Selvin

Back in January a little boy called Selvin joined our school in Itzapa. I remember his first day; a day full of fear and excitement. The excitement of seeing a school for the first time yet no doubt the fear of seeing a white person for the first time. Little Selvin had next to no Spanish when he arrived. But he knew the word coquillas (tickle). And this was his favourite thing to do. I honestly believe in the beginning he thought he only came to school to tickle everyone. And that is why he got his name The Tickle Monster.

The Tickle Monster slowly learned how to deal with school. He learned this was where he could fill his belly with atol and fruit. Where he could learn a new language. Where he could play with friends. Where he could laugh and have fun. And of course where he could tickle everyone and get attention.

Selvin became such a character in the school. All the teachers remember him. Playing with other kids or chasing them. Concentrating in class. Crying in my arms when he had bumped his head. Tickling us.

His Spanish improved so quickly because he came to school everyday . We loved him being at school but we didn’t realise how much he loved being there until his last day. His last words.

Because you see this story is in the past tense. His story has ended. His short time brought everyone, especially his family, so much joy and so many laughs. So much pride. But his story isn’t allowed to continue. There will be no more tickles. There will be no more laughs with him. There will be no more learning. A little boy of six and a half years old with huge potential isn’t allowed to continue. But he won’t be forgotten. He will be in all of our memories.

And his last words? ‘¿Dónde está el Prof Samuel and la otra Seño?’ His teachers in our school. Thank you Selvin for the great memories you have left us.

In memory of Selvin The Tickle Monster

29 December 2003 – 27 May 2010.

Tummy ache

What do I say to the little boy who comes up to me everyday with tummy ache?

Kids have tummy ache all the time in the Western world. If they aren’t worried about anything it is normally caused by the food they have eaten, irritable bowl syndrome or gas. But what if they haven’t eaten anything? In our Western diets we get many different styles of food to try each and every day and some may upset us. But what if from the day you were born you have eaten corn tortillas, beans and coffee?

So what would you say to the little boy who has tummy ache when it is simply because he is starving?

He is a child so you would naturally want to protect him, to make him feel better, and at GVI we give them Atole and fruit everyday to compliment their diet. But what if there isn’t a diet to compliment? A cuddle can’t prevent the effects of global warming.

In Guatemala there used to be a rainy season and a dry season. Six months of each. In the rainy season you would grow crops and in the dry season you would sell them. This wasn’t a sure-fire plan, you still had starving people, but it was a plan. Now, the climate is changing, something we can easily deny in the comfortable Western world. Now, the farmers can’t rely on the rainy season and can’t rely on the dry season. This year there was hardly any rain in the rainy season and too much in the dry season. In the rainy season the crops died and in the dry season the unexpected rain killed those that survived. Guatemala was suffering and now it is suffering more.

According to UNICEF 49% of children in Guatemala are malnourished and in Mayan communities it is up to 80%. Guatemala has the forth highest rate of malnutrition in the world and more than one child dies per day. And this year it is going to get worse as we are relying on only 40% of the usual number of crops.

But if you don’t believe the statistics then believe me. I am watching children deteriorate everyday.

So next time you leave a light on, flick on the air conditioning, leave the internet on overnight when you are all sleeping or get into your gas guzzling car remember these kids. Because it is effecting them.

And whilst you’re there please tell leave a comment telling me what I should say tomorrow when the little boy asks me ‘Why does my tummy hurt?’

My dreams for the future

My dream for the future is that everyone has a better and healthier life without violence and discrimination so that we have a better world.

The world will be much better if there are no robbers to steal from people.

All we need to complete it would be to say no one is sick anymore.

If we have a new, more beautiful world, Guatemala can help others in the world to work and be happy so that everyone is comfortable.

If my dream comes true and everyone is helped and no-one is robbed again Guatemala will have a better future.

I hope the world can be free and everyone can save more countries, this is something that they all need like we do too. We can support them so that they can have a better world without violence.

This is the dream I want.

Blanca, 14 years old.

Bryan

Three and a half years ago I came to Guatemala and taught a little boy called Bryan. Bryan was six years old and one of the quietest children I had ever met. Too quiet for a child. He was in third grade, a high level for a six year old. But that was because Bryan was clever.

He would come into school everyday and sit at my desk. He was so timid, so lacking in self-confidence he wasn’t even able to sit with his peers, his equals. He would quietly walk to the front of the room and climb into my lap or sit waiting there for me. He would help me with the register, with the books but he wouldn’t sit on his own. He was too scared. He would make me carry him around the room, he wouldn’t answer questions out loud, just in my ear. He wouldn’t play with the others at break time; he would sit and read with me.

Whenever I think back to my time as a volunteer his face is in the forefront of my mind. That boy has stayed with me for three and a half years. Those beautiful brown eyes, that cheeky smile, that reason to come back again.

I have forgotten his background now but I can’t begin to think what made him so timid, so lacking in self-confidence. Such a clever, cute boy. He worked when he wasn’t at school I remember that. This tiny, developing child was sent out to the fields to work long hours with no food and no break from the burning heat. I have no idea what else made him so quiet, I can only imagine.

