When one enters La Limonada the warnings of violence, the smell of poverty and the sheer compression of people, especially children, are overwhelming (over sixty percent of the country's population are children under 16).

This Thanksgiving a team of BuildaBridge artists joined hands with three collaborating organizations in Guatemala City to conduct an arts camp for 200 children 3-18 of Vidas Plenas. Vidas Plenas was founded by Hermana Tita as an afterschool program for kids in the notorious slum as a way to combat the violence and rule of gangs.

Children suffer from sexual and physical abuse, bullying, and extreme poverty. Trauma is the norm and the arts provide a creative outlet for the children of Vidas Plenas. Yet, children can be children with great joy when given the opportunity to find a safe place and express their natural creativity.

This camp was especially significant for BuildaBridge in that a primary goal was to collaborate with local artists in order to build sustainability for an arts program. Members of Ministerio Ondas, a Guatemala arts organization, along with members of Iglesia El Mensaje de Vida, co-taught classes in sculpting, painting, dance and drama. Four translators with teaching backgrounds assisted in the classes.

The BuildaBridge team included Drs. Corbitt and Nix-Early, Ron Hevey, Jesse Steele, Gina Stickney, Kayon Watson (who joined us from Nicaragua) and Rosa Lennix, BuildaBridge Associate in Guatemala. Dr. Nix-Early served as the arts education coordinator for the camp.

All classes had outcomes for arts, academic, social and character skills. Each day the staff focused on relationship building that including visiting the homes of the children.

An outcome for this particular trip to Guatemala was to assess the need and capacity for opening a BuildaBridge Central American regional office. Drs. Corbitt and Nix-Early met with the Guatemala Mennonite Central Committee, Ministerio Ondas, the wife of the current mayor of Guatemala City, and continued discussions with Strategies for Transformation (Joel van Dyke) who hosted the group for the week. An additional survey trip was taken by Dr. Corbitt and Ms. Watson to Santiago Atitlan to visit a women's community organization and an afterschool program among a Mayan community devistated by Hurricane Stan two years ago.

There was general agreement that training in the arts for education, but especially for dealing with trauma is an immediate need in the country. Plans are now being made for a BuildaBridge Institute in 2009 with arts-based trauma training (The Healing Place) as early as March 2008.