January 2006

Work on the Community Centre:

The water has been installed (December)

The land had been levelled (December)

The sanitation facilities are finished

The wall around the perimeter of the site has been started

Economic reactivation ACTIVITIES:

Ana Botan Chiviliu has been trained in artistic recycling methodologies: in the “VITROMACHE GALERI” in Panajachel. Ana has learnt how to make lamps and mirrors from recycled glass.  At the beginning of March she opened a workshop in Panabaj to share her new techniques with women and children.

In February we started a cake-making course for the women: Ana Vivar fromPanajachel is holding her classes twice a week and the products will be sold to the restaurants in Santiago. Ana's support is entirely voluntary. 

Cultural ACTIVITIES:

Ryan, Mercedes, USAC, and Johanna, a psychologist, have started to give literacy, music and drawing classes to 80 children.  They are including storytelling of Tzutujil traditions, with classes in traditional painting. 

In February we started to give computer lessons to interested members of the community (we will be able to assist approximately 30 people): the students of Haverford College have donated 6 computers, Monse from Panajanchel is going to come to Panabaj on Sundays and teach classes.  Her support is entirely voluntary. 

CONSULTATION AND SUPPORT FROM ADECCAP:

The team have been working on the reconstruction of the new ADECCAP office: the house we had been using as an office until now has had to be returned to the owner, who had kindly lent it to us free of charge since October.   

ADECCAP organised a forum "Reconstruction of Santiago Atitlan", which was held on the 13th January 2006 with central and local government authorities and NGOs working in the area.  A constructive debate was initiated regarding the security of the selected land as a permanent housing site for those affected by Stan, in terms of future risks from natural disaster.  During the forum it became clear that the selected site is not safe and in addition there has been next to no coordination between the government department conducting the risk studies and the institution building the houses. As a result of the forum the process has begun to make the selected land site safe for the people, however a large part of the population has since been identified who would like their houses to be built elsewhere.  ADECCAP is now gathering a census of these families (approximately 300) and looking for an alternative land site, with the support among others, of the highest Mayan authorities in the village and the Mayor.

Prior to the forum, the issue of land security had not been raised, the site is situated 200 metres from the place of the disaster, and the community had not been involved in the decision making process regarding their future settlement location. 

The staff of the IJATZ – LA SEMILLA are collaborating to implement a food security project: 3,700 egg-laying chickens have been donated by the Fundación Guillermo Toriello and AFSC, with funding from the European Union (ECHO); the land has been bought for the grange and the temporary chicken sheds constructed.

SUPPORT FOR ORPHANS:

Orlando and Manuel are working on completing the census of all the children orphaned or having lost one parent, in order that these children can benefit from support being offered from private associations.  The task of identifying all these children is a difficult one.