Opening Night

  We were really lucky to be able to host our opening event and exhibition of the photos at a local cafe in the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela).  Being short on time, there was some frantic work that went on this week - canvassing for the event, as well as printing, framing, and hanging all the pictures.  The event took place on a Saturday night and 2 of the participants were able to travel into the city to attend.  The event, though small-scale, was a real success, in that the participants were able to see their work, speak with people who came to view their photos and explain the reasons for what pictures they took.

This was the ultimate hope for the project - that it would be a small step in the participants recognizing their voice and ability to make important contributions, while also teaching others a bit more about their community and advocating for their community needs.   There was a elder from a rural community outside the city who gave a blessing on the project and spoke on the importance of sharing your culture, perspective and opinion.  The photos will now be rotated to the organization's building, then on to the Day Care center in Llanos de Pinal and hopefully viewed by some political leaders of the community.  Here are some photos of the event, of our weekly lessons. Sadly, the written reflections from the kids on this experience were lost somewhere between my return trip from Guatemala to the U.S.  There were also some really great pictures by the kids that just didn't make the blog.  You can see those by visiting here.  Thanks for following our small but meaningful project!