2/12/2015 Antigua y Guatemala City

We got up early this morning and headed out to find the address of Safe Passage in Antigua. We walked to the right street and started walking north because the numbers got smaller in that direction and we were looking for number 4. We found door number 5 then a blank door and then number 3D. The blank door was a garage door that didn’t look inviting. We continued north another block and found number 4 on another garage door. As it was our appointed time there should’ve been something saying come in we didn’t knock. I walked up to the next block. I found on one side of the street a sign for Hermano Pedro street, our street, directly across from it was a sign for La Concepcion street. The street had two names on this block to my astonishment. I walked back to Jill and we commiserated about our fruitless search. We went back to the first door and saw a group in the street three doors down. We approached and asked where Safe Passage was. Apparently they’ve had the question before because we were quickly pointed 2 blocks south of where we started. The numbers continued growing to the twenties and then suddenly we came to number 4. It is across the street from a rather large ornate church that would’ve made an excellent landmark had we been informed of it.
Anyway, we found 3 folks and our guide getting ready to watch a video about the project. It is an extra on the dvd of the movie Recycled Life, if you want to see it. The founder of the project is Hanley Denning, who came to Guatemala in 1997 to learn Spanish. On a field trip to some of the impoverished areas in Guatemala City she saw the garbage dump. There are hundreds of families that were living in the dump and scavenging recyclables and food from it. The families of 5 or more make about $25 a month selling the plastic, glass, metal, and goods they get. Safe Passage started as a place for some of the youngest children to go to during the day. Today it has expanded to become a preschool, elementary school, high school, and adult education program. They continue to grow to serve more of the most needy. We visited all the buildings, I think, and had lunch at the high school. Lunch was vegetable stew with rice and a couple tortillas. By chance it was a vegetarian meal. The city was fascinating. We went to the cemetery for a good view of the dump. Everyone is interred above ground in crypts. One highlight of the income disparity was a two story pharaonic themed mausoleum next to something like a card catalog of coffins where descendants must pay the rent or the coffin faces eviction. Safe Passage is a great program and it is funded through donations so check it out. Hanley Denning died in a car accident in 2007 and it is a testament to the project that it has so many dedicated people to carry on her torch.
Joining the volunteers here crossed our minds. Jill and I are ready to move on for now though. It’s undeniable that Guatemala has grown on us though. Perhaps we’ve found a reason to return someday.