Manna Project International

MPI UGA Wraps Up for the Summer

Posted on May 3rd, 2011 |

As the school year comes to a close, our chapter activities are winding down for the year. In this post, MPI UGA President Ian Jones gives his closing remarks for the year:

Greetings from Athens!

As the MannaUGA chapter wraps up our year here, I wanted to take a minute to let everyone know what we’ve been up to. This year has... [more]

Leaving Our Mark

Posted on March 21st, 2011 |

“Abi Kelsey”, “Abi Anna”, “Abi Jesse”, “Abi Liz”… This is how we introduced ourselves to the 5^th grade class of Central using our only knowledge of Kaqchikel. From there, we separated into four groups to review color, numbers and food all in English. All the while, the rest of the group was working hard to finish up the library at the Primaria Cooperativa down the road.

[more]

Talks, Trucks, and Tortillas

Posted on March 21st, 2011 |

Greetings from Hotamala! (Don’t worry; I really know it’s Guatemala..)

Today was a chill, relaxing day. I woke up to a sunny day and a beautiful view of Lake Atitlan. I am still amazed at how beautiful it is here. We enjoyed a delicious fresh fruit for breakfast. The peaches were my favorite, even though they look... [more]

Time for a Celebration!

Posted on March 21st, 2011 |

We all sincerely apologize for the delay in an update! We are just having entirely too much fun and haven’t had the down time.

You’ve read about the painting and the arranging, the teaching and the playing, but today our experience came to full fruition.

We began our... [more]

Leaving Our Mark

Posted on March 21st, 2011 |

“Abi Kelsey”, “Abi Anna”, “Abi Jesse”, “Abi Liz”… This is how we introduced ourselves to the 5^th grade class of Central using our only knowledge of Kaqchikel. From there, we separated into four groups to review color, numbers and food all in English. All the while, the rest of the group was working hard to finish up the library at the Primaria Cooperativa down the road.

[more]

Talks, Trucks, and Tortillas

Posted on March 21st, 2011 |

Greetings from Hotamala! (Don’t worry; I really know it’s Guatemala..)

Today was a chill, relaxing day. I woke up to a sunny day and a beautiful view of Lake Atitlan. I am still amazed at how beautiful it is here. We enjoyed a delicious fresh fruit for breakfast. The peaches were my favorite, even though they look so different (here they... [more]

Time for a Celebration!

Posted on March 21st, 2011 |

We all sincerely apologize for the delay in an update! We are just having entirely too much fun and haven’t had the down time.

You’ve read about the painting and the arranging, the teaching and the playing, but today our experience came to full fruition.

We began our... [more]

Pre-Arrival Prep In Guatemala

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hey ya'll, welcome to the Vandy Spring Break blog. My name's Hudson, and Kat and I will be leading the trip while the group is in Guatemala. Kat and I got here this past July and work in the aldea of Chaquijya, a rural Maya community of roughly 4,000 residents. We, along with our four co-workers, teach English classes, run health programs, encourage small business development, and lead a recycling... [more]

Almost Here - Vandy Team

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hey y'all!

I am the first to update our trip blog, and obviously we don't leave until Sunday. So, I figured I'd ramble a little on what preparations we've done, and how freaking exciting we are to get down and get dirty. This past weekend, we helped out a local non-profit, called the Nashville Mobile Market, which offers healthy alternatives in Nashville's... [more]

Breaking the Ice

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello Guatemala!

What a long journey, filled with windy roads, chicken buses, false taxes, many averted crises, and ice breaking banter. Almost missing our flight because of breakfast, hard-to-kidnap elderly ladies, misplaced seats in Houston, wrong baggage claim/missing luggage, and shotguns at gas station. Well, we finally arrived in Sololá around 5:30, settled into our hostel, and then made ourselves at home at the 3... [more]

Breaking Ground

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello family, friends and followers!

