Patzicía, Guatemala - The trip from Chimaltenango to Patzicía was absolutely beautiful. My previous two trips to Guatemala had kept me in the capital, so I especially appreciated the rolling green hills and farmland of rural Guatemala. I commented on the beauty of the landscape to my taxi driver, and he explained that thanks to a generously long rainy season and mild climate, this part of Guatemala stays green year-round.

I was making the 45-minute trip to Patzicía to visit one of GFC’s newer grantee partners in Guatemala—Centro Educativo Maya Aj Sya’ (Maya Aj Sya’ Education Center). A grantee partner since 2008, the mission of Maya Aj Sya’ is to provide high-quality, bilingual education in Kaqchikel and Spanish to local children living in extreme poverty. The school is nationally recognized and teaches all required subjects as well as traditional Mayan music and dance. In addition to offering a competitive and engaging curriculum, the school provides culturally appropriate education to students who otherwise could not afford to attend school. Read more

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala - When I arrived at Colegio Miguel Angel Asturias (Miguel Angel Asturias Academy) in Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela), Guatemala, school director Jorge Chojolán apologized because today wasn’t going to be a “normal day” at the school. He explained that the primary-school students were learning about politics this month, and today was an important assembly where each grade’s candidate would make his or her pitch to the student body on why he or she should be elected school president or vice president. Over the past couple of weeks, each class’s students—from the 5-year-old kindergarteners to the sixth graders—had been developing their platform, creating a political party, and electing a candidate to represent them in the school-wide election. Many of the speeches had a strong environmental focus due to the school’s emphasis last month on ecology and conservation. Read more

Mumbai, India - I landed in Mumbai amid the newspaper headline, “Monsoon chaos returns to Mumbai, disrupts normal life.” India’s climate, mythology, romantic poetry, literature, Bollywood songs—all bear the influence of the monsoon. Although the country’s infrastructure has developed at a rapid pace since the economic liberalization of the 1990s, it is still inadequate to accommodate the diversity and volume of transportation. The old means of transportation still exist, while new methods have been added. While driving, a turn can take you from a six-lane highway onto a flooded, narrow lane with open sewage inlets in the middle of the road. The mix of ox carts, camels, donkeys, rickshaws, and the latest-model sports cars sharing the roads can be amusing or prove challenging to deal with. And this new jumble and high volume of vehicles has added another dimension to monsoons in India—traffic jams. Read more

Mumbai, India - The moment I walked into the classroom at SUPPORT (Society Undertaking Poor People’s Onus for Rehabilitation), I instantly recognized Dalip’s sparkling eyes and playful grin. I first met him two years ago, in June 2008. Fourteen years old now, he has many alias, including Salman and Akshay, after Bollywood heroes, and he loves to dance to the latest Bollywood tunes. Dalip’s story is similar to those of millions of children living in abject poverty in India, yet in one way his is different—he is on his way to a bright future.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Dalip became addicted to alcohol at an early age. His father, unable to support the family, deserted his mother and married a sex worker. Dalip, the only child of his parents, lost his sense of family. He lived in a makeshift shanty on the streets and was often beaten by his drunkard father. One day, he ran away from his home in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to live on the streets of Mumbai, Maharashtra. Like his friends, he spent all his money, which he earned from singing and begging on trains, on addictive substances such as sniffing glue, whitener solvent, hashish, gutka (flavored betel nuts and tobacco powder), and cigarettes. Read more

Kigali, Rwanda - I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, yesterday and was welcomed warmly by members of GFC grantee partner Enfant Chez Soi (ECS). ECS works with children under the age of 5 who live in prison with their mothers. The women are serving sentences that range from months to life, and their young children stay with them inside the prison cells until they reach the maximum age of 5, when they are reintegrated with family members.

ECS builds early childhood centers in prisons for the children to make sure that they receive proper nutrition, mental and physical stimulation, and education. Working with prison authorities and prisoners, the organization enables the children to enjoy their childhood, just like children outside the prison gates. ECS trains long-term prisoners to act as teachers and caretakers. To supplement the prison food, the organization has purchased cows, which are cared for by male prisoners and provide milk daily for the children. Read more