When I came back I knew I would see some of the kids I had taught before. I hoped to see them, they would be older, they would be developed, they would be young adults. But I hadn’t prepared myself for it.

The moment I saw Bryan, the moment I saw those beautiful brown eyes, that cheeky smile, that reason. I was paralysed. The class in front of me didn’t matter, for that moment all that I could focus on was Bryan. This timid, six year old boy who hung round my neck was now bounding past me, shouting ‘hola seno’ as he ran back to his friends. Now a ten year old with so much confidence, his hair was cut shorter, he had grown to his true height. I watched as this young adult bounded back to class, still paralysed I mustered all my energy to stretch my neck round the corner of his classroom to see him run in and sit down at his desk,next to his peers, as an equal.

I was blown away by that moment, seeing those eyes, that cheeky smile, that reason. I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget that GVI did that.

My story

My name is Gustavo, I’m six years old and I live in Guatemala. It’s five am and I have to go to work. I’m tired as my baby sister, Karla, was crying all night and as I sleep in the same bed as her, my parents and older brothers I didn’t get any sleep. My father was a bit drunk and upset last night so my ribs hurt; they felt better last week. I deserved it though as I was tired yesterday and woke up late. I go straight to work as I only have one set of clothing and I sleep in that. GVI school starts at 9am but I have to work first and then again after school. My father says I have to work early as I waste time in school all day. If I don’t work I am worthless to my father.

So I get on the horse with my father and head to the fields. I feel hungry as I haven’t eaten since GVI school yesterday, the food we produce is to send to other countries, not for us as we get more money then. Just before nine I come back and head to GVI school. On the way I meet up with Eduardo and Jorge who are my friends. I met them at GVI school.

I can hardly concentrate as I am so hungry but I get Atol (porridge) when I arrive at GVI school and after thirty minutes I don’t feel hungry anymore.

I find it so hard to concentrate at school as I am tired from working and sometimes still hungry. Today I am also nervous as I have to pick up the results of my Guatemalan school exams. GVI pays for me to go to school as I can get qualifications but I don’t learn anything. The classes are overcrowded so I just copy from a book all day. I am different as I am indigenous. My teacher tells me I am different. She treats me differently. She ignores me.

At GVI school my teacher is friendly. She smiles and hugs me. She tells me I am good, I am clever, I am starting to think I am too.

At my Guatemalan school I am nobody but at GVI school my teacher thinks its fun to spend time with me, to teach me, to play with me. I have friends here, friends like me, who like me. It’s fun here.

I really studied for my exams. It’s hard as I am busy working until late and then my sister needs help and my father is angry. I have nowhere to study as there is only one room in my house. My GVI teacher has helped me though.

I have my results now. I thought I was clever. I thought I had done well. My teacher tells me that it is because I am Indigenous. She says my results will always be lower even if I answer everything correct. I don’t understand what is wrong with me. Why I am treated so differently.

It’s OK though, I have my GVI school, my GVI teacher, she thinks I am special, she thinks I am clever. She tells me every day. She thinks I can become a doctor, a teacher, whatever I want. I am starting to think I can too.

Cadbury chocolate, Tetley tea and Irn Bru

Three years ago I went to Central America to volunteer as a teacher in a charity school called the Phoenix project. I had the time of my life and have decided to go back a second time.

I made the decision a while ago to leave my job at WRVS and take a 90% pay cut to move back to Guatemala and head up the English language programme in San Andreas Itzapa and Santa Maria for a year. After that? I have no idea.

To get there I needed to raise £5,000 (for the full two and a half years) to help cover my costs. I did this by bag packing, begging lots of big companies for money, selling everything I own and saving. With only a backpack and a few boxes left to show for 27 years, £1,400 still to find and two weeks before my flight I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to hit that target.

But, I hadn’t expected such generous family and friends to come to my leaving parties. In the last two weeks I have managed to raise over £1,400, surpassing my target and ending up with around £5,500. Thanks to your generosity, your kindness, your charitable nature, I will be able to live in Central America, buy lots of things for the schools and the kids and enjoy the time I have for two and a half years. Anyone would think you were trying to get rid of me – thank you.

People have asked me what I will miss, what luxuries I am taking with me. I know I will miss my friends and family like hell and Oxford – I loved living there and hope to again. But I have photos and memories to remind me of them. I’m not sure what materialistic things I will miss, perhaps a fluffy towel but I hope to buy one when I get there. However, if I can go on what I have been asked to bring with me it must be chocolate (Cadbury’s of course), tea and Irn Bru. So when you all visit please remember those three items and you will be sure to make friends.

So what am I doing now? I am watching Slumdog Millionaire with my parents counting down the final ten hours or so until I fly. I hope you find this blog interesting – if you do leave a comment. I will certainly find it a fascinating, exciting and eye opening year. Will it change me? It already has.

Not quite there

I haven’t left yet! I’ll be flying on 19th September so I am just getting myself ready for the big trip at the moment.