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April 2005 IHSM - Tamahú, Guatemala 
On April 14, 2005, fifteen high school students from the towns of Barnstable, Cohasset, and Sharon, MA, as well as Monpellier, Vermont, departed Boston for a week-long IHSM program in Tamahú, Guatemala. While in Tamahú, our volunteers assisted in the construction of a cinderblock home. The beneficiaries of this new home are a family of ten, who had been living in a one-room stick and mud hut (see original home in background of second construction picture below). Thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteers, this family will now enjoy a dry, spacious, and sturdy new home. Our volunteers also visited a village high atop Mt. Sequib, which is home to indigenous peoples of the Pocum branch of the Mayan culture. Games were played, songs were sung, and 90 pair of new shoes (courtesy of Lexa Keenan and Reebok) were distributed. Our volunteers also gave of their time in visiting two local schools and preparing and serving a meal to more than 30 people at an elderly day shelter. Below are some images and volunteer reflections from our week in Tamahú. Additional stories and reflections will be added to this page and will also be included in our upcoming newsletter!
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Alissa Doherty, one of our April IHSM volunteers, submitted a very beautiful and moving account of our program in Tamahú, Guatemala, titled "Community: A Catalist For Change." Please click here to read our May 2005 Newsletter. Alissa's story begins on Page Two! |
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Nicole Campion
"My trip to Tamahú was inspirational, personal, and wonderful. It is definatly a life-altering trip (for the better!) and my thoughts and images of the trip will forever be with me. It wasn't just a work all the time kind of trip, but a learning experience and I definatly appreiciate everything I have now. I encountered a new spirt in Tamahú -- one that is forgiving and accepting of all people and is not judgemental on your socio-economic status. Tamahú was an amazing trip, and definatly something everyone should experience." |
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Ngoc Pham
"I never thought, since I started High School, that I'd ever travel to another country to help others. After returning from Guatemala, I realized that before I'd been concerned with a lot about me, and now there's just so much more that I can do. Before we all went to Guatemala, when I signed up for the program, the truth was, I thought about how Guatemala would benefit me, not how I can benefit the people. During the trip though, I met some amazing people! When we went to the village in the mountains, I saw a different kind of happiness I never saw before. Growing up in the U.S., you see people get happy when they recieve a materilistic item, but in Tamahú, these people seemed just so happy to have us be there and to have us care. The feeling completely touched me, and that's when I realized I want to do more." |
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Nerissa Duchin
"Going to Tamahú was such an amazing experience. I really enjoyed visiting the school and interacting with kids around my age. The kids were so curious about English and what the U.S. is like, and it was so neat to connect with them and just chat. The people of Tamahú are so welcoming, and I was so touched by the fact that the people are so poor, yet they are always smiling, and they are so generous. This experience has really changed how I view the world, and it has made me realize how little my "problems" matter. Going up to Mt. Sequib and seeing a woman practically in tears after receiving a pair of shoes is a moment I will never forget. I think that for the rest of my life, I will always have the people of Tamahú smiling in the back of my mind whenever I forget how lucky I am or get worked up about something stupid." |
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Cayce Lannon
"It was absolutely amazing. Everywhere I looked I saw beautiful mountains and beautiful people...inside and out. I learned so much on the trip that will stay with me forever. Words cannot express what I experienced in Guatemala, but I know that I will never forget Tamahú and the people whose lives we touched. Building the house was a lot of hard work, but it was so worth it because it was such a huge improvement for the family, and it really felt good to know how much of an impact we had on the people. Just our presence in Tamahú was a blessing for them, and it was wonderful to see the smiles on their faces amid the terrible conditions that they were living in. My experience in Guatemala opened my eyes to so many new things. It made me realize how much good there is to be done in the world and how much one person can do to make a difference." |
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Samantha Fortin
"This trip to Guatemala was the most meaningful and stimulating experience, one I will never forget. I met the most amazing and hardworking people, those both in Tamahú and those volunteering on the trip with me. Everyone in Tamahú was so welcoming and grateful for our presence and assistance. Immediately I fell in love with the culture and all the children. What impacted me the most was how the simplest pleasures brought such great joy to their lives. Although in America we have all the material goods we want, what I desired for was the simplicity I saw in Tamahú. I just loved hearing all the boys and girls playing and having fun with each other, I couldn’t stop smiling the whole trip. Every person in our group worked so hard, but I feel I received much more than I gave. When it came time to leave, it was so hard and difficult for me to say good bye, while holding in my tears. Since I have been home, not one day has passed when I haven’t thought of my memories of Guatemala. I can’t think of any other way I would rather have spent my April vacation then in Tamahú, and I consider myself very blessed in having the opportunity to have been a part of this uplifting experience." |
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Seth Ragosta, IHSM Leader
"Thousands of high school students give many thousands of community service hours every year. No doubt they do wonderful things for others, but very few sacrifice greatly for these often-required projects. Mir Pace takes students to the places forgotten by others, and serves at a level I truly did not expect. I am proud of the effort given by our group for people who have no relation or identification with them. They gave more than I could ask, sometimes when exhausted after a week of a foreign place and no familiar home comforts. Every single time I was certain that I would look back and find the trail empty, 4 or 5 smiles looked back always close behind (or well ahead.) Never in 7 years of leading youth groups on trips and retreats have I encountered an experience that could impart such positive outlooks or a group so engaged in tackling it. My experience with Mir Pace in Guatemala is highlighted by one exchange: the foreman at the work site began the week clearly feeling that the students and our group in general were on vacation and unlikely to do much other than get in the way. Finding us trudging back up the mountain each morning began a change in his attitude. On our departure after a week he stopped me and told me that most people come, lay a brick, take a picture and go play with the kids in the village. Our group did not. He thanked me, and asked me to come back. The Priest in the village later told us that this was a particularly rare and poignant piece of praise from the usually taciturn foreman. I believe the students found a simple appreciation for the vast gap between our lives at home and what millions suffer every day. I am humbled to have had that experience with them, and proud to say I was along for the ride. Books and school can only impart knowledge; wisdom comes from experience. Mir Pace provides an opportunity to grow as a person that far too few of us ever have a chance to experience. I have traveled across the country and world, and never left a place with a sense of accomplishment and edification as strong as that coming from Tamahú, AV, Guatemala. Thank you Mir Pace. Thank you Nickie, Maeve, Alissa, Jack, Nerissa, Sam, John, Cory, Lexa, Cayce, Rosie, Conor, Ngoc, Stephanie, Kara, and Zach." |
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John Fortin, IHSM Leader
The 2005 trip was a huge success in many ways. With only one visit per year from outside organizations such as Mir Pace, the villagers in Tamahú were overjoyed to see the school bus arrive with a group of young and energetic volunteers. The biggest positive impact, however, was on our young volunteers. It was quite amazing to observe such a young and diverse group grow together emotionally, spiritually and physically. While the majority of their peer group vacationed, these kids broke out from the norm, stepped up to a unique set of challenges, and at the end of the day, will reap the rewards over a lifetime. A trip like this requires everyone to quickly adapt to daily challenges, minimize hardships and pull together and operate as a team. It was amazing to see the radiant desire to help those who have nothing and the joy that it brought to everyone's face. I have truly been blessed to have been a part of such a successful and rewarding experience. Many thanks to our other leaders, Eileen and Seth, and to my new friends for living the inspiring words of Gandhi - "be the change you wish to see in the world." |
