Casa Guatemala Orphanage

Mark Julie Terry Start Date: Sep 11, 2014 - End Date: Jan 8, 2015
  • Guatemala

My Travel Story

by: Mark Julie Terry Start Date: Sep 11, 2014 - End Date: Jan 8, 2015
Julie and I have the heart of Global Citizen's believing that we were both put on this earth to serve humanity.  Casa Guatemala is an organization where will use of talents of building, painting, teaching and most important love.  This project is dear to our hearts because this organization is centered around orphanded children.  At this point in theirs little lives they have no options as their parents are no longer with them to love and support them.  Parents are our first source of life information. They teach us our first words and help us with our first steps in life...without them we are temporarily lost and may even lose our identity unless a loving person can step into the role and guide us.  I was fortunate to grow up with both of my parents. Julie grew up with only her mother as her guide.  We have raised our daughter, as a blended family.  My two daughter's mother isn't in the picture and neither is the father of Julie's daughter.  When we met we struggled to establish ties with each other's children and to build bonds.  We wanted to fill the absent parents roles for our kids.  We succeeded.  The Children at Casa Guatemala don't have parents at all. We want to fill in for some of the Children at Casa Guatemala and give them the love and support that only a parent can give.  We want to teach, laugh and play with these kids and show them that the world is a loving place that accepts them.  We wnat to help build a safe and beautiful environment for these Children like we have done for our own.  We want to share bed time stories and teach them how to take care of themselves.  We will teach yoga and exercise as well.  We will share our parental love with them.  That is basically it.  We want to spend 3 months with the Children and the organization and get done what we can.  We plan to frequent Casa Guatemala but for now we are asking for help with this current Campaign.  Anything you can give or any positive helpful suggestions are welcome.

Thank you. 
  • Guatemala

Updates

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  • What We Can Expect While At Casa Guatemala And Why We Need Your Help!

    Picture yourself volunteering at a Guatemalan children’s home. Set the image in a remote jungle on the banks of a wild Guatemalan river, accessible only by boat, with hundreds of laughing children darting through the trees and jumping into the water. You are standing on the pier, with a giggling child in toe, preparing to do your best cannon ball. Got the picture? Good. Because when you step onto the dock at Casa Guatemala, that’s exactly what you’ll find.

    Casa Guatemala’s volunteers fall so in love that many return year after year. Those who can’t make it back post daily to the Casa Guatemala Facebook group expressing their longing to return and their affection for the children, their fellow volunteers — their family. Because a family is exactly what you are joining when you volunteer at Casa Guatemala — with all the good, the bad, the joyous, the sad, and the incredibly frustrating that entails.

    Despite the love it inspires, Casa Guatemala is not for everyone. Spending 24 hours a day in the jungle with hundreds of children as your friends, family, and roommates can feel a lot like starring on a reality TV show. The living conditions are incredibly rustic and isolated and the work can be challenging. More than a few volunteers have arrived with high hopes only to leave the next day, scrambling to return to modern life. But those who stick it out end up laughing, crying, smiling, and grunting their way through the experience of a lifetime.

    ORGANIZATION & BACKGROUND
    Casa Guatemala is a home and school for orphaned, abandoned, and abused children, located in the jungle along the banks of the Río Dulce river. Originally named “Casa Canada,” the organization was founded by a Canadian couple in 1977 to care for the many poverty-stricken child victims of Guatemala’s violent civil war. Some of the children were orphans; others just had parents too poor or traumatized to care for them.

    “Working at Casa Guatemala is not for everyone. You must be open-minded, flexible, and ready to work hard. That being said, most who come have a hard time leaving, even if there are some difficult and frustrating moments. You should expect to get very close to the children, and this will make it very difficult to leave. As someone who has experienced a variety of different volunteer programs, I can safely say that Casa Guatemala is unique in this sense, and it is extremely common for volunteers to come back again and again to visit these amazing children.”
    – Alex Dworkin, former Volunteer Coordinator
    Sadly, 35 years later, children in Río Dulce are still in need of care. Extreme poverty, domestic abuse, and community-wide resource deficits are commonplace. That’s why the organization has continued its work over the years, helping Guatemalan children grow up with love and providing the education they need to become happy, successful adults.

