Guatemala 2003

The Café working with the Rotary Club of Fairmont Minnesota, U.S.A. and the Rotary Club of Guatemala City, Guatemala, have distributed computers to institutions in and around Guatemala City.

Earlier in the year 2002, 50 PC’s and monitors were collected by Rotarians in Minnesota. Only PC’s with at least a Pentium II quality processor were accepted. The PC’s were then prepared in Fairmont. This equipment was packed in cartons where useful clothing was used to fill spaces and protect the PC’s during their journey. The boxes were then transported to Guatemala and arrived at their destination in October. The equipment was unpacked and, once again, checked to see that they all arrived in good working order.

In March of 2003 the Café team visited some of the locations where PC’s recently had been installed.

Centro Educo Rotario Benito J , one of Guatemalas finest schools in Guatemala City, has received 16 PC’s and 1 printer. Currently teaching grades K through 4, this school will expand to all grades within the next five years. PC keyboarding skills will be taught as early as Kindergarten.

These students are learning to speak English at all levels. One of the grade 2 students, Jocelyn, volunteered to speak to the Café team. “I want to thank you for bringing us these computers here.” She said. We observed an instructor with fourth grade students at each of the 16 computers sent by the Cafe.

INCV, a public school in Guatemala City. The teachers in this school had recently been on a 7 ½ week strike. The 8 PC’s received from the Café had not yet been installed but the Rotary Club of Guatemala accomplished that within 3 weeks of our departure.

UNIENDO AMERICA in Guatemala City. We met with Juan Forster, a 74 year old native of North Carolina who married a Guatemalan. He is a coordinator and developer for Rotarian activities of Rotary Clubs as givers and receivers of a broad spectrum of projects, e.g. safe water, micro banking loan programs for women and many more. We went to his small office to see the 1 computer/monitor that Cafe provided.

ORFANATORIO SHALOM in Sumpango, Sacatepequez received 5 PC’s. On approach to this rural school we dropped down a steep rutted road to find a two building school with another under construction. Required water for the school is hauled in by tanker. At the time of our arrival there were 2 students working at Café computers with their instructor. They thanked the team profusely for the gift of the computers.Later we were entertained with a concert of marimba music by ten musicians.

MISSIONEROS DEL CAMINO (7 computers/monitors), Sumpango, Sacatepequez. This is a live in home for 30 girl and boy orphans. Their basic grade 1 – 12 curriculum, which now includes training on the 7 PC’s provided by the Cafe, also teaches sewing, carpentry, plumbing, electrical instruction and, surprisingly, glass blowing skills. We saw 3 students at Bunsen burners with protective glasses at work. There were more than 100 very delicate miniature pieces on display and they gave us a small pendant as a sample of their work.

Notable in this location they have a 700 ft. deep well that provides ample safe water for the school complex. Construction is under way for a guest house and an apartment for Leonor Portela, the director, and her 2 daughters. She has been sleeping on a couch in her present quarters. Leonor Portela is Cuban by birth. Her husband was a pilot for Castro’s Air Force. He was shot down at the time of the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Leonor was pregnant at the time with her 3rd child! Subsequently, she and her parents emigrated to Miami. About 10 years ago she started up this orphanage and school from scratch.

ESCUELADE FORMACION AGRICOLA , Solola, Solola. Nine Café PC’s have been installed at this agricultural school of 225 students. The school has many classrooms and a computer lab with 6 or 8 old computers in addition to the 9 newer Cafe units. School officials invited us to a program in their auditorium. They had prepared a long program that included a 5 musician group that played folk music amplified to our highest ear level capacity. Include were two traditional dances by six couples doing routines that reminded us of square dancing back in Mid-western U. S. During one of the dances a performer rambled around, behind and between the others, with a long firecracker rope that flashed and popped. Students clapped and laughed uproariously.Later they presented gifts to us as a token of appreciation for Café’s donation to their school

MUSEO IXCHEL a museum in Guatemala City, is on the campus of the Universidad Francisco Marroquin. The museum displays a treasure of Maya/Guatemalan artifacts and textiles and is a “must see” for any visitor to Guatemala. This institution received two PC’s.

Locations that received 2 PC’s each but were not visited by the Café team are:

BIBLIOTECA MARY J. FOSTER , Santa Lucia Milpas Atlas, Sacatepequez
HOSPICIO SAN JOSE , San Lucas, Sacatepequez
HOSP. DE INFECTOLOGIA DE NINOS , Guatemala City

Click Picture to enlarge

PC's arrive in Guatemala

Good clothing is used as packing so that costly shipping space is appropriatly used.

Neil teaching student at a local school.