A letter from Roger Marriott in Guatemala
November 2010
They just don’t seem to worry about anything—always smiling.
Joel Icó and Ismael Tiúl live upstairs in a mean little room on the roof of the second floor apartment Gloria and I rent in Cobán. Joel is 14 and Ismael is 18; both were 7th grade students this year at Colegio La Patria, a school associated with the National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Guatemala (IENPG). The room is rudimentary, but it offers them and their parents a sense of security in the sometimes challenging environment of Cobán.
Joel and Ismael are two of the seven scholarship recipients funded by a bequest from the famed Walton family. After a visit here in the early '90s, the Waltons were moved to establish a fund the interest income from which would be used to help indigenous people receive both theological and secular education.
This was harder to implement than one would think. The money did not arrive for several years due to difficulties in setting up the necessary administrative structures. Eventually a binational committee of the IENPG was named, which, after months of work, created a pilot plan to address how best to use these funds. Gloria and I are the non-Guatemalan part of that committee. These seven students are the first scholars funded under this pilot plan.
Joel and Ismael come from villages in the Polochíc Valley about five hours from Cobán. Their families, for the most part, are subsistence farmers and live in simple dwellings filled with members of the extended family. Privacy is unheard of and is not even expected. Joel and Ismael's homes, like those of most of their friends, have only dirt floors. Dampness and mold tend to crawl over everything they own.
They may be older than seventh-grade students in the United States, but in Guatemala, there is no stigma associated with being older than others in your class. Indigenous kids frequently drop out of school so they can work or just because they have no interest in schooling. For example, my friend Gonzalo told me his 10-year-old failed first grade twice and had lost interest in school. Indeed, he'd never been interested in school in the first place! So he is working in the fields with hoe and machete. Gonzalo accepts this because he himself only has a second-grade education and is not convinced of the value of sitting in a classroom.
However, Joel and Ismael wanted to study and were fortunate to be awarded scholarships. Their parents, especially their fathers, both pastors, have encouraged them to study. Ismael’s father speaks only Q'ueqchi'; Joel’s father also speaks Spanish and has additional training in theology and as a health promoter. He’s an astute fellow but with little formal education. He regularly takes advantage of workshops to continue his training in his multiple areas of interest. He was one of the better students in the accounting workshops we led a few years ago. Their mothers have no education and speak only Q'ueqchi'.
For young people coming from the rural countryside, Cobán offers opportunities, and also temptations, not present in their home communities. At home, if Joel or Ismael were even to hold hands with a girl, they’d have to get married. Dating is not the custom. If a young man of marriageable age (17 or sometimes younger) sees a young woman to whom he is attracted, he tells his father. His father discusses this with the young woman’s father. If he agrees, he will deliver the daughter to the house of the young man’s father. They will then be “together” as a couple—although they aren't legally married. No stigma is associated with such a relationship. Rural girls are often no more than 13 or 14 years old when they are “asked for.” A girl of 18 who has never been “asked for” is embarrassed or even apologetic about being an old maid.
In Cobán, young men and women can take walks together holding hands. The city also offers dance clubs catering to young folks, a setting not available in a village. This new way of living can be a challenge to the students, especially young women. Two girls, Wendy Reyes, 15, and Vilma Quim, 17, are scholarship recipients. Wendy became ill and had to withdraw from school after three months. Her illness seemed to be due to homesickness. She was very lonely in Cobán and went home every weekend to Ixcán, five hours away. Vilma had difficulty staying in the homes of people offering her room and board and moved four times in eight months. When her houseparents questioned her behavior, she would respond that she could do what she wanted. None of this could have happened in her village. She is a very good student but dropped out with only a month left in the school year. Handling the freedoms of Cobán got the best of her for a time. But she just returned to town to take a make-up exam in math. She sent formal apologies for her behavior and wants to re-enter the program; odds are that she will be accepted.
Meanwhile, Joel and Ismael just keep smiling.
Both failed mathematics; Joel also failed Spanish. They have the opportunity to take make-up tests, which they will pass. They will be given review materials that will make failure unlikely; the Ministry of Education encourages schools not to fail students.
One young scholarship recipient, 14-year-old Oswaldo, had a very difficult start. Finding himself far from home, he was not eating and was crying frequently. (Q'ueqchi' men can cry without it affecting their manliness.) But Oswaldo persevered. Now that the school year is ending he has to take only one make-up test—again in math. He tells me he wants to return next year.
Two older youth, both 18, Alex Tut and David Tun, will complete the requirements for their pre-med diplomas next year. High school here is organized to offer vocational training in different areas such as bookkeeping, education and pre-med. David tells me his dream is to be a surgeon. He passed all his classes, but it will be difficult to pass the entrance exam for the national university. A college education is a rarity, especially for an indigenous youth from a rural area. His father, though, has encouraged him to study—so he has a chance to buck the tide.
Joel just came by after returning to Cobán to take his make-up test in Spanish. He’ll be by Friday for the math test. He was smiling. He’ll be with Ismael on Friday and I suspect they both will be smiling.
Psalm 25:9: “He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”
Roger and Gloria
The 2010 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 277
