By Jeannie Balanda | Executive DIrector
Sometimes girls need a break from the rigors of school and moms need a break from the daily grind. That's just what they get when they host visitors from the United States!
In January, MayaWorks' Rosa Moya Center hosted a group of upperclasswomen of the Castilleja School. Castilleja ia an independent school for girls in grades six through twelve in the San Francisco Bay area. MayaWorks' scholarship recipients organized activities for the visitors that helped them understand Guatemalan cultue and the pace of daily life in a rural, developing country.
Rosa Moya students educated their visitors about Comalapa's history by showing them the student-designed mural project. They learned about the town's customs, its devestation by earthquakes and even about it's dark days of violence during Guatemala's 36 year civil war.
Mom's also participated! They invited the girls to their homes and taught them how to make tortillas. They explained the importance of the tortilla in the Guatemalan diet and made a typical Guatemalan lunch for the Castilleja girls.
There was lots of fun too! The Rosa Moya students prepared a piñata for their visitors who loved the custom of beating the piñata with a stick while blindfolded. The shower of candy was an added bonus!
Creating opportunites for girls to meet young people their age from other cultures serves to widen their horizons and provides them a global insight to the world. We've seen that it piques girls interest about the possibilties beyond their small communities. Moms love making connections with people from far away who appreciate and respect their traditional indigenous culture.
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