Today is our second day in Guatemala! The day started off abruptly with Drew being woken up by a giant German shepherd licking his face, and it was all uphill from there. The owners of the hostel served us a delicious breakfast of giant pancakes and some of the freshest fruit we have... [more]

MPI Vanderbilt Nicaragua Trip

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Last week, our first group of spring break volunteers arrived from Vanderbilt University to work with Nicayuda painting a pre-school and to help out in all Manna’s programs. On Saturday, after a long day of traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, the 11 Vanderbilt girls were ready to take on Nicaragua. Group leaders Amanda and Zac met up with them at the airport and brought them back to the Manna... [more]

Duke Spring Break in Baños

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

After a weekend on the beach in Montañita, Ashley, Jack, Sam, and I returned to the sierras Sunday night to meet our first two spring break groups. While Ashley and Jack took the group from Vanderbilt University out to our partner organization, FEVI, in the valley north of us, Sam and I met up with our group of six from Duke University and brought them back to the valley with... [more]

MPIV Spring Breakers Hard at Work in Guatemala

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hola! Greetings from Guat!

Today started off with a bang again, as both Hos and Drew were awoken by their favorite canine companion in each of their beds. We had a great breakfast of curious, potentially vanilla flavored milk with frosted flakes—necessary sugar rush—with toast and our favorite watered down, pre-sweetened, albeit very tasty coffee, bright and early before we headed into the community. We got the privilege of witnessing the last... [more]

Vandy Spring Breakers Stay Busy in Guatemala

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

From catching aquarium fish barehanded to bartering in a local market, the third day of our Guatemalan adventure was filled with exciting new experiences. The gang (not Tuktuks, Tyler) got off to somewhat of a sluggish start to the day as a couple people fell to Montezuma's revenge and the rest of us battled fatigue from hard work and play in the local village. Upon arrival, David and Drew took a preemptive... [more]

Duke Plants a Garden in Ecuador

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

After Duke's spring break group returned from Baños, we got our hands dirty with our partner organization, Fundación Añamisi. Here to share is Mateen!

Slashing at the gnarled weeds, dodging the hundreds of bugs, and digging into the tough ground, we were fighting a battle in Fundación Añamisi's organic garden. In only three days, the garden would be completely planted, and we would have helped move Christian Añamisi's... [more]

Last Day in Chaquijyá

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Utz a wach, followers!!

We started the day at la escuela with Hudson and Kat teaching third through sixth grade students some English numbers and fruits; and in turn we learned a little K’aqchikel, the local dialect (hence our greeting). After saying goodbye to our friends at the elementary school, we took a very scenic walk on the way... [more]

Tears at the Airport

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello Everyone,

This is our last blog post! We just want everyone to know how much our experience in Guatemala has meant to all of us. It would be an understatement to say that this week was... [more]

Wheels Up, Guate Bound

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello families, friends, lovers, Romans, countrymen, and everyone else!

So I’m the first to kick off the blog. Here’s a little pre-trip ramble for your enjoyment:

I think it’s finally sinking in that this time tomorrow, we’ll be in Central America. Craziness! We can’t wait to get to Chaquijyá and get our hands dirty doing some good work, not to... [more]

MPI UGA in Guatemala: First Day Wrap-Up

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

It’s hard to believe that yesterday we were sitting at home, anxiously awaiting our trip, and wondering what we were going to encounter. Flash-forward to today and we can’t even imagine not being here. The past day has opened our eyes to such happiness, culture,... [more]

Pre-Arrival Prep In Guatemala

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hey ya'll, welcome to the Vandy Spring Break blog. My name's Hudson, and Kat and I will be leading the trip while the group is in Guatemala. Kat and I got here this past July and work in the aldea of Chaquijya, a rural Maya community of roughly 4,000 residents. We, along with our four co-workers, teach English classes, run health programs, encourage small business development, and lead a recycling... [more]

Almost Here - Vandy Team

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hey y'all!

I am the first to update our trip blog, and obviously we don't leave until Sunday. So, I figured I'd ramble a little on what preparations we've done, and how freaking exciting we are to get down and get dirty. This past weekend, we helped out a local non-profit, called the Nashville Mobile Market, which offers healthy alternatives in Nashville's... [more]

Breaking the Ice

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello Guatemala!

