 The Overview
A few years back, a group of well-meaning
educators formed Las Manos de Christine (The Hands of Christine, for
the linguistic layperson), an NGO dedicated to providing top-shelf
English instruction to less fortunate kids in Guatemala. We decided
that the best way to go about our task was to provide English programs,
quality resources, and professional teachers to non-profits already
engaged in educational combat in Guatemala. So, to begin, we joined
forces with another NGO, Camino
Seguro (Safe Passage), which was founded by Hanely Denning in 1999
to provide educational, nutritional, and medical assistance to the
children living in and around the Guatemala City landfill. The
collaboration turned out to be stellar, and over the last three years,
the children of Camino Seguro have grown to being competitive on the
English section of the national exam. Additionally, Camino Seguro
English Program has gained great support, so much so that the
organization now has the wherewithal to provide its own professional
English staff.
Seeing that Camino had outgrown the need for our
immediate presence, Las Manos's founding guru, Bryant Hand, pledged to
act as a trainer and adviser to the incoming classes of Camino English
teachers, and subsequently, he began a not-so-extensive search, high and
low (but mostly high--about 6000 feet), for the next place where Las
Manos could be of use. It turned out to be Aldea
El Hato, a small village in the mountains above Antigua, located
conveniently next to one of his favorite haunts, Earth Lodge.
In truth, Bryant has great rapport with the owners/operators of Earth
Lodge, "Bri" Havey and "Drew" Shankman, who have spent the past several
years sponsoring the school, assisting them in acquiring every thing
from breakfast fare to a computer lab. After some amiable
negotiations,Bryant, Bri, and Drew decided that, with Earth Lodge's
continued assistance and blessing, Las Manos would next hang its bowler
hat (apologize for the trite English reference) in Aldea El Hato. So,
here we stand in our fourth year of operation and at the dawn of the
next project.
 The
Explanation
Instruction in English might not seem the most useful thing you
could give to a disadvantaged child, especially one in a country already
juggling over twenty indigenous languages, but we believe that the best
way to fight poverty in the long term is through education,
particularly education in a marketable skill such as English. Speaking
English gives access to higher education, scholarships, business
opportunities, and to stable and well-paying jobs in the tourism and
service industries, the likely future of Guatemala as a nation.
Learning "the universal language" will eventually allow these children
the chance to support themselves and their families rather than to spend
their lives relying on charity. Simply put, we go for the "teach a man
to fish" option.
That said, we take pains to avoid being a
cultural wrecking ball. We take on our mission both respecting and
recognizing that all cultures (including our own myriad of
"Western" backgrounds) have value, worthwhile customs, and still room
for conscience expansion. Each student and community is treated as
individual and beyond statistics and stereotypes, owners of different
circumstances, expectations, and methodologies, so we cooperate with and
value local teachers, parents, and the government to provide and
develop the program, salting to their taste, so to speak. Ultimately,
we aim to help students to realize their ability to act as the
difference they'd like to see in their community, country, and the
world, which is why we work towards our own obsolescence
in hopes of leaving our host institution with an established,
sustainable curriculum and student body. Las Manos does not want to
replace one culture or set of values with another, but give these
children a tool to be able to celebrate and share their culture with the
rest of the world.
The Approach
Las Manos, in general, hates
that education and volunteerism
are often pigeon-holed into solely solemn undertakings, driven by
sentiments of guilt and stripped of their intrinsic value of sowing good
feelings in all those involved. Consequently, we promote fun and
smiles and sunshine and rainbows and cornflowers. We strive to have the
children enjoy our classes by including games, activities, and art
projects, as well as cracking the books. We hope to unearth the joy and
excitement that can come from education via creating a fun learning
environment. Furthermore, we, now standing on our own feet in El Hato,
are in the process of implementing after-school
programs where kids and volunteers get to spend afternoons together
enjoying mutual fun-seeking. We invite internationals and locals alike
to join in the great uplift that comes from working with these
children.
In addition, Las Manos recognizes that not all willing
souls can be present participants, so we seek to provide those members
of our little organization with chances to help in other ways, to remain
ingrained in the fabric we are weaving. We publish a monthly
newsletter, conduct annual fund and material raisers, post pictures of
the goings-on (where your contributions reach their fruition), and have
volunteers blog their experiences to allow vicarious living. We can't
all be teachers, we can't all be travelers, but that doesn't mean we
don't all care. We want you all to be active and working parts of our
NGO, our community, and our family. Our theory is that each drop of
goodness we can provide the kids is, well, another drop of goodness, and
that is never a bad thing.
The
Brass Tax 
Ultimately, we love all forms of help:
volunteering, spreading the word, email encouragement, inspirational
songs, contributions of unusual talents, simply reading the newsletter,
telling a friend, and mostly just finding away to be part of our team.
We want you to own your membership and place at the table, to feel like
Las Manos is yours, too, and belongs in your heart just as much as
ours. We don't want any guilt trips to influence you, nor do we wish
you to ever doubt that we appreciate all Las Manos participants, no
matter what their contribution
is. Have a figurative hug on us before you continue, or if you are up
for it, take a jaunt over to Guatemala and come in for the real thing.
That
said, unfortunately, it does cost money to do this, an ugly blemish on
our sunshiny faces. In order to create really good courses, we have to
buy really good materials, as well as find and keep really good teachers
to utilize those materials in the best way possible. Rather than using
our finances on administrative costs, we funnel every thing into
providing the resources and staff for the children to directly benefit
from, proficient and positive people with professional products in
hand. By paying the teachers small stipend of sustenance, we can ensure
that the teachers don't starve and that the children develop long-term
relationships and have stability in the classroom, which is why
permanent employees are asked to commit a full year with the NGO.
Las Manos de Christine is a registered NGO in the United States,
complete with official government granted status. We are set up to
receive donations
via PayPal and the old fashion way (by mailing a check or money order).
We've made it easy for you. Simply follow the instructions to come:
To donate online...
Please click the
link below to donate using paypal.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7133791
To Donate the old fashion way...
Make out your check or money order to Las
Manos de Christine, and
send your donation to 824 Canterbury Arc,
Las Cruces N.M. 88005.
* Please include your address so that
we can send you your tax deductible receipt.
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