AUTHOR: Nancy TITLE: Back in Guatemala DATE: 2/20/2010 01:35:00 PM ----- BODY:
Hi all,
Here we are in Guatemala again with a very small group who has come to do some legal and accounting work and get two new grants going. We will be here for a few days meeting with lawyers and accountants and then go off to Copan Ruinas, Honduras to meet with a new group of people interested in starting another stove factory.

Central America is such a beautiful place, and there is so much to be proud of when we see what Marco Tulio has accomplished with his new factory. Yes, the "Jardin de las Mujeres" is up and going and the women who helped with its construction will be amazed at how things look now. The huge production gallery with metal roof that so many volunteer welders worked on is filled with local employees now welding stove parts together for three separate types of stoves. The little bathroom which made everyone giggle when it was without walls is now connected to the local sewer line, and its walls are of brightly painted metal. We took a tour of the factory, checked the quality of the molds, spoke with Marco Tulio about his ideas of how to change a few things, and then retired to a local Chapin-Mexican restaurant to talk about the types of accounting Marco Tulio needs to be developed with the new Business Development Grant.

This morning, while a few of us met with our Guatemalan lawyers, Jay Lamb went with Marco Tulio's wife, Ana Luisa, to a school in Jocotenango to teach the teachers and others how to put fluoride varnish on the teeth of the school children. There were 142 recipients of fluoride varnish and many of the teachers learned how to put on the varnish in the future. We expect to return within six months with more fluoride varnish, but although volunteers from the U.S. will be valuable, the varnish can now be administered by the school teachers.

Gustavito, the son of the factory owners in El Salvador, is now only eight months away from becoming an orthodontist, and he not only helped in today's venture, but will be coming in the future to do this type of outreach. All of this is thanks to some very nice Rotarians from the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club who provided many of the items needed to start Gustavito's mobile dental practice.

Tomorrow we'll be going to the Mayan community where the first Ecocina stoves from Marco Tulio's factory were distributed. They are very anxious to learn how to do fluoride varnish as well, but in the meantime, they have been selling more and more Ecocina stoves to the members of their community. Guatemala Sur Rotary and Irvine Spectrum Rotary were also responsible for the grant that provided the start-up monies for this program. Again, without their help this would not have been possible.

While more stove distribution continues in Guatemala, some of us will be working on the Business Development side of things. As I write this, Gustavo Peña of El Salvador Jay Lamb and Gerry Reicher from Eugene Southtowne Rotary Club are meeting to discuss accounting practice.

Yesterday, when Gerry met with Marco Tulio, and today while Gerry and Jay meet with Gustavo, their mission is to learn what the factory owners feel is necessary with regard to business development, and tomorrow they will be presenting the information back to them as an accounting package specifically developed for exactly what they need.

So, to wrap this up, we're working intensely and hope to get back to you about what we're up to, but it may not be for a bit. We're all well, we're all having a great time, and yes, the volcano is spewing ash, but the only problem is that the chairs around the swimming pool have to be cleaned off every morning before you can relax in the sun!

Labels: , ,

----- --------