What a long journey, filled with windy roads, chicken buses, false taxes, many averted crises, and ice breaking banter. Almost missing our flight because of breakfast, hard-to-kidnap elderly ladies, misplaced seats in Houston, wrong baggage claim/missing luggage, and shotguns at gas station. Well, we finally arrived in Sololá around 5:30, settled into our hostel, and then made ourselves at home at the 3... [more]

Breaking Ground

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello family, friends and followers!

Today is our second day in Guatemala! The day started off abruptly with Drew being woken up by a giant German shepherd licking his face, and it was all uphill from there. The owners of the hostel served us a delicious breakfast of giant pancakes and some of the freshest fruit we have... [more]

MPI Vanderbilt Nicaragua Trip

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Last week, our first group of spring break volunteers arrived from Vanderbilt University to work with Nicayuda painting a pre-school and to help out in all Manna’s programs. On Saturday, after a long day of traveling from Nashville, Tennessee, the 11 Vanderbilt girls were ready to take on Nicaragua. Group leaders Amanda and Zac met up with them at the airport and brought them back to the Manna... [more]

Duke Spring Break in Baños

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

After a weekend on the beach in Montañita, Ashley, Jack, Sam, and I returned to the sierras Sunday night to meet our first two spring break groups. While Ashley and Jack took the group from Vanderbilt University out to our partner organization, FEVI, in the valley north of us, Sam and I met up with our group of six from Duke University and brought them back to the valley with... [more]

MPIV Spring Breakers Hard at Work in Guatemala

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hola! Greetings from Guat!

Today started off with a bang again, as both Hos and Drew were awoken by their favorite canine companion in each of their beds. We had a great breakfast of curious, potentially vanilla flavored milk with frosted flakes—necessary sugar rush—with toast and our favorite watered down, pre-sweetened, albeit very tasty coffee, bright and early before we headed into the community. We got the privilege of witnessing the last... [more]

Vandy Spring Breakers Stay Busy in Guatemala

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

From catching aquarium fish barehanded to bartering in a local market, the third day of our Guatemalan adventure was filled with exciting new experiences. The gang (not Tuktuks, Tyler) got off to somewhat of a sluggish start to the day as a couple people fell to Montezuma's revenge and the rest of us battled fatigue from hard work and play in the local village. Upon arrival, David and Drew took a preemptive... [more]

Duke Plants a Garden in Ecuador

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

After Duke's spring break group returned from Baños, we got our hands dirty with our partner organization, Fundación Añamisi. Here to share is Mateen!

Slashing at the gnarled weeds, dodging the hundreds of bugs, and digging into the tough ground, we were fighting a battle in Fundación Añamisi's organic garden. In only three days, the garden would be completely planted, and we would have helped move Christian Añamisi's... [more]

Last Day in Chaquijyá

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Utz a wach, followers!!

We started the day at la escuela with Hudson and Kat teaching third through sixth grade students some English numbers and fruits; and in turn we learned a little K’aqchikel, the local dialect (hence our greeting). After saying goodbye to our friends at the elementary school, we took a very scenic walk on the way... [more]

Tears at the Airport

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello Everyone,

This is our last blog post! We just want everyone to know how much our experience in Guatemala has meant to all of us. It would be an understatement to say that this week was... [more]

Wheels Up, Guate Bound

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

Hello families, friends, lovers, Romans, countrymen, and everyone else!

So I’m the first to kick off the blog. Here’s a little pre-trip ramble for your enjoyment:

I think it’s finally sinking in that this time tomorrow, we’ll be in Central America. Craziness! We can’t wait to get to Chaquijyá and get our hands dirty doing some good work, not to... [more]

MPI UGA in Guatemala: First Day Wrap-Up

Posted on March 15th, 2011 |

It’s hard to believe that yesterday we were sitting at home, anxiously awaiting our trip, and wondering what we were going to encounter. Flash-forward to today and we can’t even imagine not being here. The past day has opened our eyes to such happiness, culture,... [more]