Projects
Working on the first school.
The villages’ community service
programs (which are required of
all young men) provide much of the labor. More details.
Original Latrine in Mactzul
The Sienna Project has been building at least one school a year in the highlands of Guatemala since 2007.
The Sienna Project is uniquely positioned to economically construct school buildings in Guatemala. We have a man on the ground there. Derek Lavanhar, an expatriate living in Chichicastenango, has construction experience and a working knowledge of the local indigenous dialect.
In addition we engage in humanitarian aid to help the people of Guatemala.
Humanitarian Work
When Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala in 2006, Derek asked that the Sienna Project come up with $500 to buy corn for Agua Viva, the village we were working with to build our first school. Their corn crop had been flattened by the storm and twelve houses were damaged. Because the corn was not ready for harvest, the village was in jeopardy of having to use their seed corn for food. We provided the money and Derek delivered four truckloads of corn over time to tide them over until a new harvest came in.
In 2010 severe rains, flooding and mudslides caused death, injury and destruction in the Highlands. In late spring after a particularly heavy rain period, where in some places between 24 and 35 inches of rain fell in a day, Derek called again and asked for the okay to help the people trapped in the mountains. We allocated funds and Derek and his wife Laura made up "care" packages of supplies (water, corn meal, rice, beans, etc). and then at great risk to themselves delivered the packages to isolated Indians in the outlying mountain areas. He has some toe curling stories to tell about those few weeks until the government aid started to flow. We're proud of Derek and salute his efforts when the going gets tough. It's not just about building schools… It's about doing the right thing.
2012 Xatanap & special needs school in Chichicastenango.
2011 Nuevo Victoria and Palanquix
2008 Mactzul 2 Sector 1
In February 2008 a different team of Gringo volunteers helped construct another modern earthquake resistant schoolhouse in the mountain village of Mactzul 2 Sector 1. . ...More details
2007 Agua Viva
The village of Agua Viva Guatemala had more teachers allocated by the government than they had classrooms, consequently many children could not attend school for lack of room. In February 2007 eleven Sienna Project Gringo volunteers traveled to Agua Viva, to assist the villagers in a self help project to construct a two classroom school building. The old school is a dirt floor wood structure with no windows, no electric outlets and a single light bulb per classroom.
It was really heartwarming when we returned in 2008 for a visit during our second construction trip to realize that the K-6 population of the village had almost doubled. We are certainly proud of the Sienna Project’s part in that...More details
The completed school in Aqua Viva during the inauguration ceremony,
summer, 07. 