3. My name is Viktor Gyarmati. I
am from Hungary, Europe. I’m
33 years old, I graduate at
Colllege of Szolnok as
Hospitality Economist in 2007.
Before I became a volunteer I
was working in financial. I live in
Budapest, which is capital of
Hungary. I am single.
4. My work at the project as a volunteer is
Child aid in Pueblo Viejo, Toledo District,
Belize. The village has approximately 70
families, namely 577 Maya people live
there. That is located Southwest very
close to board of Guatemala.
There is a mountainous area with many
beautiful waterfalls in the middle of
rainforest.
5. There are no electricity or tape
water, so the people use generator,
candles, hand made kerosene lamp
for lighting and grey water for
washing dishes.
For washing clothes or taking bath
they go to the river, as I did as well.
That ‘s run trough the village.
6. When I arrived to Pueblo Viejo
with one of my teammate he
called John we’d statement with
pleasure how is beautiful Pueblo
Viejo. In fact almost 100% of the
population are Maya.
7. As they follow their ancient traditions and
conventions from past, they live own-hand-
made wooden houses with limited live
conditions. It seemed that we went back to
past everything are very simple and
peaceful.
And we also realized that how much work
we have to do with them because this is
the 21st century.
8. Unfortunately a couple of days later John and
I fell in sick and after he decided that he want
to give up project and went back to IICD.
I wasn’t very enthusiastic about he’s decision
but I accepted. So I started my project, first of
all I wanted to know everything about Pueblo
Viejo, Maya people, their habits and life.
And my
adventure
began…
9. Familiarize with the community
I visited 30 families with the chairman of the village
Liberto Choc his nickname’s Thomas and the alcade
Santiago Choc so I could fill up the interview forms.
Their responses for questions of forms could help me
a lot to know their life and to understand much more
each other. I learnt a lot from them, recently I know
they are farmers, each family has a piece of land next
to the village and their main produces are corn, rice
and beans.
10.
11. They also keep domestic
animals like pig, chicken, turkey,
horse, donkey, ox, and dog as
well. Some family has coconut
tree, lemon tree or tangerine,
but not typical of they eat to
much fruits.
12. The village has 8 hand pumps for
drinking water and it is typically the task
of girls and women to fetch water every
day from there.
For some families have to take a long
walk because their houses isn’t close to
a hand pump. Many times surprised me
how they strong to carry a bucket of
water. So if I could always help them.
13. While I finished the
interviews opened preschool
for kids. With one youth
community leader she called
Erneilla , we started to teach
them in English alphabet and
counting numbers first 1 to
10 then 10 to 100.
We also paid attention about
they could write capital and
small letters and telling them
properly.
14. Every Friday we made a workshop
about hygiene or puzzle by corn.
They really liked that to play
together, so I found out let’s
make a movie afternoon. I invited
all of school children with their
brother or sister to spending time
together, however in the last
moment I didn’t get generator.
15. But luckily I ordered 20
flour tortilla and a cup of
pine butter with orange
juice before, so we could
just eat together. And it
was good.
17. The name of Pueblo Viejo means old village and old man as
well. It has a school for pre and primary education, a health
center, a community center where I was staying, some
churches for different religions like Nazarene, Baptist and other
one Catholic with cemetery.
It has also a big area for playing soccer, 6 grocery shop, a police
office close to my accommodation, a public phone
unfortunately at the end of the village and a beautiful river
with waterfalls.
The only dirt main road runs through there, where you can
catch 4 local transportations. Every second day just two times
the hole day, but during rain season many times cancelled
charters because too much rain. So it is good way if you know
alternative directions, like hitchhike.
18.
19.
20.
21. Briefly there are limited conditions for
entertainment and weekends you can see
many drank men. In other hands why they
use alcohol to solve their problems is that
many people haven’t job, even most of them
can speak 4 foreign languages, as
Mopanmaya, Ketchimaya, Spanish and
English.
But they can not read and write because in
young age they prefer to go to work own
farm, or for money instead of learning more
after primary school (like the alcade Santiago
on picture, and he was also completely drank
that time and I made a coffee for him).
22. Many times I realized that at some grocery store the shop assistant
couldn’t count how much money had to change, so I think their
skills aren’t enough to get an average job in a company.
The biggest problem is that, they know this problems and much
more, like everybody produce just the same corn, rice and beans
for lower benefit, however nobody want to change directions.
After many conversation they just waiting for somebody who want
to offer a job. Who give tools, seeds, plants, everything for a better
life. Almost all young in the village after age 18 want to go and live
in city, but they haven’t any idea how is it. So my idea was I try to
show an alternative life for they can change something, how they
can realize the beautiful of simple life. And also how I can do this
by myself. That was the biggest challenge in my life.
23. In first time everything went fast, I
collected plastic bottle by the road for
seedbeds and started making
plantations. I heard at school in
Michigan about in Belize you can find
good soil everywhere, but actually I
couldn’t. There is just clay, so if you
need good black soil go to forest and
fetch it.
I also heard about if you share seeds
after they don’t want to care them, so I
always gave just plants for gardening. I
think it is easy way for making garden
and nobody can say that later the
seeds was bad quality.
29. During the rain season it is hard to making good
gardens even if you are sick and haven’t enough
experience in. So I tried the best but the first
gardens were not so good and owners also didn’t
pay attention for roof, fence, weeds or water.
And it also can not help you if they just call you
gringo and gave you few respect, but it was
enough for make me angry inside and say: O.K.
let’s go, I’ll show you who I am.
30.
31. So I changed direction and started to
building a community garden like in
Detroit as George Street Community
Garden.
Almost everybody was interesting in the
village about what a hell I making next
to the Community Center, so that time
was really funny.
47. My footprints what I left
When I arrived Pueblo Viejo I could see there was only one pace
where was no Welcome Side at the beginning and the end of
the village. I wanted to solve this problem so I told my idea
Pantaleon Escobar (project leader) who can helped me and gave
materials for making that.
And that time he also gave me many clothes from second hand
store because one store had to closed in North. For making
boards I needed more materials as black paint, brushes, thinner
and nails, but I didn’t want to spend more Humana’s money and
Thomas (chairman) also couldn’t give me this stuff. But he was
agree about my idea to selling clothes for 50 cent each for
buying that I need, so I started to raising money and finally I got
almost $ 40. That amount was more than enough.
56. Practical Information that I hand on
Make and keep relationship with community leaders like alcade, chairman,
police officer, faith leaders, school principal and teachers.
Tell them how are you, what do you want to do and how.
Before your action discuss with them ask ideas, you be sure they esteem your behavior.
Whenever anyone ask something from you NEVER GIVE IT JUST FOR FREE, always ask
something in exchange, for example: ask help for your next action or borrow
tools/things what you need.
If you promise something for somebody ALWAYS KEEP IT, there are a very close
community, if you make a mistake you be sure everybody will know that.
You should to be open and flexible because you are a foreigner there. You came from
a different country different culture and sometimes you should to change direction
for success.
Always keep clean your place because there are many ants, cockroach, hungry dogs
and they can eat your food.
