Guatemala: #3

We then visited the family-owned hotel called “Hotel Bonifaz,” which has been owned by generations of the Bonifaz family in Quetzaltenango. It is situated right in the village square, which has a cathedral, various stores, street vendors, government offices and a beautiful park in the center. We had a delicious lunch at this hotel and then went on the road again to visit what is possibly one of my very favorite projects — the “Widow’s Pig Project.”

From the time I heard about this project, I was emotionally attached to it. There are 15 widows, ranging from 35 to approximately 85 years of age, who live in a little town in a very remote part of the mountains outside of Quetzaltenango. These women used to go every day to the garbage dump nearest to their village to scavenge for things to sell at the market. They could earn a maximum of $1 to $2 per day working at this dump. Now, all of a sudden, these women are no longer scavengers. Instead, they are entrepreneurs. The widows have actually proven to be excellent businesswomen. Food For The Poor has provided for them a pig farm project with a cemented and covered area that is divided into stalls.

I had been invited to the inauguration of this project a couple of months before, and the ceremony was truly beautiful. The widows live in a very remote area and none of them speak the Spanish language. A young girl, 15 years of age, translated for us, along with a teacher from a nearby village who is fluent in both Spanish and the Quiche language (which is one of the 4 main Mayan languages they speak in the region). The widows cooked a wonderful lunch for us! I thought to myself how similar their story is to the “Widow’s Mite” in the gospel. They had just been given an opportunity in life to better themselves, and here they were, out of their need, preparing this delicious lunch for us.

I became very emotional while speaking to them. Their faces were just so beautiful, the older ones in particular, with their faces lined by sorrows and sufferings that they have endured during their lives. It was a very life-changing and moving experience for me, and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to return again with the Lutheran bishops.

As we entered the pig farm, we heard melodic voices singing beautiful hymns. We were so high up in the mountains, I wondered if it were a choir of angels! There were 6 women attired in beautiful folk dress. Many women in Guatemala wear this type of clothing on a daily basis, but for these women, it was their “Sunday best”! They were beaming and proud. As part of the program they presented, two little children did a folk dance, and the same young lady did the translation for us again.

I then saw a young man, Juan, 13 years old, whom I had met on my previous visit. His parents had died and the 15 widows took him under their wing. He has five brothers and sisters. As the eldest, he is their sole support. The widows pay him for working in the pig farm, and they have become like a real family to him and his siblings. The young man spoke and shared how alone he felt when his parents died; but his life has improved a great deal, for besides an income to support his siblings, he now has 15 mothers. I was so happy to see that things have come full circle: In the book of James, it says that religion which is true and pleasing to God is the care of widows and orphans. We are caring for these widows, and they, in turn, are caring for the orphans.

Juan in his new vest

I had purchased a colorful vest in Antigua, beautifully hand-embroidered by the women of Guatemala, which I wore to this occasion. At the widow’s project, I gave my vest to the young man as a token of our appreciation and affection for him. He put it on right away and was so proud! When I left, he gave me a big hug and told me (in Quiche — which the young lady translated for me), that he was going to miss me. I told the lady to tell him that I would miss him a great deal too and that he has left a huge imprint in my heart; I think of him often. He really loves the animals and he takes great care of them, really more like a loving shepherd than just a caretaker. The male pig had been loaned out, but each female was in her separate stall that he maintains in beautiful condition. Over each stall there was the name he had given to each pig… very personalized.

Then there was other entertainment provided with more singing and dancing! My eyes “welled up” as soon as I heard the women singing from outside. As we went inside and I saw those beautiful faces again, I continued to cry most of the time that we were there. My tears were of happiness and pride to see these women, once so broken, now with a look of pride in their faces because they have been empowered.

They started out originally with 30 pigs that they would sell at the market, for which they could normally get 950 quetzales as adult pigs. They decided that they were going to upgrade their strategy. They sold the pigs and bought 6 females and 1 male pig of a much higher breed. All of the 6 female pigs are now pregnant. These pigs will bring as much as 350 quetzales when they are 1 month old, and when they reach adulthood, 3,500 quetzales. The average litter is 10 pigs, so when these 6 pigs have their litter, there will be 60 pigs there that can bring a very handsome price at whatever age they are sold. They have actually expanded their territory tremendously by being judicious businesswomen.

Rev. Chan, the President of the Lutheran Council of Guatemala, gave a very heartfelt speech about what it means to have liberated these widows from the garbage dumps, helping them to achieve dignity and self-esteem because they can now earn a decent living. His remarks concluded with a prayer, but he was so overwhelmed with emotion, he could not continue to speak. It was an emotionally charged moment for all of us.