New Lives for 150 Women of the Guatemala City Dump

With the new year comes a new and exciting program for Creamos - Adult Education! This month marks the transition of the Adult Education program from Safe Passage (our sister organization) to Creamos. Far from a pilot program, Adult Education has been implemented by Safe Passage since 2006 and has supported hundreds of adult learners on their paths towards elementary, middle and high school graduation. Through a recent restructuring of organizational priorities, these two organizations made the decision to transfer oversight and implementation of the adult education program due to its strong alignment with the Creamos mission. We’re honored to provide this important program for approximately 60 community members - both women and men - many of whom have been prohibited from pursuing their educational dreams due to the economic pressures of the garbage dump community.

Working closely with the Guatemalan Ministry of Education, Creamos’ new education department will teach traditional elementary, middle and high school classes in addition to a variety of independent and culturally relevant courses. These courses, including financial literacy, functional literacy, English, university preparation, computation, and a “Reading to Your Children” program, are intended to complement the traditional subject matter offered through the government-mandated curricula. Further, acknowledging the tumultuous nature of our community and the likelihood that our adult learners may be required to take breaks from their studies on occasion, we’re also excited to provide a tutoring program. This program will provide essential one-on-one support for all participants who request it. Through this multi-layered approach, we’re hopeful our students will be better prepared to achieve lifelong financial, emotional and physical stability for themselves and their families.

While we’re thrilled to be able to provide this vital opportunity for the women enrolled in our programs, we’re excited to expand our reach and invite other community members to further their studies with us. Recently, a group of men in the community have expressed an interest in continuing their studies in order to obtain formal employment. In response, we’ll be restarting an all-male evening class for approximately 15 men eager to continue their studies. In partnership with an external organization, we’ll also offer Gentle Masculinity workshops through which our male students will explore healthy and respectful ways to express themselves. Further, we are looking forward to partnering with another local NGO to recruit teenage moms in the community who’ve been drawn away from their studies due to parental responsibilities. And last but not least, we remain committed to providing educational opportunities for our senior population, most of whom never had the opportunity to study at all. These women, who have been with us since our founding, have demonstrated their commitment to ongoing education and setting an example for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. While they may be too old to work in the formal sector or return to a traditional school setting, these women continue to show up each week with an unwavering dedication to personal growth. By providing a safe space for non-traditional learners, we’re committed to making sure no one in our community is excluded from achieving their dreams. 

Creamos enters this chapter with a refreshing combination of new and veteran team members, all of whom have demonstrated a great amount of enthusiasm for the integration of adult education. As an organization, we enter this year with humility, and an open mind to learn from our participants how to further grow the education program. 

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Living in an area as unstable and tumultuous as the community surrounding the Guatemala City garbage dump inevitably leads to loss for our participants. Since Creamos’ founding, we have sadly witnessed not only significant loss and bereavement, but an absence of the physical space and coping resources to support our grieving participants. This year, Creamos’ emotional support team (called Creamos Voces) identified several women in our program who were resorting to unhealthy habits to reduce the pain of loss. After recognizing this need, the organization developed a culturally appropriate, grief support group for those affected. Group participants were carefully selected and prepped for the dynamics and topics that were going to be covered.

The first few sessions of the group were dedicated to identifying and exploring current coping mechanisms that our participants were using. During these sessions, many participants disclosed engaging in unhealthy habits to reduce the pain of their loss, including substance use, and isolation. Many also noted that they carried profound feelings of guilt, while others expressed feeling as though they were “being punished.”

Although the atmosphere within the grief group was markedly morose and somber at the outset, the group produced some of the most beautiful and positive outcomes we’ve ever seen at Creamos throughout their eight week program. For the first time, our participants were able to validate the pain they had felt as a result of the death of a loved one, some of whom had been carrying this pain for more than ten years. With the guidance of our organization’s psychologist, the women learned about the stages of grief, and strategies for communicating their personal needs, anger and sadness in a way that doesn’t hurt others. As the group progressed, we began to see our participants’ pain shift and allow them to become present and compassionate mothers. We also saw them come to support each other without feeling judged in their own process.

One of the most impactful participants in the grief group was a woman who we’ll call “Momma X”. Although Momma X knew it was the right decision to leave her husband for the safety of her children, she always feared that leaving him would lead to his death due to the severity of his substance abuse. A week before the group started, Momma X’s husband died. She arrived to the first day of the grief group convinced that she was responsible for his death, along with other conflicting emotions. However, throughout the program, she found solace and comfort through the support of her peers. Her feelings of guilt began to morph into feelings of acceptance, and she was able to understand that his death was not tied to anything she did or didn’t do. Ultimately, Momma X stated that the group allowed her to move to a new chapter of her life, and made her feel confident that she had the tools to process future loss.

On the last day of the grief group, participants engaged in a group meditation during which they imagined what type of advice would they give to their future selves. The messages were filled with hope, including “You are going to be okay” and “I am loved and that is enough.”

What we’ve learned through facilitating the pilot grief group is that our women are more resilient than we had ever imagined. Despite the loss that our participants experience, they continue to do the work to make themselves better. They continue to study, to work in jobs that challenge them, and to be the best mothers they can be for their children.