Sponsor's report: Little Ants!
08/11/2007
In the middle of a place that looks partly desolated and partly olive green from snow pea crops, one can find the "Little Ants of Rexajú". This is a new community centre for 65 children in the Patzún locality which was initiated by the local SOS Children family strengthening programme.
Little Ants of Rexajú
On 19 March 2007, a new community centre took up its activities in the Cojubal community in Patzún, around 60 km west of Guatemala City. The name of the centre is "Little Ants of Rexajú" because the community members describe themselves as hard-working and tireless just like ants, and in order to honour Reginaldo Xajpot Ajú, the charismatic community leader who has been striving to improve the cummunity's living conditions for years.
Most people in the Cojubal community - men and women - have to perform very hard labour: they are working in the snow pea crops. Every Monday and Thursday they have to deliver large quantities of product. During such periods, they can hardly go home. Subsequently, their children used to receive little attention, as there was no facility to host them and nobody to look after them.
When SOS Children made the proposal to establish a community centre, the community members accepted immediately. A suitable place for the centre was found in the shape of several unused classrooms at the local school. These rooms were provided to the community for free.
A look inside the new centre
Like all such community centres, the new centre is basically managed by the community; The family strengthening programme of SOS Children helps the centre by providing financial support as well as training and consulting in various respects. 65 children are looked after at the centre. They have a big place for taking lessons and there is enough space for playing during breaks.
The children attending the centre are divided into three age groups. Six community women/mothers are in charge of taking care of the groups. The new job and the related activities have a positive impact on these women's development and empowerment, which is particularly remarkable in a society that is widely characterised by male chauvinism.
Community mother Mayra Alonzo is taking care of the smallest children for whom it is sometimes hard to stay in the community centre because they miss their mothers. Mayra found a good solution to a 'mood problem' within her group: "I am carrying one of the boys on my back, because when I take him out [of his cradle">, he stops crying and if I leave him inside, the other children see him crying and they begin to cry as well".
When five-year-old Elida who attends group 3 - the class of the eldest children - met a group of adults visiting the centre, she greeted them, got closer and said with a shy and low voice, "Thank you for my atole!" [a traditional cornstarch-based hot drink">. Considering that the children were not used to express their feelings before, this is a sign of a very positive development initiated by the community centre.
The activities of SOS Children Patzún started in January 2007. "Little Ants of Rexajú" is one of currently two community centres which were initiated and are accompanied by the family strengthening programme based at the SOS Social Centre Patzún.
Relevant Countries: Guatemala.