Programs - The Lilly Project

“Today at orientation I found out that my placement is the most challenging of all the placements and that many volunteers don’t last more than a week before they request to change placements. Our coordinator told me that the conditions I will see are staggering and that it will be very life changing. Although I know that it will be very hard and emotionally draining, I will not give up. The orphanage is is os undefunded and desperately needs volunteers. I refuse to give up on a pupulation that much of society has written off. I hope that I am able to make the lives of the children better, even if just for 3 weeks.”

Today was the first day of placement. The orphanage is very different from any American facilities I have ever seen. Upon walking into the building I was immediately overcome with what I saw and smelled. The children at this facility are malnourished, I don’t think I have ever seen such skinny children. The children are also missing patches of hair and most if not all of their teeth.I think one may even have a tumor. It is hard to tell the age of some of the children because their growth has been stunted due to the malnourishment.

I truly believe that many of the children here would be much more advanced if they had more of a chance to learn, there was no stimulation for the children at all. Children should not have to live in these conditions, especially children with disabilities who have been abandoned and abused. The child that I work with in the U.S. has autism and comes from a very poor family, but despite this he gets tutoring from therapists 5 out of 7 days a week, attends 2 speech clinics, and attends a top preschool for children with disabilities. The government funds all of this for him. I keep asking myself why these children are so neglected by the country. I am determined to improve the lives of the children as much as I can while I’m here and give all my love.

“Today I had a history lesson through prospective programming. It was made clear that the government is very corrupt with 65% of it’s population in poverty. 10 families in Guatemala have all of the money and control everything. The majority of the population here is indigino, yet they are the most suppressed and impoverished. Many of the indigenous in the countryside fear being kidnapped for human trafficking. More than 45% of the population is illiterate, they live in shanty towns filled with trash in their homes made of scrap metal. There are no homeless shelters in Guatemala. Everyday the rich here are getting richer and the poor becoming poorer. The poorest of poor in the U.S. are nothing like the poor here.”

6/24/06
Its been a week since I left Guatemala. I find that many things that had one been important to me no longer are. I have tried to explain my experience to my friends and family, but they don’t truly understand. I think that is one of the hardest things, because no amount of words can truly describe it. There have been a few nights that I have just broken down and have felt immense feelings of guilt. I have been feeling guilty for leaving the children, and leaving them to come back to a life of luxury. I guess all I can do is recognize that I am lucky for what I have and to use it to help others. Everyone in America takes so much for granted. As a culture we are so wasteful. Now I never put more food on my plate than I need, and I really appreciate the things that we have. I always think about the day in Guatemala, when there was a big event to celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the first public library. I remember feeling amazed that in Guatemala libraries are so few and far between. I have also learned to slow down and take time for others, family and friends are the most important things to the Guatemalans. In America, you can say that you truly feel for the less fortunate, and they you understand, but you don’t truly understand until you see it, live it, and experience it.