Rotary District 6440

2009-03-01T13:33:00.001-06:00

Carlos Frum received a phone call from Carlos Arita, the Guatemalan Secret Service Agent accompanying our Guatemala 2009 team to report that the team arrived yesterday without incident and they are now in route to the port city of Livingston in the eastern coast of Guatemala.

The trip by bus will take about six hours and they will stop for lunch on the way. They will dine at a restaurant called Bugamama run as a training facility by Ak’Tenamit. This will be their first encounter with the outstanding young men and women from the Q’eqchi Mayan tribe that work at the restaurant.

Near the restaurant there is also a shop where they sell authentic Q’eqchi Mayan crafted products. The place also has three computers connected to the Internet so we start receiving correspondence from our team.

The team will remain in Livingston at Hotel Villa Caribe and travel every day by boat to Ak’Tenamit on the Rio Dulce to work in the school and dormitories. Mr. Arita said the team is in great spirits and anxious to start working.

District 6440 Rotarians leave for Guatemala today

2009-02-28T20:33:00.006-06:00

Governor Pam and some of the District 6440 Team

Governor Pam departed for Guatemala today with a team of 42 Rotarians from District 6440. The trip was organized by District International Advisor Larry Kanar. The team will continue from Guatemala City to Rio Dulce and the Ak’Tenamit school where they will contribute their labor to improve the living conditions of nearly 500 Qe’chy Mayan Indian children. This is a continuation to last year’s trip and it is the third District wide hands-on international service project.

Team Itinerary

Saturday, February 28
Leave Chicago O'Hare for Guatemala City. Overnight at the Biltmore Express Hotel.

Sunday, March 1
After breakfast, leave Guatemala City for Rio Dulce. Take boat from Rio Dulce to Livingston and check into Hotel Villa Caribe.

Monday, March 2 through Thursday, March 5
Breakfast is served at 7 AM at the hotel. Leave Livingston at 8 AM via boat for the work site 40 minutes away. Return to the hotel at 5:00 PM. Dinner at the hotel each evening.

Friday, March 6
Breakfast as usual. Leave for work site at 8 AM. At 4 PM leave Ak' Tenamit for Hotel Catamaran near Rio Dulce Bridge. Dinner at the hotel.

Saturday, March 7
Breakfast at the hotel at six AM followed by 7 AM departure for Antigua. Check into hotel Casa Santo Domingo after lunch. Dinner on your own.

Sunday, March 8
Free Day for Sightseeing and Shopping. Team meets for final team dinner.

Monday, March 9
Breakfast at 7 AM at the hotel. Leave Antigua for Guatemala City airport at 11:15 AM.

Team leaving on different flights:
Departure Guatemala on American at 2:05 PM and arrive Chicago O’Hare at 11:10 PM.
Departure Guatemala on Continental at 2:15 PM and arrive Chicago O’Hare at 9:59 PM.

2009 trip

2009-02-27T15:04:00.009-06:00

The 2009 District 6440 international service project team leaves Chicago O'Hare on Saturday, February 28, 2009.

The team consists of 28 Rotarians from 15 clubs and 14 spouse and friend volunteers. Seventeen of the Rotarians, and six of the spouses and friends, have already participated in a District 6440 mission in Guatemala. The following District 6440 Rotary Clubs have members participating this year:

Arlington Heights Noon
Barrington Noon
Bartlett
Buffalo Grove
Deerfield
Evanston
Evanston Lighthouse
Libertyville Sunrise
Mundelein/Vernon Hills
Northbrook
St. Charles Noon
West Chicago
Wheeling
Wilmette Harbor
and Woodstock Noon.

The team will provide manual labor to help in the construction of Ak'Tenamit's second school site at Castillo San Felipe de Lara in Rio Dulce, Guatemala.

Check back here for updates on the trip.

2008 Trip

2009-02-27T15:03:00.006-06:00

2009 Trip to Ak' Tenamit

In 2008, 35 people from 10 clubs went to Guatemala for a week to work at Ak' Tenamit. Ak' Tenamit is a grass-roots organization that promotes long-term solutions to poverty in the indigenous community in eastern Guatemala. The Rotarians from District 6440 upgraded the living conditions of the children by building bunk beds to replace the hammocks they were using. They covered all the openings in the dormitories with nets to protect against vampire bats that were continuously attacking the children at night and painted and decorated the guest dining room that provides training facilities and income to the school. In addition, they checked the children's health conditions and created base data to start monitoring their growth and improve their diets and health support services.

2007-01-17T09:42:00.002-06:00

Wednesday, Jan. 17 - notes from the Guatemala- Project 100 team

Saturday, Jan. 13
Guatemala Project 100 began officially at noon on Saturday, January 13th at Continental Airlines. E-mails phone calls and meeting and planning have stopped. The brisk Chicago air seemed to match the intensity and excitement of the group. The day has arrived we are on our way. Eighteen clubs represented, 44 Rotarians were met by Stan Sherman and Carlos with clip boards in hand. I was present and smiling from ear to ear. All were on time!

