1. An update on the last few months
The world certainly has changed, hasn't it? 2020 promised to be one of Long Way Home's most promising years in terms of organizational growth and development and then COVID-19 hit and our plans had to be altered. On March 16th, it was announced that the government of Guatemala was going to start implementing measures to protect its citizens, including canceling all non-essential activities and shutting down borders.
This announcement came in the midst of our fourth Green Building Academy, and we made the decision to cancel the remainder of the academy. This meant saying goodbye to our students and interns, all of whom made the decision to return home.
Later that month the majority of our international team returned to their homes while our Executive Director, Matt, and our Green Building Academy instructor, Peter, remained in Comalapa to oversee the successful suspension of local operations and current projects. Although our international team has returned to their homes, they continue to work diligently to ensure that Long Way Home continues to be successful.
2. The future of experiential programs
It is after much deliberation and discussion between our organizational team, board, and the local community that we have made the decision to suspend all programming at Long Way Home until September 2020. Suspended programs include all regular volunteer programs as well as our July Green Building Academy. In August, we will re-examine the situation and decide if it is safe to welcome volunteers back to campus.
Our decision comes based on CDC guidelines, a look at international travel bans, and the situation in Guatemala. We are incredibly disappointed not to be able to welcome volunteers and students to our site at this time but feel that with the added unknowns of international travel and border crossings, as well as the omnipresent unknown of COVID-19, we are not able to assure that guests will be able to make their way to Comalapa and safely learn and grow in the experience.
We know that there will be a time that social distancing is not necessary, borders will again be open for travel, and there is a clear way out of the current situation. We are very much looking forward to this and will be ready to welcome volunteers and students. Until that happens, we look forward to connecting with our community via social media and e-mails.
3. Our commitment to employment
The human nature of our work and the unprecedented nature of this pandemic means that Long Way Home will put all of our resources into supporting our local community through this difficult time and ensuring, as much as possible, that our local builders, teachers, and staff are able to stay home with their families until it is safe for them to return to our school and construction site.
CETC and LWH may have suspended traditional operations, but our teachers are hard at work helping their community by providing masks to community members in need! See below for photos of our teachers hard at work!
4. Some good news!
Although we are sad to have closed our programs, we have a lot to celebrate! In April we participated in GlobalGiving's Climate Change Action Fund in an effort to raise funds for supporting our impact in the community of Comalapa. Over the course of one week, we raised a jaw-dropping $10,593 to support Long Way Home operations! We received donations from 159 unique donors, placing us in 6th place out of 127 competing organizations! Although we were ultimately not one of the top 5 organizations that moved on to the final round, we were incredibly touched by the support and love coming from donors like you!
5. What comes next?
We are adapting our yearly Rubbish to Runway campaign to an online format and making it internationally accessible! This is very exciting for us, as Rubbish to Runway is one of our most talked about and beloved events. The event encourages people to practice sustainability and explore alternative methods of waste management.
Using the rubbish in their homes, designers will create high fashion outfits and take a video of themselves walking down the runway! Videos and pictures of their outfits will be put together in a video and released during a live stream on Sunday, July 26th at 7 pm EST. There is still time to participate in this challenge for anyone who is interested! Simply go to our website for more details!
1. CETC in 2020
Since we last spoke with you all, exciting things have happened at CETC. We celebrated the first-ever CETC high school graduation on November 10th! Twelve out of twelve grade 11 students completed all requirements to receive their Bachillerato Diversificado diploma. Ten of the graduates will go on to study in university and we are working with the other two to find ways to help them with the monthly tuition. For the campus, we raised over $8,000 during Giving Tuesday to complete the construction of the cafeteria and teacher's lounge in 2020! As always, we were excited to welcome back students to campus in January for the start of the 2020 school year. CETC will serve 121 students this year. There is a lot of inspiring work ahead for the students, including continuing to build stoves, latrines, water tanks, and retaining walls for families in need in Comalapa and surrounding villages.
2. Fundraising for LWH at Nobles and Greenough
Tulasi and John Henry are two 15 year old students from Noble and Greenough School in Massachusetts. They were 14 when, through the Experiential & Community Engaged Learning (EXCEL) program at their school, decided to join a service trip to Guatemala in the Spring of 2019.
When asked about what impacted them the most about their experience working with Long Way Home (LWH), they responded almost in unison: helping to build someone’s home. During their time in Comalapa, they learned the basics on how to build a sustainable house out of trash, using unconventional materials like used tires, eco-bricks, glass bottles and cob. They also had the opportunity to talk and interact with the students at our school, Centro Educativo Técnico Chixot (CETC), and play soccer and other games with them.
Traveling to Central America as teenagers
For John Henry, the trip was all about learning how to make a difference and help in whatever way he could. “Yes, we are teenagers, but there are some things we can start doing to make this world a better place”, he says. For him, joining a service trip was far more interesting than conventional tourism, because “we got to experience [Guatemala] in a deeper way, there was a purpose”.
