Adriana Lazaro Participates in Training Program at CSU

Here's a photo of us, Adriana Lazaro and Ann Jefferson (r to l), from about 4 or 5 years ago. We're putting it up here now so you can get an idea of what we look like...we haven't changed THAT much in 5 years, although in some ways it seems like a long time ago.

Adriana recently visited Fort Collins to participate in a Village Earth workshop on participatory practices in sustainable development. She felt as though she learned a lot and she certainly contributed a lot! It was her first time outside Guatemala, so it was a big adventure, and she took full advantage of the opportunity, giving 2 radio interviews, and various presentations to sponsors of the scholarship program, my Latin American history class, and to a Friday night Salon Duc Tape, and also making 100 Guatemalan tacos and the rest of a lunch for the students and teachers of Oakwood School on Mountain Ave. So it was a busy month, but it was worth it. This project made itself more visible in Fort Collins, and folks here learned more about what life is like for the Q'eqchi' people of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

Adriana will be adding to this blog from Guatemala, now that she's gone back home. And I'll be posting comments from Fort Collins. We hope this blog will give those of you who are interested a chance to see some of the many photos we've been taking over the years. And, given the length of the reports I've been known to write after coming back from a visit to Coban, we'll be saving quite a few trees!

Next time I'll say something about my last visit in July and put up some photos of the Gran Inauguracion of the Women's Center in Coban. Just in case you're in a donating mood, I'll include the project's wish list.

Actually, my biggest wish is that we could hire Adriana fulltime after she graduates from the university this fall as a Licenciada in community organizing, but that would cost about $6,000 a year. Pretty low for a professional salary, and heaven knows she's worth all that and more, but at the moment it's considerably over our budget.

hasta la proxima,
Ann