We arrive full of anticipation, just wonderful intensity and excitement, just like little children read for a field trip and a great adventure.

Our check-in was flawless “Stan is the Travel Man” We were personally greeted by a Continental attendant, while Stan greeted us with his reassuring smile, full of warmth and some what mischievous smile, quite deceptive because we know he is the sweetest! After our baggage check in we got some hugs in. Realizing we already could feel camaraderie, yet most of us just met for the second time at best. Seeing everyone’s faces it was certain this was the beginning of wonderful friendships, perhaps you could say this was just “the Rotary Way.”

I was summoned by Carlos of the Northbrook Rotary; my first assignment was about to begin.

The great money – exchange was about to take place. Days earlier we heard of a problem with the currency in Guatemala, there was both a shortage of currency and our wire transfer could be held up by the Guatemalan bureaucracy—this could prove to be a problem….no money for the Guatemalans meant that certainly there would be no money for us Rotarians. Gov. Dave has gone to the bank with Leadership Team Treasurer Gustafson had changed money for us. We had singles and fives for the ready. We met at the Red Carpet Club and filled our money belts. Richard (Northbrook Rotarian) and his wife realized that we would look like we had pot bellies on our way to Guatemala.

There was a few moments of silence, we looked at each other and then smiled. Yes, this was going to be an adventure….a wonderful, cultural Rotarian adventure.

The plane ride when smoothly we visited each other in the air, smiling reassuringly.

Monday, Jan. 15
Monday we learned how to assemble the ONIL stoves and began the initial project of painting some of the finished houses.

Tuesday, Jan. 16
We spent all day Tuesday painting the houses and getting them ready for the occupants who were anticipating moving in from their temporary housing. Tuesday night we had a make-up meeting with Rotary Club Retalhuleu which was part of a generous and overwhelming welcome. Their District governor was also present.

Sam

Wednesday Jan. 17

This country is really poor. Over the past 2 days, we have been painting houses constructed with international aid for Guatemalans displaced by Hurricane Stan in 2005. Since then they have been living in temporary shacks provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The new houses have 2 bedrooms, 1 shower/toilet area, 1 kitchen area. The families have been waiting over a year for their new homes. Lots of kids helped us paint. One lady was very proud - waiting to move into her house with her husband (working in the sugar cane fields nearby) and 10 children. Tomorrow we will assemble simple yet efficient stoves for these houses.

Richard

Wednesday, Jan. 17

Wednesday we assembled the stoves by each of the houses, and everyone cheered as Gov. Dave put the first cap on the stove we assembled.

Sam

Welcome to the Guatemala - Project 100 Blog

2007-01-12T19:37:00.000-06:00

Rotarians from 18 District 6440 clubs along with family members and friends leave on Saturday, January 13, 2007, for Guatemala to participate in a week long, cooperative, hands-on international service project.

The 44-member District 6440 Guatemala - Project 100 team is going to assemble and install water filters and wood burning stoves in new houses for indigent native families in the Lake Atitlan region. The water filters are required for pure water. The pure water in turn prevents gastrointestinal diseases. The vented stoves prevent burns from falling into the fire pit, as well as respiratory diseases and rapid deforestation due to the indoor open-air use of wood for cooking and heating.

This blog will chronicle the project and the team's visits to "HELPS International," the nonprofit organization that developed the stoves and filters and to the "Misioneros del Camino" orphanage. The orphanage is the site of a previous hands-on service project for the Northbrook Club. A Matching Grant application from the Northbrook Rotary Charitable Projects Foundation; Rotary District 6440 District Designated Funds; Rotary Club of Guatemala Sur and the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International has recently been approved to help fund specialized equipment for a new neurological clinic at the orphanage.

The Rotary clubs with participating members are:
Arlington Heights, Arlington Heights Sunrise, Barrington Breakfast, Bartlett, Central DuPage AM, Crystal Lake Dawnbreakers, Elgin, Evanston, Evanston Lighthouse, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Grayslake, Lake in the Hills, Mt Prospect, Northbrook, Wauconda, Wheaton and Woodstock.

Guatemala - Project 100 Itinerary
Many of the places the team will visit and work are many miles apart requiring hours of travel between destinations.

Saturday, Jan. 13
Arrive in Guatemala City

Sunday, Jan. 14
Leave for Chichicastenango
Continue travel to Retalhuleu

Monday, Jan. 15
Travel to HELPS International
Information on ONIL stove and on Gravity Water filters.
Travel to work site in Patulul
Return to Retalhuleu

Tuesday, Jan. 16
Travel to work site
Return to Retalhuleu
Attend Rotary Meeting in Retalhuleu

Wednesday, Jan. 17
Travel to work site
Return to Retalhuleu

Thursday, Jan. 18
Travel to Sumpango
Visit Neurological clinic at orphanage "Misioneros del Camino"

Leave for Antigua
Dinner with local philanthropist

Friday, Jan. 19
Tour Antigua

Saturday, Jan. 20

Travel to Guatemala City
Tour city

Sunday, Jan. 21
Return home