    Today Casa Guatemala is a big organization with many layers of management. Its office is in Guatemala City, where it also runs a nursery and provides free psychiatric services for needy children. But the heart of the organization is still on the banks of the Río Dulce at the “Children’s Village.” This 100-acre jungle property is nothing short of an entire community. There are children’s dorms, classrooms, volunteer and teacher housing, offices, a medical clinic, mess hall, soccer field, and even a sizeable farm. Much of the infrastructure is in disrepair, a sad result of the ebb and flow of donations over the years.

    During the school year, about 250 children call the Children’s Village home. Most come from desperately impoverished neighboring villages, are orphans, or have been removed from their families by Child Services for their protection. When school is not in session, the children with acceptable family situations go home; the others remain. When children outgrow the Children’s Village, they move to the town of Río Dulce where Casa Guatemala continues to support them while they attend public high school.

    Casa Guatemala requires a lot of funding to stay afloat. The Children’s Village alone employs a 20-person full-time staff of local teachers, groundskeepers, farmers, and administrators. In addition to an extensive network of donors and partner organizations in Canada, the United States, and Spain, Casa Guatemala operates several businesses in Río Dulce to raise funds.

    VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS
    CHILDREN’S VILLAGE
    The priority volunteer positions at the Children’s Village are orientadores, volunteers who live in the dorms with children. These positions are only open to long-term volunteers. Orientadores act like parents, ensuring every child sticks to their schedule, stays clean and healthy, does their homework, and goes to class. The children, who range in age from 2 to 18, are divided into subsets by age and gender. One or more orientadores are assigned to each group. It’s a challenging role.

    Orientadores — especially when they first arrive — can at times feel more like police because groups of 30+ kids pose quite the disciplinary challenge. However, with time, deep bonds form, a mutual respect is established, and things get much easier.

    Once the orientador positions are filled, other volunteers take on a variety of roles. Volunteers can teach English, physical education, art, and kindergarten/pre-school; help with garden projects; or work in the clinic. One management position is available as volunteer coordinator.

    While volunteers are encouraged to voice their preferences, not everyone can have their first choice because the needs of the organization are paramount. Volunteers should be willing to take on whatever job is needed at the time, even if it means helping out in the kitchen for a few days.

    HOTEL BACKPACKERS
    Hotel Backpackers, a hostel in Río Dulce, is one of Casa Guatemala’s most important fundraising projects. It is also where kids from the Children’s Village move when they are old enough to go to high school. In addition to attending school, the older children work in the hotel and adjoining restaurant, learning skills that will get them jobs after graduation.

    Volunteers can work at the hotel/restaurant in the kitchen, at the front desk, waiting tables, or cleaning. The work is not very glamorous but it supports the organization, and hotel volunteers are welcome to spend free time at the Children’s Village. Traditionally this role attracts volunteers interested in hotel management or tourism as a career.

    WHAT TO EXPECT
    ORIENTATION & OVERSIGHT
    Administration of the project can appear quite improvisational. There is a Guatemalan director on-site who oversees the teaching staff and is technically in charge, but volunteers essentially manage themselves. They self organize under the leadership of a long-term volunteer who acts as coordinator.

    The lack of formal direction can be frustrating, but also liberating. Volunteers have the freedom to be as ambitious and innovative as they want. Virtually any project, new way of doing things, or suggestion is welcome, as long as it’s not too disruptive to the staff’s responsibility of educating the children. Of course, new ideas take time to implement and should only be undertaken by volunteers willing to commit to seeing them through.

    When new volunteers arrive they receive a tour of the property and lots of introductions. While there is no formal orientation, current volunteers make a big effort to show new ones the ropes and help them settle in. Independent responsibilities are usually taken on during the second or third day.

    HOURS & TIME OFF
    Volunteering at the Children’s Village is a truly immersive experience; volunteers spend 24/7 on the property. To preserve their sanity, volunteers have set times each day when they can take a break from the children. Orientadores get six hours for themselves during the day while the children are at school. They also have time after the children are put to bed (provided there are no nightmares or bed-wetting issues they need to deal with). Other volunteer roles have lighter work schedules, limited to daytime hours.

    For every 22 days of work, long-term volunteers have the option of taking eight days off to explore the rest of what Guatemala has to offer.

