Intern journal – Melissa Baker
From left to right: Febe (age 8),
Melissa, and Leslye (age 6)
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My name is Melissa Baker, and I am 23 year old from Finch, Ontario, about 45 minutes outside Ottawa – our nation’s capital! I participated in CIDA’s International Youth Internship Program with a non-governmental organization, World Accord, from the beginning of September 2005 through Mid March 2006. I worked in El Tejar, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, with a women’s human rights NGO – Mujeres en Accion (Women in Action). I graduated from the University of Guelph with a Major in Latin American Social History in June 2005, so nothing could be more fitting than my journey to Guatemala in September 2005. With this academic and practical experience, I am now starting my Master’s Degree at the University of Windsor studying Latin American Indigenous Human Rights. I suppose you could say that I’ve found an unexplainable passion for Latin America…Hopefully you will see that through my articles…
And, so the journey began…
After a pleasant flight to Guatemala City, I was left tired, excited, nervous, and curious to find out what El Tejar, my new home, would be like. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was embarking upon. I went to Guatemala with no expectations, no stereotypes or ideas about what I would find – I don’t think I could have ever imagined the lifestyle and poverty that characterizes the area that I lived and worked in. I admit, I was struck by an almost unbearable bout of culture shock. I had to continuously remind myself that I was there to help these people with development efforts. Although I missed my family and friends so much, I reminded myself that this was not a lifetime, and my six months was only a tiny fragment of my life that lies ahead. I was able to adjust quite quickly to the lifestyle in rural Guatemala and found myself thinking everyday, and telling the Guatemalan people, how fortunate I was to be there to work with them. Even after being in El Tejar only one week, I appreciated what I have more – family, my education, my right to vote and have a political voice, being equal amongst all Canadians, culture, regardless of race, color, being a man or a woman- I hoped to teach others this appreciation upon my return to Canada.
El Tejar is a small area that is labeled a ‘city’ in Guatemala, and connects to a larger ‘city’ called Chimaltenango – the 2nd largest city in Guatemala next to the Capital, Guatemala City. By no means was this a city in terms of Canadian standards. The streets are cobblestone and very rutted, lined with buildings that are very simple, some deteriorating. There are no theatres, Laundromats, McDonalds restaurants, or large convenience stores. There are a few family-operated stores and restaurants, but these are mostly small rooms opened off peoples’ houses to serve the community.
Melissa with a group of young children
in a rural community in the municipality
of Chimaltenango
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I had been warned repetitively of safety and remaining within the dormitory once the sun sets. The other intern and myself were to be locked inside the compound by 7 p.m. for safety reasons. We were the only Caucasian people in this area therefore; they worried about us being targets for any type of vice, whether it be robbery, muggings, or kidnapping.
The work that I was doing was in the rural communities throughout Guatemala. We traveled close by to local areas, and also by bus 3 hours away to other indigenous communities. The reality of life in the communities to which I traveled was very poor, their lives being of little more than the importance of family and attempting to make a small living to afford their diet of maíz (corn) and beans. The houses in which the indigenous people live, are made of a tin roof, and walls made of mud and straw held together with barbed wire. This may sound unbearable to North Americans, but the indigenous people never complain, and are always smiling. It made me realize how fortunate we are in Canada to have the luxurious lifestyle that we have - being able to eat meat at every meal and drink milk everyday!
Mujeres en Acción, the NGO that I worked for, is working towards bringing opportunities and development to these indigenous people. Mujeres en Acción gives out loans to women’s indigenous groups in rural areas and provides these women with the training they need to become successfully active with selling their weavings and the production of various agricultural products (a lot of cabbage, brocolli, lettuce, pineapples, oranges, and coffee). Mujeres en Acción also aids in expanding the marketability of these products whether it be in local markets or exporting. Through money management training and basic accounting practices, women are able to learn how to make money, gradually (with set terms) pay the loan back, and save for their family (putting savings toward purchasing more land, education for their children, and improving their quality of life by eating meat once a week). This is all so impressive because those women that work for Mujeres en Acción are by no means wealthy, but they always talk of how fortunate they are to have the opportunities that they have. It is amazing how humble, gracious, and happy these women are.
My work in Guatemala was going to be a challenge, but I accepted that challenge with open arms. I have had an entire lifetime of opportunities; I only hoped that my six months in El Tejar would bring some similar opportunities to the indigenous women and their families.
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