Trip to Guatemala: Reflections on Our Venture

On October 18th I traveled with P.J. D’Amico to spend an intense week in Guatemala working with organizations committed to women’s reproductive rights and independence for people with disabilities. These two nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are doing excellent work with the primarily indigenous, Mayan community in one of the three poorest countries in Latin America (the other two are Haiti and Bolivia).

Guatemala is a country of amazing beauty—everything is green and bright with bougainvilleas and other amazing flowers and fruits—no wonder it is known as the “land of perpetual spring.” The country has 22 volcanoes and even through the mist and clouds of the early morning, we could see the magnificent Fuego (Fire) Volcano that dominates the town of Antigua, where we stayed. Antigua is very quaint, with winding streets, cobblestones, courtyards and Catholic churches at every turn. The city is filled with Spanish language schools, artesian markets and wonderful restaurants. It is in no way typical of the rest of Guatemala. It is certainly not typical of the countryside or of Guatemala City, where we flew into.