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Guatemalan students visiting Canmore

For nine years, Hearts and Hands has sent hundreds of volunteers to Guatemala, bent on improving the lives of the impoverished in Central America.

For nine years, Hearts and Hands has sent hundreds of volunteers to Guatemala, bent on improving the lives of the impoverished in Central America.

However this year, the Canmore-based social justice organization has brought two young Guatemalan teenagers to the Bow Valley in hopes of strengthening the bonds between the two cultures.

“It’s only fair to bring Guatemalans to Canada to experience our culture,” said organizer Janet Townsend.

The goal of the new pilot program is to broaden the understanding Guatemala’s young people have of Canada, strengthening the bond of understanding between the two cultures.

“We never do anything that changes their culture, but we can help open their eyes to understanding other ways cultures live.”

In 2002, the NGO began implementing a stove program; installing cooking devices and water filters in Mayan villages to help families prepare meals. The stoves were simply a tool to get in the door, and the program now raises about $500,000 a year to build schools and improve health care in the country.

The overriding goal of the program, however, is to foster understanding and acceptance – something which will reduce violence and change lives, the retired social worker said.

Now, after encouraging many young Canadians to visit Guatemala, and giving more than 450 volunteers a chance to work in Central America, Hearts and Hands will bring Guatemalan students here as part of a pilot project.

Guatemalan students involved with Hearts and Hands were asked to write 500-word essays and make a 10-minute presentation in order to qualify for the trip.

Yolanda Yaxon and Juana Angelica-Martin were selected for the program. Both are 17 years old, from small villages and will spend the next two weeks in Canada.

“Yolanda is very actively involved in her community. She gets good grades and is very artistic, writing poems,” Townsend said.

The teen, who wants one day to be the mayor of her small community, wrote she was thankful for the help Hearts and Hands provided her community.

“She wrote that before she had dreams but no hope,” Townsend said.

They have a full two weeks planned, with activities in the Bow Valley, a trip to Jasper and Heritage Park.

While the Hearts and Hands board of directors thought about bringing the girls to Canada for a year, they decided that could be too disruptive.

“We weren’t sure if the students would want to be away from their villages for a whole year,” Townsend said.

However, after hearing so many Canadians describe their work with Hearts and Hands in glowing terms, they thought it only fair to return the favour.

Cathy Sturgeon is a board member for Hearts and Hands. Well-travelled in South America, she described her trip through the Hearts and Hands program as ‘life-changing’.

“Nothing compares to that trip,” said Sturgeon, who will return in September for her second stint with the program.

Connecting with the Guatemalan people was an incredible experience, she said.

“I would have never gotten the chance to go into these areas otherwise,” Sturgeon said.

In the region, luxuries are scarce. Many families are lucky to have a bed, and the level of poverty is difficult for many. Sturgeon, who works for Cross Country Canada, said the program has made a large change for many families.

“The stove is a way to get in. Hearts and Hands is so much more – they build schools, give scholarships to students, help improve health and education. There is also a constant follow-up with the organization,” she said.

Townsend and Sturgeon wants to see more young people get involved with the NGO as they see that as the best chance to affect real change.

“This needs to start with younger people.”

For more information on Hearts and Hands, visit www.heartsandhands.ca


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