Hey everyone, it's been a really good, but really long day. The whole group split up into three smaller ones, and our group got to repeat the two hour hike up one of the mountains. Today, we began to dig the foundation for a new home for a family. The family had a bunch of really adorable, entertaining kids that were wicked fun to play with on our breaks. Luckily we made it down before the downpours started. We have the rest of the day to blog, visit the malnutriton center, play soccer with the kids, and just experience Tamahu. We are so lucky to be here and have this experience.  Miss everyone back home, but this is so worth it, such an unforgettable experience. :)

- Sheila and Nicole
P.S. Cori and Jane say hello and their day was awesome too!

¡Hola! After a long night of rain, and losing shoes in the flash floods we woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine. Today our plan was to check out all the sites that we are going to be working on. After a delicous breakfast, we started our first trek up to our first site. The first hike was two hours away, but with beautiful views. When we finally reached the top of the mountain, we met one of the family that we are going to build a home for. One of the children is blind and can not walk or talk. When we came down we finally got to have lunch, as we started to leave for our next expedition it started to thunder. As of right now, we are just hanging out at the school yard playing soccer and basketball. While some of the students went to the malnutrition center visiting the kids. Hope you are enjoying life in Scituate and Sharon! -jillian, jane, kelly, and cori.

p.s. Good luck to my sister Katie who is running the Boston Marathon tomorrow! I am sure you will keep up with the world ranked runners! - love, jillian.

We've arrived!

After a long day of endless flights, we finally arrived late last night in Guatemala City, at the Biltmore Hotel. We all got a long, well-deserved sleep in the comfort of the hotel last night as well, and today we will begin the long 5-6 hour bus ride to our final destination---Tamahú! But first.... we all enjoy a hearty Guatemalan version of a Continental breakfast! Blogs will continue to follow our trip's highlights in the coming days. ¡Adios!


- Olivia and Nicole DiPietrantonio

Tamahu 2012!

After months of preparations, lots of fundraising, and gathering vitamins and CHOCOLATE :D, our 22 high school student volunteers and six group leaders are very excited to make our way to Tamahu on Friday! We are looking forward to seeing our beloved friends and to serve them with open hearts, warm smiles, and great big hugs!  


To follow our week of service and fellowship, check this blog daily beginning on Saturday (April 14).  If we are able, we will also upload photos along with our posts.


Please keep us and the people of Tamahu in your prayers!

Our team has just arrived at the Biltmore Hotel in Guatemala City. We are tired from the long trip from Tamahú, but we´re having a lot of fun shopping in the hotel for souvenirs for ourselves, families and friends, as well as hanging out by the pool with everyone. A part of the trip has not been discussed on this blog. It was a very big important part that definitely should be shared. One part of the trip that everyone participated was going to see the newly opened malnutrition center in Tamahú. It was opened the week before we arrived and it offers a great help and hope for the families and children it attends for. The malnutrition center is a hugely important aspect to Tamahú because it is a center for young children who are very poor in health due to the bad nutrition and insufficient balanced diet. We met five children there. One was named Marvin and is an adorable little toddler but sadly has a horrible case of worms. He was by far the friendliest and always has a smile on his face. Another was a small baby who was both blind and deaf and had scabies all over his face. Claudia and Mira were two small babies who were severely premature due to the malnurishment. Norman was a little boy we met with his mother during our visit was is severely disabled neurologically. It was a sad sight to see, but we were all able to take out of it many happy memories.

Nicole

Heading back to Guatemala City

Hi everyone - this is Ms. Hallihan. Our busy schedule yesterday did not allow us to blog (as we were busy saying our goodbyes and sharing time together). It has been an amazing week full of discoveries, challenges, language lessons, and plenty of laughter. We do not have much time now to share stories but wanted to let you know that all is well. We are headed back to Guatemala City now and will be headed back to the US in the morning...with plenty of stories to share with you! Hope all is well in the Northeast.

Tuesday in Tamahu!!!

Today was definitely taxing but we all had a great tim! The day began with our usual breakfast ...today it was pancakes and cereal! Right after breakfast we headed off to the church to get our supplies for stove building and wall covering. While meany of us were already tired, the day was just beginning! Next our guide arrived and brought us on our hike up the mountain. We soon learned that we were REALLY going up the mountain. About an hour and lots of sweat later we arrived at our destination and got to work. It was so fun to meet the families and play with the kids, who could not be any more excited. We are able to see what life is really like for them by peering into their houses. Many have no stoves at all, which leaves them cooking on te ground and threatening their childrens safety. In addition, the walls are planks that are sometimes nailed together, sometines tied with string, subjecting the families to drafts and rain. It is no wonder they are so sick! Our group split up and in total we were able to biold 5 stoves and cover 6 walls. The people are so grateful, and it makes us so happy to know that we are making a differene in their lives. When it comes to the kids, their memories of playing with us will last them a lifetime. WHen it comes to the adults, and the families in general, these stopes and plastic wall coverings will hopefully make a huge difference in their health and productivity. We returned for lunch exhausted, but many of us soon set off again for soccer, the shops, and other fun. Overall, it was a great day, and we are happy to be in Tamahu! Adios!
Helen and Bridgit