New Horizons

By Hannah Benoit

In Guatemala, they say that hope is the last thing to die, and it is very hard to kill.

Alida Adams '08 saw this hope in action early last year when she traveled to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, to work in a shelter for abused women and their children. During her two-month internship, Adams was to work mainly with the children-playing with the younger kids and helping the older ones with their schoolwork.

But she soon realized that the families of Nuevos Horizontes needed more than short-term help. They needed a way to help themselves. The two months turned into seven, and hope turned into a dream fulfilled, when Adams stayed to help the women of the shelter start their own working business-a laundry that would open the doors to dignity and self-reliance.

As an international relations major at Wheaton, Adams had originally planned to study abroad for part of her junior year. Instead, she decided to pursue her interest in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through consecutive internships in Guatemala, Belize and Ecuador. She banked some degree credits by taking summer courses and took a semester's leave from Wheaton beginning in January 2007.

The children of Nuevos Horizontes quickly won her heart, but their living conditions disturbed her. At Wheaton she had studied the social and economic situations in Latin America, yet she was shocked by what she encountered. Adams wrote in an e-mail to friends: "I honestly do not know what has struck me the most: the staggering lack of essentials or the children's overwhelming gratitude for what they do have."

Living mainly on a diet of rice and corn, many of the children were malnourished. Adams spent her own money on bananas and bread for the families' midday snacks. When she helped the children with their homework, she found: "They are all so eager to learn, but it is difficult when there are not enough pencils to go around. If I do not bring paper, the children would have nothing to draw on. I try to bring books in so the children can practice reading, as the shelter has no library of its own."

Nuevos Horizontes is one of only two NGOs in Guatemala providing direct assistance to women escaping domestic violence, according to Inforpress Centroamericana, a news and analysis service. Violence against women, fueled by a patriarchal culture, is rampant, but experts say there are no reliable statistics to measure it fully. Often, women neither seek help nor report the abuse to authorities; they may cover it up or simply consider it "normal" male behavior. Among those who do seek shelter, about 75 percent eventually return to their homes.

Adams wanted to help break the cycle of violence-to make a lasting difference. "After about five weeks, I realized that maybe I was improving the daily lives of the children while I was there, but as soon as I left, would anything really have changed?"

It was a question she couldn't ignore.

Entirely dependent on foreign donors, the shelter had recently lost some of its funding. Adams started talking to United Planet (UP), the Boston-based NGO that had sent her to Guatemala, and to Marlo Mora, UP's Guatemalan coordinator.

"There wasn't always enough food, clothing, school supplies-everything-in the shelter," Adams recalls. "Daily survival was becoming an issue, and that's when we said, 'We need to step up and do something. We can keep sending money, but when the paychecks end, they will be back to square one. They will have nothing.'"

Adams learned that UP had won a grant from the Timberland Foundation to help the women of Nuevos Horizontes become more self-sufficient by starting their own laundry business-but there was no one to help organize the project.

Mora told Adams that UP was seeking someone who had studied American business. She thought they might be willing to pay the person $10,000 to spend six months in Guatemala getting the laundry started.

Adams said, "I don't know anything about American business, but I know a thing or two about how Guatemala works, and the amount of patience you need" to get things done.

She told United Planet she would tackle the job if they would cover her living expenses. Then she canceled her two other internships so she could stay and help develop the laundry.

"In total, they only had to give me about $350US a month," she says. "I lived on $13 a day."

The first order of business was finding a location. After a month of searching and several dead ends, the group found a large space with affordable rent, running water and sufficient electricity. There were further delays as they sought the necessary permits, and then the group had to turn their fixer-upper into a working business.

"The place was full of trash. We had to clean it out and paint it, and I had to hire an electrician, a carpenter, and a plumber," Adams says. "The last week I was there, we bought the equipment."

Adams returned to Wheaton in the fall to begin her senior year, but she continued to help out by working on a marketing plan for the business. In January 2008, she returned to Guatemala to attend the grand opening of Lavandería Planeta Unido.

Although she had a bad fever that day, nothing would stop her from being there. "I gave a speech at the opening," she says. "We had Guatemalan foods, and it was a great inauguration. The local newspapers came and ran photos."

United Planet has agreed to underwrite salaries and rent for the first six months, and the laundry will employ three women at a time.

"Many women will have a chance to work there, make some income, and hopefully learn some skills," Adams says. "Lavandería Planeta Unido has given these women the self-confidence and opportunities to promote self-sustainability."

During her time in Guatemala, Adams fell in love with its people. "I knew the name of the woman who sold me bananas every morning. I became a regular in my favorite cafés. Even complete strangers say hello and offer a little blessing as you pass them in the streets."

She also made many friends through the schools where she studied Spanish and took salsa lessons. "These people stepped up and helped me out with the laundromat project and truly supported me," she says. "They have so much love and pride for their country and culture. I realized that I don't want to change Guatemala at all, just offer the resources I can to the people-they are the ones who should be initiating change in their country."

After graduation, Adams plans to return to Guatemala. She has purchased a one-way plane ticket and already has jobs lined up, one as a waitress and one as a teacher of English, math and science. She knows that societal attitudes change slowly, but she believes in the transforming power of education. That is why she wants to work with young people.

"I can't explain to a 45-year-old man that he shouldn't beat his wife," she says, "but maybe I can help show his 10-year-old son that there are other ways of treating the women in his life."