Project Somos Children's Village

Project Somos is establishing a village for abandoned and orphaned children in Guatemala. The Village will have seven homes and seven Guatemalan Foster Mothers raising a household of children. The goal is to create an eco-sustainable village which provides a secure home, a loving family and a hopeful future to children in need. The vision is to build a village that will be ecologically and financially sustainable. The long term goal is to replicate this initial village in other locations.

This blog is one of the best guatemala blogs out there. Add this blog to My Feeds.

Guatemalan Driving School

Feb 28, 2010 6:32am

Another full day of surprises and challenges or rather surprising challenges. Before leaving the project at Malacatan, I was asked to translate a conversation between the American volunteers, Janet and Dennis, the board members of the Guatemalan association which will actually run and own the project and the project...

Oh the Heat!

Feb 26, 2010 2:49pm

I know I cannot expect any sympathy from my northern brothers and sisters when I tell them how sweaty I am from the heat and humidity here. The goods news, as I am told by Arturo, an 81 year old resident of Malacatan, is that it is much hotter...

Weeks Compressed Into Guatemalan Days

Feb 25, 2010 2:34pm

Everyday has been packed with activities and it seems I have been here weeks, not just days. Lloyd is a great companion traveler and we seem to have similar travel sensibilities or maybe we are both just really quirky.Tuesday was a wonderful day, visiting San Antonio Los Jutes, the...

A Quick Visit to Guatemala

Feb 22, 2010 8:26pm

Today is our first day in Antigua. Lloyd Bernhardt, a dedicated and active board member of Compassion Fruit Society, and I have arrived for our whirlwind trip to Guatemala. We have quite a busy itinerary and we now can look back at day 1 and are looking ahead...

Upcoming Project Somos Events

Feb 13, 2010 11:17am

Stay tuned here for upcoming Project Somos events!March 13thCome find us at Whole Foods Market for their Community "Soap Box" Days.8th & Cambie, Noon-5ishMarch 17th -Brainstorming SessionGreen Village, Green Mamas, Green KidsJoin us with special guest Manda Afochs Gillespie of Green Mama to discuss and brainstorm about making and keeping...

My Inspiration

Jan 10, 2010 6:17pm

Many people that have come out to one of our public events have met Denis Knox. Denis is the man who generally welcomes guests with a hearty handshake and a big smile. He’s the one wearing the shorts, flip flops and the Panama hat at our booths during the summer...

Lament For a Freezing Man…….

Dec 2, 2009 9:25pm

Oh, this harsh world and its heartless drivers,steering the capable into such indifference.How can it be, after youth and middle life has flown,a man can be left to shake in the cold,blind and feeling beatenwith nowhere to go?To what world have I been delivered?What man-made hell is this placethat ignores...

Competition vs. Compassion

Nov 29, 2009 1:20pm

In the year 2000 my daughter Meg turned 14. During that year we came to the decision that we would be embarking on a journey together. The trip was a long time coming. It dated back to shortly after Meg was conceived. During the early weeks of my pregnancy, while...

Quinceañera-Our First of Many!

Nov 19, 2009 3:46pm

On Friday evening we celebrated our “niece”, Ingrid’s quinceañera. Some of you may be wondering what is a quinceañera. Others know it intimately. It is the celebration of a young woman’s fifteenth birthday in Latin America. And it’s a huge deal. Something like our Sweet Sixteen but way bigger. More...

Reflections on the Benefit Fiesta

Nov 16, 2009 9:55pm

It seems like more than a month since the Benefit Fiesta was celebrated at Heritage Hall. Despite the intensity of the last weeks I have had some time to reflect on the event and want to share some of those thoughts. First I want to thank everyone...

The Power to Parent

Sep 18, 2009 3:59pm

Last week I started attending a class, called “Power to Parent.” Some friends have teasingly asked if it is not a bit late for me to be taking a parenting class considering my “baby” is now 23! Of course, as I attend, I am aware of many things I could...

