What We Take for Granted

When we arrived in Guatemala I suspected that our accommodations at Fe Viva would seem like a five star resort compared to how many Guatemalans live, and I was right. And yet, even here, I recognize how much we take for granted back home in Canada. Viewing how many of the people here live can do nothing but illuminate the vast disparity in the standard of living between the majority of people in each of the two countries.
laundry / wash basin

Doing laundry here makes me appreciate my washer and dryer back home. While we are fortunate to have the use of an automatic washer in Guatemala, the water pressure is almost non-existent so we have to fill the machine by bucket each time it needs water. Drying is done on clothes-lines. And yet this is luxury. The best the other homes in the area have is an outdoor washbasin they use. I suspect most people do not have the funds to purchase laundry soap.
cooking facilities

Kitchen appliances are mostly non-existent in this area. When we first arrived I assumed the smoke in the air was from burning sugar cane. I’ve since realized that the smoke comes from cooking that is done on open fires in the outdoors. In this very poor part of Guatemala stoves are not used, and many families do not have fridges.
water well

At home we take easy access to clean drinking water and to nutritious food for granted. Here we heard numerous times that a common drink for children is sweetened coffee; this is provided to children at school and even to babies in baby bottles. Milk is often not affordable for the children, and vegetables and fruit are not staple items.

We take access to dental and medical care for granted; indeed, we see them as a right, not a privilege and we complain loudly about the state of our health care system. Many of the people we saw only have access to dental and medical care if various teams or professionals are willing to provide this for free. Similar to the woman pictured here, many people are missing teeth or have tooth decay, even the young children.

In Canada we take education for granted. While most children do attend school in this part of Guatemala, there are still some who don’t. If they are one of the fortunate ones, and don’t need to work to help their family survive, children attend school until grade nine. For those who stay in school until grade twelve, the last three years are considered the equivalent of college. In fact, when students graduate from high school they are qualified to teach school themselves.

I take my quiet nights at home for granted; nights without dogs barking, roosters crowing, or mangos banging onto the tin roof as they drop from overhead branches. And while this sounds odd, we take our sewer systems for granted. I for one, will be very thankful to be able to dispose of used toilet paper in the toilet, rather than in the garbage can.

The list of what we take for granted could go on a very long time (I haven’t even mentioned good paved roads without potholes, proper working tools, good mattresses or hot running water). Living without some of the creature comforts from home, and seeing the conditions that these people live in and their struggle to meet their basic needs, has made me aware of all that I take for granted.

House of a family in the area; the team assisted the family by rebuilding the roof on their kitchen area (before picture). The man of the house was murdered several days prior. They insisted the team take a chicken as they wanted to demonstrate their gratitude for the work done.