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 program - a little bit of everything.

The idea is holistic development, and we only work in areas where there are community organizations already tackling the issue, groups that we can work alongside. We're thrilled the Vandy group has decided to come work alongside us for the week, residents are eagerly awaiting the trash cans that they'll install along the main road in town. This road was just paved in November and is already littered with chip wrappers and plastic bottles. After the project is finished, they'll have a place to put their trash, and a nearby elementary school will empty them each week. Then, instead of burning the trash, we'll stuff it into plastic bottles, creating eco-blocks that we'll use next year to build an addition to the school.

Another bottle school in Guatemala.

Our hope is to create a culture that's more environmentally friendly on the community side. For our volunteers, we hope to create the experience of a lifetime - one where they can give back in a measurable way while learning more about life outside the United States. We invite you to stay tuned throughout the week as we update you on our progress.

Truly,

Hudson and Kat