Graduation ceremonies... and more food poisoning, please!
November 21, 2011
Claudia Binet

Two Fridays ago were the graduation ceremonies in Todos Santos  for the participants in the business, literacy and leadership program who completed their classes this year. Last Friday, a similar event took place in Comitancillo. I had the pleasure to attend both events.

In Todos Santos, the ceremonies started at 9 on the dot like they were supposed to, which is nicely surprising for Guatemalan standards. There were around 120 women at the beginning and more and more people kept on coming in. In the end, we must have been close to 200 people! The staff from CAUSE, IMDI and CONALFA were present, as well as Jorge (Country Director) who came from San Marcos with César, a business promoter in Comitancillo.

For this event, every group had to prepare a performance that they would present on stage. A lot of them chose to dance to folkloric music (there was a great marimba group playing); some others did funny contests. One group did a reenactment of the stages of making thread from natural cotton and other groups recreated traditional rituals. A few communities had prepared traditional food for the staff such as atol (a thick corn and squash drink with a lot of sugar), elotes (corn on the cob) and ayote (boiled squash with honey). I was so full I thought I would explode but I couldn't exactly refuse, I really did not want to offend anyone. I was sick for the next week after that, but that's another story...

Near the end, participants came on stage to receive their certificate. It was so satisfying to see them all smiles after a year of great efforts! Then, a few other women came on stage and distributed presents for the staff and the guests, and I received so many things! Three embroidered hand bags, a beautiful piece of fabric and a bag of sheca (sweet bread). I was so happy but at the same time I felt like I did not deserve that much! It ended with more marimba and foreigners (me) dancing on stage with participants. I was mentally prepared because Jorge had told me it happened every year, and it was actually quite fun!

Two days ago, Don Natalio (Director of IMDI), Sonia (business promoter), Benita (literacy promoter), Ingrid (daughter of another literacy promoter) and I made a road trip to Comitancillo. It was a lot of driving for a 4 hour event but it was well worth it! I realized that I got to know Comitancillo's participants a lot better and it was so good to see them again! Every group also made a performance, and almost all of them chose to do folkloric dances with beautiful costumes. Some women from the leadership groups came on stage and explained what they had learned about women's rights and how the classes had an impact on their life. I could hardly believe those were the same women who had a hard time introducing themselves in the first few weeks of the program! Then, the participants received their diplomas, and the event ended with a delicious lunch of chicken, rice and tamales, prepared by Jorge's family. There were about 300 people present (participants, children, husbands...) and I have never seen such a big pot of rice in my life!

We left right after the ceremonies ended, and we got back to Todos Santos 7 hours later, at 10 pm, because we got caught in traffic and had to stop in at a few places. And then, at night and for the next 3 days, I... got food poisoning! Twice in a week, that's a really sad record! I can't wait to go to a health clinic in Canada and get rid of all the stomach bugs I must have...