January 7, 2016 Werner Solarzano

Hope Renewed

Today we visited the Guatemala City dump; “the mine,” as it is called. Standing atop a ridge and overlooking a valley it is easy to see why. They are mining among the garbage that yellow trucks spill, seeking something of value. “They” are the people who work on the Guatemala City dump and who live around the dump. The children of one of the communities around the dump are served by Renewed Hope, a non-profit dedicated on providing pre-school education.

This early stimulation highly increases the chances of success for children as they move into the elementary level. It is service at the grass-roots of the community and it is a service for those who are in the margins of society.

This admirable effort is led by Jeff. His vision is one of empowerment and hope for the future. We had the opportunity to see the infectious enthusiasm of Jeff as he explained to us the main concepts of Renewed Hope and what it is that they are doing in that community. We also had a chance to share some time with the children and play with them.

As it happened, it was the first day of classes for them; for the smallest of them it was their first day of school. One could read the happiness in their faces as we played with the “parachute” and other games. It was bitter sweet, however since the efforts of Renewed Hope are modest (to say the least) when compared to the great inequality and poverty in Guatemala.  One can find comfort, however in Mother Theresa’s quote:

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop”