Blog Entries for Alex Foreman

Rehearsal and Celebration, Part Two

aforeman

Just before the afternoon session began, it started to rain—really, really hard. It was raining sideways, and, because the school is at the base of a valley, all of the water flows downhill towards it. While it normally trickled down the steep bank towards the sewage creek, the water shot o [...]

Rehearsal and Celebration, Part One

aforeman

The afternoon storm had threatened houses and created swirling rapids in the sewage creek. The following day, as the children arrived for their final presentation, “mineros,” miners, took advantage of the lowered water level to search for recyclables to sell. The color and enthu [...]

La Limonada-The Other Side, Part Two

aforeman

On the balcony earlier, Evertsz said that some time ago God had come to her in a dream, instructing her to visit the gang member with whom we had spoken outside of the school. While she was afraid, she went anyway. Later on, he was shot. This was one of the first times he had [...]

La Limonada-The Other Side, Part One

aforeman

“See all the shotgun blasts? That’s why people don’t like to
have windows.” While the rest of the group continued their teaching, I ventured
“al otro lado,” to the other side. There is no fence separating the two sides;
the gan [...]

The First Day in the Slum

aforeman

A four year old child responding to an inquiry about how to solve problems or conflicts made a comment about bringing a machete. This begs the question, what has he seen? La Limonada is one of the most dangerous and poverty-stricken areas of Guatemala City, and seventy pe [...]

The Weekend

aforeman

The days were devoid of the rain that came daily at the beginning of our trip, and they lacked the intensity of prison visits, overnight stays with Mayan families and trash dump observations. Wrapping up our first week in Guatemala, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were certainly l [...]

The Trash Dump

aforeman

Think of a postcard of a beautiful blue lake surrounded by volcanoes. Now, think of dirt hills covered in trash. From afar, the hills look covered in a light coat of snow, sprinkled with touches of color here and there. Now, add hundreds of people picking through the trash to make thei [...]

Days Two and Three, Part Two

aforeman

David Melby-Gibbons, an Eastern Graduate student,
played guitar while we sang several songs, among them: Amazing
Grace—first in English, then Spanish.We concluded the bonfire by
roasting some “angelitos,” marshmallows, which we enjoyed with the
children.

It was n [...]

Days Two and Three, Part One

aforeman

It’s hard to pick the high point of our second full day in Guatemala. It could be the three hour ride from Guatemala City to the Lake and surrounding Mayan villages—the farms, the colorful towns, mudslides and mountain vistas. Perhaps it was the choppy ride across Lake Atitlan during an afternoon downpour. Or maybe it was the nighttime ride hanging off the back of a pickup truck with about 20 other passengers, followed by a wonderful dinner and bonfire sing-a-l [...]

Day One: Gangland

aforeman

Approaching the prison, small markets and payphones lined the streets. A line was forming outside of the gates so guards could inspect visitors prior to entering the facility. Dogs and cats roamed the streets; mountains were visible in the distance. And there were soldiers walking aro [...]

Mona Taavao- By Anna Murphey

aforeman

Mona Tavaao is used to the loud, incessant chatter of kids. As a School District of Philadelphia Bus driver and this summer as a driver for Artology, it comes with the job.

This year at Artology, BuildaBridge is thrilled to welcome back a very
special family. Mona and her two sons, Mat (age 1 [...]

Artology Archeology Dig

aforeman

Circled around a hole with shovels in hand, the kids dug up skeletons and spears as part of their lesson on indigenous people—sort of.

After arriving at the BuildaBridge house, the Artology participants
worked with teaching artist Pedro Os [...]

Artology

aforeman

The kids arrive at a church, but they soon head out to the field.

Starting July 7, BuildaBridge began its three week
Artology summer camp for fifth to seventh graders from the Philadelphia
area.

Create! Achievement Celebration

aforeman

The church was decorated with many of the 1000 origami cranes that the children had created, and the programs were in the same shape. The 14 participants, ages 9-13, were dressed up to show off all that they had worked on for the past eight months. Parents and friends were assembled in the pews and food from the accompanying potluck dinner could be smelled cooking down the hall. The children were visibly nervous and
a few mistakes were made, but salsa instructor Lysa-Moni [...]

Jason Nicholas Profile

aforeman

With quality in mind, BuildaBridge enlisted a videographer from overseas to capture the sights and sounds of the Institute.

Jason Nicholas returned to Philadelphia from Scotland, where he is seeking his Master's degree, to assist with the technical
equipment for the Institute after previously [...]

Overseas Institute Participants

aforeman

From their respective cities, five overseas visitors traveled over 17,000 miles to reach Byrn Mawr, Pennsylvania and the BuildaBridge Institue, traveling from Oslo, Norway, Drammen, Norway, Guatemala City, Guatemala and Lejre, Denmark.

After receiving a grant three years ago to visit churches and religi [...]

Kaleidoscope Institute Participants

aforeman

Fifteen hours after driving out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, six
employees of Kaleidoscope, a community based youth development program,
arrived in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania for the BuildaBridge Institute. The
group, which had a few returning participants, att [...]

Institute Participant Profile: Daune Ring

aforeman

"I’ve always been drawn to trying to find ways to help
impoverished people become self sufficient – earning and making money finding
resources- connecting the dots for people," said Institute participant Daune Ring

During an exercise for one of Dr. Corbitt's morning Institute lectures,
Ring wrote her personal mission statement: "I exist in the world to be
a creative visionary to help people find their authentic [...]

Institute Coordinator Alina Tudose

aforeman

What makes a person a good candidate for service with a non-profit
organization? Having previously created your own non-profit
organization certainly doesn't hurt.
Before the forty-plus pages of Institute-related materials that
participants would receive upon arrival were stapled, hole punched,
paper clipped and [...]

Institute Preparations

aforeman

There were hundreds of pieces of paper piled around, and people rushed from room to room, frantically preparing for an onslaught of visitors from around the country and outside of the country.

With only a day left to finalize preparations for the BuildaBridge
Institute, interns and staff wo [...]