notion of service and humility. I learned about living in poverty from living with Diana and family and the complancency that you have to fight against to keep demanding more (rather than saying - look we have block houses now, that's so much better than before, isn't that enough) from people like Liliana. I learned about rising above your circumstances and taking on new challenges from Angela and Francis and the struggle for basic dignity and making your life from
Elba and Diana and Marta, I learned about the difference between poverty and happiness and the desire to learn from the kids in Beca and Ruth next door who learned to read the year I was there starting at an old age and her mom and dad's true grattitude for that opportunity. I saw women working hard throughout UPAVIM trying to better their lives and I also saw the frustrating side of the gangs in a small community where everyone knew who they were, but were paralyzed to do anything about it. I visited a year later and was amazed at the differences in Esperanza as streets were paved, lights were put in, more houses from block. I have many memories, these are a few. I'd love to hear updates!

Anything else you might want to add: I also helped Ruth (Juaquin's daughter from the tienda next door) get surgery on her legs (though it was mainly Barbara that set it up) and visited several times for the year whe was in CA recovering

Meg Wiley, USA

The first year, my friend MaryaCarr and I started Reforzamiento as part of UPAVIM's becas program. We observed classes at Fe y Alegria to understand what they were working on and their classroom learning environment, and then offered additional classes for the people chosen by the Becas committee who needed the extra help. We worked out of one of the unused classrooms in Fe y Alegria, all of our supplies in a single cardboard box. We worked with each grade separately, with students coming twice a week.

When I returned in 1994, the program had grown considerably. It waspermanently housed in the new building, on the 3rd floor. We had a lot more materials. Students came 2-3 time per week. The focus was on math and reading, but on Fridays we did science, art , or physical education. We also had English classes for some of the UPAVIM women and a Saturday morning art class for pre-schoolers (too cute!). We also got more organized with the Basico volunteers. Many of them could only come on Saturdays, so we had one-on-one meetings between Basico tutors and students who needed the extra attention. We also did some events for the Basico students, including movie-nights, and got them involved in organizing their own involvement with a steering committee. We attempted to have a psychologist hold a teen group, particularly around sexuality, but the man was just not reliable. That was frustrating!

I can't really remember which of the above activities were during my second visit and which were during my third. I really loved my time there.

Impressions of your experience: I think it's really important to have some long-term volunteers there for continuity, both for the volunteers and the kids. Three months stints were not long enough. My favorite days were when I got a chance to work with just one or two students, reading or doing math. Even the biggest trouble makers really seemed to appreciate that kind of attention, and were so thrilled when they figured something out--a word or a math problem. But you never felt like you were doing enough, and I found it easy to burn out at times, especially when living in the community--it's a stressful environment. Having other volunteers for support helped a lot.

Anything else you might want to add:Thanks for getting this organized. Give my love to Dona Dina.