Poverty, pollution's mother.
There's a shift that happens in one's way of thinking with travel. It's why we've been ok pulling our kids out of school, homeschooling,...
The Giving Experiment
1 Family. 5 Children. From Canada to Guatemala to learn about sharing.
Our project is all about pushing boundaries of what people see as possible with a large family. (Our five children currently range from under 1 to 11 years old!) As a family, we have taken the leap and moved to the remote town of San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala.
On May 26th, 2021, we arrived in Guatemala with the simple goal of assessing where our family of seven could be of most use volunteering. The vision has become clear. Together with a committee of 4 Mayan women, we have formed a kid's club aptly named "Children for a better San Juan." Situated on the shore of beautiful Lake Atitlan, the area is facing a severe pollution problem.
As a community project, we are taking baby steps towards investing in the inheritance of the next generation.
"Children for a better San Juan" is an environmental/educational club that focuses on teaching children to take the initiative of cleaning up their neighborhoods. We are setting up public trash cans in the areas cleaned, and feeding the children involved a full, nutritional weekly lunch at the end of the program.
The committee consists of two trained school teachers, a cook, an accounting student and my wife, Christina, a visionary mother of five. The programmed weekly lessons are themed around environmental care, sanitation, and recycling.
As with all experiments we start with a simple question. In this case we are asking, "How much of a positive impact can a young family have within a problem as large and overwhelming as plastic waste?" We do not have an answer! However, we are coming to realize that movements towards a solution always start with baby steps.
This project is a human experiment with ourselves. It is trial and error at it's finest!
JOIN US!
We have become so passionate about this project! There are many ways to get involved and support what we are doing. Please subscribe at the bottom of the page to receive email notifications when we update the blog. The long-term goal of "Children For a Better San Juan" is to establish a self-sustaining Precious Plastic Recycling Plant.
Preciousplastic.com is an open-source website that provides the machine blueprints, plans, and education needed to set up a full-scale recycling operation. Our vision is to produce plastic bricks and furniture out of collected plastic waste. To donate to this initiative, please click here. Donations of any size are so appreciated and go a very long way in this economy. Perspective: a $10 donation is enough to prepare a full meal for 5 club members.
Want to volunteer with us? Please get in touch!
comelook@thegivingexperiment.com
