Williams informed the Dighton students that Guatemala is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. She also said the country's infant mortality rate is also amongst the highest, as over 60 percent of infants with dysentery will die from it. "That's because Guatemalan parents don't bathe their children when they're sick," Williams explained. "Old habits die hard." The Peace Corps' Healthy School requirements include the availability of clean water, health lessons, a healthy snack, a healthy kitchen and multiple faucets. Thirty-five schools in the Healthy Schools program are split between Williams and one other volunteer. For this work, Williams receives a monthly salary of about $305, an amount that adequately sustains her needs in the village where she resides. "We believe that with this program we are changing the future of Guatemala, because if these children practice healthy habits, then their children will practice them and their children will too," she said. The educative process starts with superintendants and principals, who pass on the information to teachers, who will then instruct their students on healthy practices like hand washing, bathing and dental care. Although Williams gave a lengthy description of her work in the schools, Dighton seventh graders were most intrigued by the similarities and differences between their everyday lives and the lives of their Guatemalan peers. The girls giggled in excitement to hear that their beloved pop star, Justin Bieber, was also a teen favorite in Guatemala. The boys were likewise in awe of Williams' explanation of a game similar to field hockey in which competitors fling a ball of fire, not plastic, to and fro.
Peace Corps volunteer Grace Williams combats poor conditions in Guatemala
Dighton Peace Corps volunteer combats poor conditions in South America
By CASEY NILSSON
Staff Writer
Posted Dec 28, 2010 @ 11:39 PM
DIGHTON -
'You're halfway through a year that already puts you ahead of most Guatemalan children in education. Any education after 6th grade is usually too expensive for families," Peace Corps volunteer Grace Williams said to Dighton seventh graders last Wednesday morning.
Williams, a Dighton Middle School alumna, was invited to speak by her former Spanish teacher Elaine Sylvestre on her Peace Corps work in the mountains of Guatemala.
Williams is halfway through her 27-month term and was home on annual leave for the holidays.
After graduation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Williams, like most of her peers, was hoping to attend graduate school. But although she had to forfeit her stateside plans to work in Guatemalan primary schools, Williams is satisfied with her choices.
Dressed for the presentation in a red and white embroidered traje, the traditional Guatemalan garb for women, she said, "I joined the Peace Corps for a number of reasons: It was something different, I would be giving myself to something else, and it was the perfect timing. I'm young, single, and actually able to commit to it."
The bulk of Williams' presentation focused on her work in Guatemalan schools. She is part of the Peace Corps' Healthy Schools program, which is centered on making Guatemalan schools healthier.
Williams informed the Dighton students that Guatemala is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. She also said the country's infant mortality rate is also amongst the highest, as over 60 percent of infants with dysentery will die from it. "That's because Guatemalan parents don't bathe their children when they're sick," Williams explained. "Old habits die hard."
The Peace Corps' Healthy School requirements include the availability of clean water, health lessons, a healthy snack, a healthy kitchen and multiple faucets. Thirty-five schools in the Healthy Schools program are split between Williams and one other volunteer. For this work, Williams receives a monthly salary of about $305, an amount that adequately sustains her needs in the village where she resides.
"We believe that with this program we are changing the future of Guatemala, because if these children practice healthy habits, then their children will practice them and their children will too," she said.
The educative process starts with superintendants and principals, who pass on the information to teachers, who will then instruct their students on healthy practices like hand washing, bathing and dental care.
Although Williams gave a lengthy description of her work in the schools, Dighton seventh graders were most intrigued by the similarities and differences between their everyday lives and the lives of their Guatemalan peers.
The girls giggled in excitement to hear that their beloved pop star, Justin Bieber, was also a teen favorite in Guatemala. The boys were likewise in awe of Williams' explanation of a game similar to field hockey in which competitors fling a ball of fire, not plastic, to and fro.
Students pressed about the availability of fast food in Guatemala and Williams told them about Pollo Comparo, a fast food chicken spot that can be found on every city block.
Williams also mentioned Eberpaiz, Guatemala's own Walmart chain. Eberpaiz employees wear the same blue vests as stateside Walmart workers, and many of the same products can be found there. Williams regularly travels two hours by bus to the closest Eberpaiz, the only place she can find hair conditioner and crunchy Cheetos.
The students were clearly able to relate to the lives of Guatemalan children through pop culture and consumerism, but they also can relate to the altruism Williams is practicing through her work in Guatemala.
Sylvestre, Williams' former 8th grade Spanish teacher, explained that Dighton Middle School participates in the Pay it Forward program.
"Pay it Forward schools emphasize good deeds without expecting anything in return," Sylvestre said.
Sylvestre explained that Dighton's 8th grade class is currently supporting the town's food pantry by collecting cans throughout the year. A previous Dighton Middle School program funded the purchase of cows for villages in Central America.
On Williams, Sylvestre said, "she has always been years beyond her age, and her work in Guatemala goes right along with the ideas behind the Pay it Forward program."
Before she returns to Guatemala on Jan. 4, Williams is holding a fundraiser at the Venus De Milo restaurant to help support her Healthy Schools initiative, especially the program's effort to provide several schools with running water.
The event will take place today at the Venus De Milo in Swansea. Contact Grace Williams at graceannewill@yahoo.com for more information.
