Working at peace through the arts

This month we are pleased to highlight another member of the Guatemala/El Salvador MCC team, Lilian Guenther. Like similar projects that are becoming more and more important in the region, Lilian coordinates an arts and recreation program that works at building peace and providing healthy alternatives for individuals from high risk areas. The reality of violence in urban centers around Central America is alarming and discouraging, one that often affects youth the most; more than half of Guatemala's population is between the ages of 18-30 and are often involved, or accused of being involved in crime. Programs like AMAR (see below) and Trasciende (read Guatemala youth transcend violence through hip-hop) are offering creative ways for youth (and adults!) to develop their artistic abilities, an opportunity that is seldom part of their everyday reality.

Lilian (left) with fellow MCC worker, Elizabeth

My name is Lilian Guenther and as of February, 2011, I work with A.M.A.R. (Academia Menonita de Artes y Recreación, which stands for Mennonite Academy of Arts and Recreation) in Guatemala City. A.M.A.R. is a program of the Mennonite Church of Guatemala and is funded by MCC. The main objective of this program is to contr ibute to peacebuilding and the artistic and recreational development in the eight Mennonite churches and their surrounding communities. Together with my co-worker Isabel Garnica, we coordinate the program, look after the administration, direct choir, teach music classes to children, youth and adults, and provide weekly music classes in a pre-school program of one of the churches. At this point AMAR has about 70 students at the two current venues where music classes are offered and 40 students at the pre-school program. The students range in age from 7 to 59 years of age. In the work as coordinators there is never a dull moment as there are always students to encourage, songs to arrange, classes to plan, reports to write, decisions to be made, meetings to attend, and most importantly to connect with students, teachers and parents. I deeply cherish the relationships that have developed over these 7 months of my time with AMAR and I look forward to many more!


Lilian playing the Paraguayan harp


directing a choir that is part of AMAR

In 2012, the Connecting Peoples program hopes to coordinate more with AMAR and other projects of the Mennonite churches in Guatemala City. This could be an exciting opportunity for groups who are interested in connecting with urban youth and learning more about the complex reality here. In addition to AMAR and other projects, the Mennonite churches in the city support a community library that was organized mostly by youth, and a pre-school project that some of you know well. We look forward to what 2012 will bring and welcome groups that are interested in partnering with these projects.

In case you were wondering

just what those long hours of moving cement block, shoveling dirt, and digging holes were for, here is proof that that time and sweat really do turn into something; something(s) that is of great value to the local partners and communities that so many of you have supported over the past few years. It is always exciting to return to places where groups have visited and see the changes that have taken place, something that was very clear when I visited Sibinal in San Marcos earlier this year. Over a year ago, a group of mostly youth from Lombard Mennonite Church in Illinois, visited this area and helped with the construction of an office space for the team that works on various MCC supported food security projects in the region. The group literally spent hours carrying cement blocks up the hill from the road to the construction site, a monotonous and tiring job that one could see as thankless. However, those hundreds of blocks that the group carried were turned into this lovely space that has greatly benefitted the work in Sibinal, a tangible sign that positive changes are happening and that those long hours of work really do pay off!







For a more recent update, here are a few photos from the community bakery that youth in Xevitz, Nebaj are starting, a project that both the Youth Venture and Rockway groups supported this year. In addition to helping with the construction of the bakery's oven, Youth Venture spent a morning sharing new recipes with the youth; rumor has it that the oatmeal banana cookies have been a big hit in the communities!





And in other exciting news, thanks to the connections with MCC workers, Toby and Yasmin, the youth in Nebaj recently had the opportunity to learn how to make pottery, something that could become a source of income for them in the future - very cool!

We've got the land

Elizabeth and Enlace in El Salvador

Since the Enlace group recently spent time in El Salvador, we thought it would be the perfect time to highlight another MCC worker, Elizabeth Scambler, who has been working with MCC in El Salvador since 2010. It has been great having Elizabeth as a part of our team and has allowed us to coordinate more group visits to El Salvador, specifically to La Linea in San Martin. Both the Enlace and RJC groups were able to visit San Martin this year and hope to continue strengthening that relationship in the future.

San Martin, and specifically La Linea, is a very difficult place to live and work. Elizabeth "works alongside two different organizations which partner with MCC. One is an NGO based out of San Salvador called ANADES. The other partner is a church, IBCD, situated in a marginalized community (La Linea) about 45 minutes from the capital. With each partner, Elizabeth works alongside their disaster recovery and resettlement projects which are responses to the damage caused by Hurricane Ida in November of 2009." As Elizabeth and her co-worker, Yesenia describe it, "Like much of El Salvador, social violence is an everyday reality. La Linea is associated with a particular gang which exists throughout the country. The main economic activities among community members are working in the informal economy (such as people who work selling in the market or in construction), working in factories, and agriculture. Unemployment in El Salvador, and in particular La Linea, is also a reality. On November 9, 2009, Hurricane Ida hit La Linea. Excessive rainfall created landslides which destroyed houses, buried others, and left other homes hanging off the edge of dangerous cliffs. Since La Linea was no longer inhabitable, everyone had to relocate to a temporary shelter closer to the Panamerican highway. 350 families live in the 5 sectors which continue to collectively refer to themselves as “La Linea.” Since people are illegally squatting, they run the risk of being kicked off this land at any time."

However recently, IBCD and the work they are doing in La Linea has shown some signs of progress; a plot of land where 250 families will relocate has been purchased. Please visit Elizabeth's personal blog to read more about this story and the work she is doing in El Salvador; The end of 30 years of displacement

Enlace's visit to El Salvador included visiting La Linea and supporting the work IBCD is doing there, as well as connecting with the many youth that live in the community; a highlight of the time for sure. The group also visited the area of Perquin and learned about the armed conflict in El Salvador and the church's role during that time. If you are interested in learning more about El Salvador's history, we highly recommend watching Voces Inocentes.


Elizabeth, on left, with past SALTer Katelyn Shank



Enlace, with Elizabeth and Yesenia, waiting out the rain in Perquin

Summer Continued

Another highlight of July and August was hosting and working alongside the Enlace group. It is hard to recap a month's worth of experiences in a few words and images, especially when the group was as dynamic and fun as this one! I have always enjoyed working with Enlace, this being my fourth year to do so. The youth often come with a more intentional attitude and open perspective that fit well with the vision of the Connecting Peoples program here. MCC Ontario explains the program well on their website (see link to the right) and also has a great blog where you can find comments from past Enlace participants. Although I love all our groups, I have to say that this one was quite possibly one of my favorites. After a week of language study with the CASAS program, the group spent their time visiting projects in Santiago Atitlan, San Marcos, and El Salvador, not to mention the many times they frequented Sarita (haha!) Thank you, Enlace, for making me laugh so much and for enriching my experience here yet again.



These are just a few of the images from the group's time in San Marcos; check back soon for more on their time in El Salvador. Also, if you'd like to read more about Enlace's experience here, check out their blog: http://enlace2011.wordpress.com/


finally at the top of the tacana volcano
(second highest point in central america and second enlace group ever to conquer it!)


tourist cabin and trout tanks in la vega, san marcos
(some day the cabin will be finished and you can come stay there!)


one of our amazing cooks and her son hiking tacana
(yes, they prepared two hot meals for us during the all day hike)






during the visit to la vega, the group helped start building 12 bridges that will serve both the community at large and the community cooperative's eco-tourism project

Summer Highlights

Although it is not summertime here in Guatemala, July and August are always busy for the Connecting Peoples program as groups from North America take advantage of their summer breaks to work with the MCC supported projects here. This year was no exception as we hosted back-to-back groups from the U.S. and Canada; a Youth Venture team that is part of Mennonite Mission Network and the Enlace group that comes each year through MCC Ontario.

The Youth Venture group had the opportunity to connect with the work of Toby and Yasmin in the area of Nebaj, Quiche spending time working alongside a group of youth who are hoping to start a community bakery. The group also met with a core group of community leaders who form part of the resistance against the hydroelectric dam that is being built in the region; if you didn't have a chance to read about that in July's update, please visit here. This was the second time this year that we have been able to work with the various groups of youth in Nebaj and again was a very positive experience. Some of you (Rockway!) may recognize a few of the people and places in the photos below.



cob oven and bench created by the youth
click here to read more about this really cool, eco-friendly construction method


entrance to cafe in nebaj (see here for more pictures)



youth making lunch for the group


delicious quesadillas and licuados



baking workshop in xepiun


hike in the mountains near xepiun



starting work on the bakery's oven and seating area



almost finished product; pictures of the completed project coming soon!

Working for Indigenous Rights

As promised, over the coming months we will be highlighting a few of the service workers that make up the MCC Guatemala/El Salvador team. Tobias Roberts and Yasmin Mendez recently moved from El Salvador to start a position with MCC's partner, Q'anil, in the area of Nebaj, Guatemala. Toby worked with MCC in El Salvador for a number of years where he met Yasmin. They are both very talented and creative individuals and we're excited to have them in Guatemala! In addition to the work they are doing with youth in the outer lying communities of Nebaj, Toby has also been asked by the local communities to be an official observer in the negotiations between these indigenous communities and an international corporation building a hydroelectric dam in the area. We often talk about the mining situation in San Marcos, but think it is equally important to be aware of similar issues happening in other areas of Guatemala that may not get as much attention. We hope you will take the time to read Toby's article about this situation here: A Precedent for Indigenous Economic Rights?


"Yasmin and Tobias are living in the Mayan Highland community of Nebaj where they are working with different groups of youth on small scale economic development projects to try and create options other than migration into the cities, coastal farms and to the United States and Canada. They are also supporting indigenous communities in Nebaj and Cotzal who are resisting the construction of hydroelectric dams by foreign companies on their ancestral lands."

el equipo

One of the joys of this work is partnering with a team of people who are intelligent, dedicated, and supportive, not to mention fun and good looking :) Just a few photos of the Guatemala/El Salvador team at our recent retreat in Copan, Honduras. Stay tuned in the coming months for updates from each person and the fabulous work they are doing.