For Tulasi, the idea of coming to Central America was a little scary at first, especially for her parents. “A lot of what we know about Central and Latin America comes from the news, and there you see a lot of negative things… but then you get there, and you realize it’s not as bad as they portray it in the media. The media definitely over hypes it”, she says.
It was also interesting for them to learn about the United States influence in Central America. “We learn about this in school, but not in depth. And I think that explains a lot of the media hype”, shares John Henry. “Central America is beautiful, with amazing people… and the views! Incredible views!”, he reminisces before concluding that “every country has its risks, but that shouldn’t stop you from exploring the world”.
Fundraising efforts
After their trip, Tulasi and John Henry decided to team up and continue supporting LWH. They set up a club at their school and started planning different activities to raise money for the organization, while creating awareness in their community. “The work that we saw there was really eco-friendly architecture, which was amazing. But it’s also about community and education”, says John Henry. “It was really inspiring to hear Matt talk about education in democracy”, adds Tulasi. “In my family we really value education. That is one of the most important values: better education for a better future. And if we can help give that to the kids at CETC, then we will.”
With their first fundraising effort, a bake sale back in November 2019, they raised about $230 for LWH. The next month, they spoke about LWH’s mission and work at a school assembly to encourage people to make a donation for Giving Tuesday on December 3. Currently, they are planning another bake sale for Valentine’s Day and are hopeful that they can soon come back to Guatemala and continue helping. “It is a lifelong cause, so it doesn’t make sense to stop.”
About Nobles EXCEL
Nobles EXCEL is an experiential learning program that helps students become responsible, empathic and skilled global citizens, as they develop resilience, creativity and character in a variety of contexts. It encompasses a wide variety of programs revolving around service, cross cultural immersion and hands-on learning in and out of the classroom. Nobles has built partnerships with more than 100 organizations around the world. We are thrilled to be part of this movement and to have the opportunity to challenge their students to develop new skills, see the world from a different perspective, and develop their best selves, while serving communities and discovering the wonders of travel.
Like this content? Stay tuned as our Annual Report will be released on our website by March 1st!
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Green Building News
Volunteer Feature:
In these past months we have been busy pounding tires and building glass bottle walls here on the construction site. A diverse cast of enthusiastic international volunteers, has helped the work to go quickly and smoothly! Thank you to Deide from the Netherlands, Perla from the USA, Melanie from France, Magdy from the UK, and Sandra from Mexico. We also hosted a group from Naropa University’s LeapYear program, who contributed seven more sets of muscles during their two week stay with us. Talk about team bonding!
There’s no better way to start a three month alternative semester than jumping into a trench and pounding dirt and trash into tires to construct a retaining wall. If you’re interested in learning about and contributing muscles to an innovative non-profit, join us as an individual volunteer or bring a volunteer group. You can contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@lwhome.org to sort out the logistics!
We’ve also been busy putting the finishing touches on the July 2019 Academy house. Check out the photos below to see how the space is coming together!
Education News
The Guatemalan school year has come to a close. Looking back on the 2019 school year, we’re incredibly proud of our students and their accomplishments. This year, students led the construction of 19 tinacos (water tanks), 3 compost latrines,1 stove, and 1 tire retaining wall. These projects benefit families identified in the student led living conditions survey.
In addition to the school projects, CETC students took home awards in local academic competitions. In a math and language competition between 15 other schools in Comalapa, CETC students won first place for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades and second place for 5th grade! A week later, CETC kindergarten, 5th grade, and 11th graders took home first place in the Comalapan Science Fair and went on to represent Comalapa in the Chimaltenango Departmental Science Fair.
Community News
In 2020, EWB University of Minnesota and LWH will begin their next piped water project. The work will be focused in the community of Chiri Juyu, an aldea (village) just east of Comalapa’s central neighborhoods. In 2020, LWH will support EWB as it assesses the state of household piped water connection and potential project designs. You can see the impact of our last project with EWB in this video.
We’ve launched into the school break months and holiday season here in Comalapa. Starting off the fun was Día de los Santos (All Saints Day) on November 2nd. Families celebrated this holiday in the local cemetery with their loved ones (alive and ancestral). In the cemetery families brought food, flew kites and hung out all day (some arriving to the cemetery at 5am and some leaving after 8pm). Its beautiful to see the strength of the Comalapan community during this time of year.
NGO News
Mark your calendars for this year’s #GivingTuesday on December 3rd! In this season of gratitude, we hope that you consider giving to LWH and help us continue to grow powerful education and economic opportunities. This year, our #GivingTuesday campaign will be focused on raising money to complete our CETC campus cafeteria and teacher’s lounge. Our goal, $8,000. The impact, two buildings that repurpose plastic, tire, and glass waste into welcoming spaces for teachers and students to gather and strengthen community. Learn more about our #GivingTuesday campaign and how you can become a LWH Giving Tuesday Ambassador!
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Green Building Update - Academy Success
We held our third Academy this past July, focusing building on a third house on the Peren property. 7 full time and 4 part time students joined us from the US, the UK, Mexico, and Guatemala to build an entire house from the ground up. Peter McIntosh from Natural Building Collective lead the in-class and on-site practical sessions while Matt, Adam, Roberto and Hugo led hands-on construction sessions.
