Almost two years ago I got to know the work of Common Hope. I am from Latvia and, I have to say, there were so many surprises when I moved to Guatemala! Life here is very different from life back home. Just to mention a few things: chicken busses don’t have bus stops (you just ask the driver to stop wherever you need to get off), tremors every once in a while are just normal, “a hand” of lemons at the market means you want five, and fresh fruit and sun are abundant all year long.

I have been a long-term volunteer in the department of Hospitality since the summer of 2006. One of the things I am asked to do is translate conversations when a Sponsor comes to visit the child and family that they support. The work requires a lot of concentration and is not only about translating – it is about making sure that the Sponsor can get to know the family better and vice versa. A lot of times I receive words of appreciation after the visit, but I feel that I am lucky to experience these visits. I am a witness to so many unique family stories, stories of friendship between Sponsors and families for many years; witness to tears of happiness; witness to cultural differences.

Sponsors usually want to find out what the child likes to do in his/her free time, how does he celebrate his birthday, what does he do on summer vacation, what is his favorite food. I guess the answers are not always expected. A lot of times the favorite game for children is to play soccer on the street with friends. You will never hear someone talking about playing computer games, traveling, or going to amusement parks. They just need one ball and friends to have fun!

These children don’t receive expensive gifts for their birthdays, and they don’t ask their parents for a new computer game or i-pod. They will proudly tell you that for birthdays their family makes pepian (a typical Guatemalan dish made of vegetables and chicken) for dinner.

Once visiting my family back in Latvia I was talking about an activity that we had at the Antigua site.  Some volunteers were helping the teachers to primp children for a special event – the first year anniversary of the pilot school.  The volunteers were combing hair and making different hairstyles.  My sister’s first question was whether children liked the hairstyles they got and what we did if they did not. It was hard to explain that it was something very special for them, and that nobody thought about complaining. Children were receiving special attention, and they were really proud of their hairstyles.  It just made me think about appreciating small, simple things.

How little we need to feel happy.

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