It’s been a while since I last blogged! With the quarantine giving me a bit more free time, I’ve decided to get back into journaling and blogging, using a more personal and engaging first-person approach. Hopefully, this keeps both you and me entertained. You might feel like you’ve missed out on some updates, but I’ll try to get you caught up as we go. In the meantime, stay safe and make sure to wash your hands!
Today marks day 39 of the quarantine, and I started my day with an email from my friend Jay Money from Budgets Are Sexy. He reached out because he wanted to help with a little project I’ve been working on in Guatemala during COVID-19.
In my village, the lockdown has been incredibly tough, primarily because people live day-to-day. With the five-week lockdown continuing, folks are running out of food and work, and there’s no clear end in sight. The local economy relies heavily on tourism (which has halted), remittances from abroad (many of which have slowed as people in the U.S. lose jobs), and exports like coffee and sugar, which were never very profitable to begin with.
Desperate for help, people have started putting white flags outside their windows to signal they have no food. Many people in the village survive by selling small items on the streets, but with everyone tight on money, their income has virtually disappeared. A small restaurant that used to offer “pay it forward meals” went from feeding 20 people a week to more than 1,000 daily! It really shows how dire things have become, with people waiting in long lines for a simple $1 meal.
Putting out a white flag is an act of bravery since it means letting everyone know you’re struggling. There’s no easy access to social workers or food banks, so it’s a public cry for help.
I’ve been sending money to friends who are organizing food distributions in Southern Guatemala and have asked a community leader in my region to do the same. My goal is to help households with single moms, as they don’t have a man around to help with things like planting corn or gathering firewood, making them particularly vulnerable.
Knowing that Jay Money has a big heart, I asked him if he could contribute from his community fund charity. Before I knew it, there was extra money available for us to use in Guatemala!
Since prices are rising due to inflation, it’s hard to say how much more challenging things will get. Just before I left, the prices were:
– A carton of 30 eggs: $4
– A pound of rice: $0.80
– A pound of beans: $0.70
– A pound of cornflour for tortillas: $0.50
– A quart of oil: $2
– A pound of potatoes: $0.50
– A half-pound bag of pasta: $0.50
– Three soaps: $2
With $25, you could buy a basic package for a family that includes eggs, 5 pounds each of rice, beans, and cornflour, oil, 5 pounds of potatoes, and extra items like salt, sugar, coffee, oatmeal, and powdered milk for kids.
In some areas, people are also putting out red flags when they need medicine and other colors for issues like domestic violence or child neglect. Guatemala has even asked President Trump to stop deportation flights that are spreading more cases of COVID-19, but those requests have been ignored.
The main problem in Guatemala is the lack of state support. The government said they’d provide a few hundred thousand care packages, but that’s far from enough. Many families, especially in remote areas like my village, are tough to reach, so help takes much longer to arrive.
To address this, I’m focusing on helping single mother households and the most vulnerable families in my village. I’m also matching these funds by providing work for men who are able to do so, giving them a sense of pride and purpose. Tasks include things like clearing up the garden, which may not be urgent but gives people a way to earn money without just receiving handouts.
Being unemployed can be incredibly tough on mental health, especially in a culture where men are judged by their ability to provide for their families. In urban areas, gang violence is rising as people turn to crime out of desperation. Thankfully, my village remains peaceful, but petty crime like stealing chickens and crops has started as people become more desperate.
That’s why I’m committed to continuing with this food and job distribution until the lockdown ends. If you’re interested in helping out, you can send donations through PayPal to tdmpauline at gmail dot com. I’ll use my local account to ensure that 100% of the donations go directly to food, and I’ll also match your donation by providing work in my village.