Roberto Peren, our construction team leader, has taken a leap with his family. He has invested in the LWH building process, demonstrating for the Comalapan community that a house made from "trash" can be beautiful as well as produce a positive impact on the local environment. Roberto and the LWH team are on the frontline of making sustainable and resilient housing available in low-resourced and climate-stressed communities. Click here for the overview video.
Education Update - CETC Seniors' Final Projects
Over the course of 10 days, our CETC seniors (7 boys and 5 girls) completed their grade level projects - two dry compost latrines. The two latrines were built for and with two families in the neighboring village of Xiquin Sanaii. The families were identified from the student-led living conditions survey conducted in 2017. 4 Bachillerato teachers alongside 3 of our green builders supervised the builds.
These projects embody purpose-based education, youth led community development, and interdisciplinary teamwork. Students, builders, teachers, and Xiquin community members came together to implement a sustainable solution to a local challenge.
Community Update –
Paraxaj Water Project
A piped water system is now delivering clean water to 1,200 people in Parajax, Guatemala - a neighboring village of Comalapa!
Engineers Without Borders University of Minnesota Chapter partnered with LWH and Parajax to install the piped water system. LWH's five prior project partnerships with EWB Minnesota have delivered piped water to nearly 1,000 families. Click here for the overview video.
Campus Repaving Project
The CETC Parent's Committee has completed three phases of the campus repaving project, using recycled cobblestones from town. Now three key walkways are paved! This will significantly reduce dust, creating a safer environment for kids to breathe and play. Click here for the overview video.
We would like to thank donors, Heidi and Austin Spinella, for their generous support of this campus development project! .
Non-Profit Update
2017 -2018 Annual Report Released!
After much anticipation, here is a review of the work completed by LWH from 2017-2018. We're grateful for the successes and lessons learned from these years. Look out for a 2019 Annual Report release in February 2020! Read the full report here.
LWH Visionaries Documentary
The Visionaries documentary episode "Green Building - A Long Way from Home" is showing on more and more public TV stations across the US! Check out the schedule here and/or check out the full episode in the link below.
If you feel inspired by the work we're doing to generate economic opportuinity and resilient systems in climate-stressed communities, invest with us by becoming a recurring donor.
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We greatly appreciate your ongoing support of Long Way Home! Your donations help us to continue to carry out our mission to construct self-sufficient schools and houses, primarily serving children and families in the highlands town and surrounding villages of San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala. Read below to see how your support is manifesting into impactful and meaningful action in Comalapa.
March
In our 2nd Green Building Academy in March, our builders and students from around the world constructed a house using key green building materials - tires, cob, glass bottles, eco-bricks, and bamboo to name a few. This house was designed for a local family and will be ready for move-in by July. Our Academy students loved diving into classroom and applied learning on the subject of green building as well as a month of meaningful intercultural exchange. The month of building concluded with the roof and walls completed and window and door frames installed in the house. It is now ready for electric installations and finishing touches to the inside and outside.
Also in late March, LWH welcomed back the Viv corporate service group. Lead by Centro Educativo Tecnico Chixot students, this group helped to build 18 water tanks for families in need in the mountain village of Xiquin Sanai. This three-day service project was a great success for all. Thank you to Viv, the CETC middle and high school students and their teachers, and our local green building construction team for contributing muscles and minds to addressing the need for clean water storage in Xiquin!
April
In April, we started partnering with FUNDATED, a Guatemalan organization specializing in empowering vulnerable people and communities. The FUNDATED team coached our teachers on how to detect learning challenges for students and provide early psycho-social support for students. The goal is to offer direct help to our students who need it the most.
Another big step forward for campus construction is in progress right now. In April, Long Way Home builders, teachers, and parents collected thousands of cobble stones from the town square and are now using them to pave the walkways in front of classrooms. These cobble stones were made available to the public after the local government decided to repave town roads. This is another perfect example of how we repurpose local materials into our one-of-a-kind campus.
May
This past May, CETC 11th grade high school student, Joseline Morales, won the title of “Princess of Art” at the Rumial Qa Tinamit Celebration in Comalapa. In front of a big crowd in Comalapa's central park, she spoke about the emancipation of indigenous women and their rights to participate in political and social debates.
June
Finally, our construction of a Health Center for people living in the danger zone of Volcano Fuego in Santa Maria Sibaja is in its final phase and projected to be completed by June 2019. More than 3,000 eco-bricks and 300 tires have been used in this bamboo-structured clinic. The clinic includes two medical service rooms, an administration and entrance lobby, a storage room for medical equipment, and sanitary restrooms. We thank GlobalGiving for the grant to make this project possible.
As 2019 carrys on, please consider supporting our school further as we excitedly continue expansion of the campus, students served, and grades offered. We appreciate your support and always enjoy the opportunity to share our stories with you - the people that help make them possible!
With gratitude for your contributions to our organization, mission, and community,
The Long Way Home Team
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