    ACCOMMODATIONS
    Living in the jungle is hard and not for everyone. You must sacrifice many of the comforts of home, including 24-hour electricity (the generator runs only for an hour in the early morning and a few hours after dinner), hot water, and access to basic commercial items. You will have to deal with mosquitoes and other creepy-crawlers, extreme heat and humidity, and a crumbling infrastructure. To be happy, you just have to embrace the rugged conditions as part of the experience. After all, the jungle setting also means amazing sunsets, giant blue butterflies, afternoon river swims with the kids, and daily encounters with troops of howler monkeys.

    Orientadores live with their children in the dorms. Other long-term volunteers stay in two buildings intentionally set apart from the main campus to provide a bit of breathing room. Both buildings are faintly reminiscent of summer camp cabins — with wooden frames and screen walls. The bathrooms are moldy and the kitchens rudimentary, but each house has a spacious common area for sharing time with your fellow volunteers. Of the two buildings, the main house is decidedly more social, with bunk beds and rooms that sleep 4-10 volunteers. The other house is smaller with fewer beds per room, and usually reserved for couples in need of more privacy.

    In order to provide a more stable home environment for the children, short-term volunteers stay at Hotel Backpackers. They take the morning boat to the Children’s Village each day, returning each evening before dinner. The accommodations are obviously much nicer (clean room, electricity, refrigeration), but as a short-term volunteer you’ll miss out on a lot of what makes the experience special.

    FOOD
    Cooks at the Children’s Village serve three meals and a snack each day in the large cafeteria. Volunteers eat alongside the children and the menu stays pretty consistent: rice, beans, and tortillas. When Casa Guatemala receives a food donation, which happens a lot, meat or vegetables are incorporated. Even then, don’t expect to eat healthy. Deep frying is the preferred method of cooking vegetables and butter is the primary ingredient in everything served. The good news is that the food, while simple, is delicious, and going back for seconds and thirds is not considered impolite.

    Kitchens in the volunteer houses have propane stoves but no refrigeration. Volunteers are welcome to use them to prepare their own meals if they prefer. However, given the difficulty of procuring groceries, this often proves impractical to do consistently. A very limited selection of snacks can be purchased in the neighboring village, a 10-minute walk away.

    SOCIAL LIFE
    While the majority of volunteers are 20-somethings from North America and Spain, Casa Guatemala attracts all manner of people, from all corners of the globe and of all ages.

    After the children are put to bed, the main volunteer house comes alive with laughter, card playing, and story telling. With so many volunteers, someone is always coming or going or having a birthday, so celebratory group dinners are common. Over those candle-lit dinners volunteers truly become family, forming friendships that last a lifetime. In fact, more than a few volunteers have met their significant others at Casa Guatemala.

    STAYING CONNECTED
    Despite the isolated location, volunteers can easily stay connected. The office has a pair of computers and WiFi volunteers can use when the generator is running (2-3 hours a day). Most volunteers purchase an inexpensive cell phone (US$20) with prepaid minutes in Río Dulce.

    HEALTH
    At the Children’s Village, the most common ailments are stomach parasites and lice. Volunteers who leave without contracting one or both are among a very small minority. Luckily, the on-site clinic stocks and dispenses remedies for both.
    Volunteers have access to the clinic’s medicines whenever they need it. When the doctor is present volunteers can receive treatment for most common medical issues. The closest good hospital is in Guatemala City, seven hours away.

    SAFETY
    Aside from the occasional scuffle amongst the boys there’s little crime at the Children’s Village. Petty theft is the only consistent concern. Bring a small lock for your valuables to prevent sticky-fingered children from getting any bad ideas. It’s totally safe to walk alone on the property at all hours. For caution’s sake, it’s best to travel in pairs when visiting neighboring villages at night.

    WHAT TO BRING
    Volunteers should bring a mosquito net, bedding, bug spray, and a flashlight (all for sale in Río Dulce). Gifts for the children (e.g. soccer balls) are welcome.

    WHEN TO GO
    Volunteers are needed all year long. The school’s “summer break” falls between mid-November and mid-January. During this time there are far fewer children on the property — usually 20-30. With the same number of volunteers, there is much less work to go around. This can lead to some boredom. But, and this is a huge but, spending Christmas at Casa Guatemala is an amazing experience. Weeks of decorating build up to Christmas Eve when all of Casa Guatemala’s children, along with hundreds more from neighboring villages, crowd onto the dock to eagerly await Santa’s nautical entrance.

    VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
    The minimum age to volunteer is 18. However, because children can be as old as 18, Casa Guatemala prefers volunteers 24 and older. This is especially true of orientadores and long-term volunteers.

    Volunteers must speak at least basic Spanish in order to communicate with the children.

    Casa Guatemala prefers that volunteers stay at least three months, and from a cost perspective that’s really the best option. But volunteers can come for as short as an afternoon through Casa Guatemala’s “volunteer vacations” option. The role of a short-term volunteer is more that of a donor than a volunteer.

    COSTS & DONATIONS
    If you commit three months, volunteering at Casa Guatemala costs US$300 no matter how long you volunteer beyond that. If you stay shorter, volunteering costs US$250 per week including accommodation at Hotel Backpackers, meals, and daily transportation from Río Dulce. Anyone who stays longer than a year gets a full refund. The money is considered a donation to the organization and is tax-deductible in the United States. Further donations can be made through the Casa Guatemala web site.

    THE RUMOR MILL
    Casa Guatemala’s finances are a constant source of conversation among volunteers past and present. Messages tagged on the walls of the volunteer house read “where does all the money go?” It’s an understandable question. Despite thousands of dollars in donations pouring in, the buildings are in disrepair; vegetables from the garden and farm are sold rather than fed to the children; and it’s not uncommon for volunteers to reach into their own pockets to buy diapers. While these are sad truths, we have discovered no evidence of mismanagement. The reality is that running an organization of Casa Guatemala’s size is more expensive than you’d think. And the initiatives in Guatemala City are just as desperate for funding as the Children’s Village. Without question, Casa Guatemala has its fair share of challenges, but at the end of the day everyone is working with the best interests of the children in mind.
    GETTING THERE
    The children’s village is accessible only by boat. You will first need to go to Hotel Backpackers in Río Dulce, located right under the bridge on the south side of the river.

    The daily boat from Hotel Backpackers to the Children’s Village leaves at 7 a.m. Most volunteers spend their first night in the hotel, and catch it the next morning.

  • Rebuilding And Expanding The Gymnasium

    Rebuilding and Expanding the Gymnasium
    From Casa Guatemala's Website:  This will be a project that we will be helping with!   Rebuilding and Expanding the Gymnasium
    Roof at Casa Guatemala



    Project Overview
    Casa Guatemala is a self-contained children’s village that entails living quarters, schools buildings, a mess hall and office space for over 300 children in Rio Dulce, Izabal Guatemala. The Cancha is the outdoor gymnasium where most of the action takes place on a daily basis. It is used for all major celebrations and presentations; for physical education classes, and as a recreation play space for the children during their free time during and after school. As Casa Guatemala is located in the jungle, there is a lot of rain throughout the year, especially during the hurricane season between June and November and in the winter months as well. The Cancha gives the children a reprieve from the rain and a dry place to play. Currently, the roof of the Cancha has become deteriorated and needs to be replaced. There is severe termite damage to the wooden posts and beams that, if left, could become a potential danger to
    the children playing below. Casa Guatemala is seeking the funding needed to rebuild the roof, adding more transparent roofing panels to increase the light, using treated wood to extend the life of the structure and extend the area of coverage to increase the covered play space for the children. This project is a priority for CG in 2012 as we have increased the number of students in the school to 275 from 225 at the beginning of 2011.

    This means there are more classes with larger amounts of students per grade. The current Cancha space is equipped with a basketball / indoor football court that is used daily, but the adjacent uncovered land consists of a few platforms and beams where the children often play. We look to extend to coverage over this area so that there is a safer, more stable space for the children to play while protected from the elements. More space will mean more cohesive play time for the children and a greater diversification of activities available during the free recreation time. Additionally, the current roofing is not equipped with a water catchment gutters and this is causing severe erosion along the edge of the outdoor football field, which is some of the highest ground located in CG. To reduce the erosion, the new roof will be equipped with proper gutters that will be used to collect the rain water.
    Casa Guatemala is looking for organizations to fund this project either in part or fully. The estimated cost of materials, transportation and labour is $65,882.39 and will include the extension of the Cancha floor space by approximately 30ft by 50ft with new roofing and replacement of the existing roof and beams.