Normalizing Tragedy

Sep 9, 2009 5:04pm

There is a case to be made for acceptance concerning the daily difficulties that life offers us. It seems futile to become furious with the inevitable frustrations that regularly arrive on our doorstep. These challenges are just facts of life that will either polish us or break us. ...

How Did you Spend your Summer?

Sep 7, 2009 11:32am

It has been a full, sun-filled Summer in Vancouver. Between Project Somos and our personal lives we have had no shortage of excitement. Here is a brief overview which turns out to be longer than I like to make these things. For those visual types that would rather "see" our...

World of Paradox, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty

Aug 6, 2009 9:31pm

I had the good fortune to spend six days at Hollyhock with an amazing group of 110 gifted human beings. They steward a full spectrum of brilliant abilities including music, science, social activism, healing, and new media technology. Many presentations were offered covering a wide range of topics...

Inspiring Work by Inspiring Volunteers

Jul 22, 2009 2:27pm

In general, I have a lot of faith in people’s ability to bring into our lives the things that we desire—especially when our hearts are in the right place. But when my husband said, “I am going to throw a garage sale (in two weeks) and raise $1000 for Somos,”...

Public and Private

Jul 10, 2009 11:45am

I have noticed that the lines of what is public and what is private are moving, crisscrossing and at times very blurred. I can site a few obvious examples that may point to a more deeply rooted, confused attitude of society in the US and Canada. I also mention...

Martyn Joseph Concert in Support of Project Somos

Jul 8, 2009 5:52pm

I met Martyn Joseph many years ago when he first played at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Working behind Main Stage as a volunteer, my primary responsibilities have been to provide hospitality to the artists in the “green room” and to assist the Main Stage crew with ensuring artists are...

Cultural Shift

Jun 20, 2009 5:40pm

I arrived back in Canada from Guatemala, after having driven from Dallas with Heather. I came to a rather abrupt conclusion concerning the state of our collective western civilization. When Mahatma Gandhi was asked what he thought about Western civilization, his reply was simple, “ I think it would...

Arc of Reentry

Jun 18, 2009 12:17pm

Because we had a 3 + week drive from Dallas, after arriving from Guatemala, I thought I that I wouldn’t suffer the insidious reverse culture shock that is dreaded by travelers. I was mistaken and caught unaware when I found myself in a hazy disconnected mental and emotional state...

Passion and Heart

Jun 4, 2009 12:13pm

On Tuesday we had the honour of meeting Hugo and David of Hugo Naturals in Chatsworth, California. A little while back National Sales Director, David Greenbaum was at a convention in Vancouver when he met Ziggy. Ziggy is my Dad’s hairdresser and is a champion for Project Somos. Somehow they...

Where the Blink are They?

May 31, 2009 4:39pm

I know. It's been awhile... Our apologies.As you may know, we are no longer in Guatemala. We left on the 21st, a day later than planned. Long story, but we missed our flight.We are now in Scottsdale, Arizona after a short visit in Dallas and then five nights in El...

Juana

May 20, 2009 8:23pm

Let me tell you more about the Juana that Denis mentioned in his blog a few weeks ago. After getting past her amazing ability to walk on the broken sidewalks and rough cobblestone streets with no feet, as well as her dexterous use of her arms that have no...

Kevin in Guatemala

May 15, 2009 10:42am

Well I am back home now in the land of the familiar. For nearly 2 weeks I had a memorable stay with Greg and Heather.......and Corrina and Shorty (my name for the doggie with many names!), but now I am back to work in Abbotsford – oh well.During my visit...

The One and the Many

May 13, 2009 9:03pm

It was quite an experience to be a volunteer at the second Nobel Women’s Initiative Conference in Antigua, May 10th – 12th. Being the only male volunteer or staff, I was a little hesitant, and certainly didn’t know what to expect. I was delightfully surprised by the warm...

Nobel Women's Initiative Conference

May 13, 2009 11:11am

It is said that May 13th is the first day of the the rainy season in Guatemala. Unless the patterns change drastically, I believe we have entered that season already. For the last number of weeks we have had heavy rainfalls every few days. The good news is that it...