GUATEMALA

From February 4th until August 4th I will be living in Guatemala. There, I will be volunteering for Semilla Nueva, a nonprofit organization that works to help rural farmers find sustainable solutions through organization and innovative growing techniques. The goal is to teach more sustainable farming processes that will provide long term agricultural growth in the poorest of areas in Guatemala.


My time will be spent volunteering and assisting in any way that the organization sees fit, mostly jumping between home stays in small villages throughout northwestern Guatemala and living in the city of Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela).


Of all the places and things to see in this world, why would I pick Guatemala and this volunteering opportunity? There are a few reasons.


First, during past travels, I’ve been to countries and communities that are struggling through tough economic and social injustices. And when I’ve visited such places, there are always nonprofits that are there to help treat those who need help, be it medically, socially, or legally. These organizations do amazing work and are desperately needed in the world. But what if they were not needed? Wouldn’t the best way to approach a problem be to attack the cause not superficially bandage over the symptoms of a deeper issue. In that way, my convictions line up with the sustainability of Semilla Nueva’s mission. Semilla Nueva has the correct idea in helping people by teaching them how to better themselves, their practices, and their communities, with the hope that an outside organization’s assistance will one day no longer be needed.


This volunteer opportunity will also be enlightening and helpful because I plan on attending to graduate school within the next two years to pursue a Master’s degree in International Economics and Development. Through this experience of immersing myself in a foreign culture abroad, conducting extensive research, and getting my hands dirty out in the field, I can gain practical experience that I will be able to tie into lessons learned at graduate school. I also hope to take what I see, learn, and achieve in Guatemala and apply it to my graduate education, either as a research project or even just new perspectives on what I will learn in the future.


I know this won’t be the easiest half year of my life. I will miss Seattle, my family, my friends, the comforts of America, the English language, and everything else that I’ve grown accustomed to. Yet, I look forward to this opportunity as a way to learn about myself as a human being and learn about others in the world and how they live, all while making just a big enough difference in their lives to feel good about my time in Guatemala.