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Alyssa Pallmeyer. 1. A personal take away I have from the video is the realization that this could have been me. If I wouldn't have been adopted, I would have been just like Chino and many other Guatemalan children that are forced to live on a dollar a day. It makes me feel eternally grateful for the life that I have been given and this helps me appreciate the service we are doing even more because it makes me so eager to give back to my country. 2. The root of these issues have a lot to do with the long and devastating civil war that took place in Guatemala until the late 90's. The country continues to suffer from corrupt politicians so it is so difficult for many of those citizens to live in a safe environment where their best interests are at heart. Other issues is just the lack of education and because it is more important for families to get an income to make a living, you see so many children not in a classroom but working from the day that they can walk and talk. When I went in 2016, children as young as 3 were already in the streets of Antigua trying to sell handmade goods just so that their family could eat that day. 3. Some assets and strengths of the community is how close the all are and how the all help each other. It is such a close knit community where they all see the potential in everyone, but they all realize that their fate is to be farming or working a low paying job for the rest of their lives. 4. I think this affects the quality of their education because at one point Victor was saying how Chino has so much potential and is a very smart and bright young kid, but there is just no way given their circumstances for him to be getting a "proper" education at that point. 5. Challenges we will face are that students will all be in different places in their education and will come from all different backgrounds. Since it will be such a culture shock for us to see how exactly their education system works it will be an adjustment to see just how our strengths can benefit the students. Since the schools we will be at will have such a huge range of students in age and level or education they have, it will really be interesting to see how personalized we can make the experience to each individual student.

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Nicole Castro 1. A personal take away I'd have to say that has influenced my vision of this service is when I went to DR and realized that many people are in help and in need of education. Knowing people in my neighborhood who weren't able of doing their work or finishing their assignments due to needing help and family not being able to provide this help was sad.  2. Main potential root of cause would be politics! I think many countries are struggling with politics because of the government making selfish decisions and basing their politics on people who are of a higher class. 3. Assets and strengths of the community is the people! The people are genuine, thankful and don't even have much. In this documentary I saw how many people living on a dollar were offering food and their home. 4. These circumstances affect education a lot! Not having money for an education causes them to not do things they truly want to study. A woman wanted to be a nurse but couldn't until she received a loan. A young man of the age of 12 works everyday in the farm. This labor is made for grown men and this young man woke up everyday to work and couldn't receive an education due to not having money. 5. Challenges we will face is how different we are and look. We don't all look like them and come from a different planet from them, its going to be hard to try to relate and help them understand that we are here to help them.

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Nicole Castro

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Alyssa Pallmeyer

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Nicole Schiff- 1: This documentary was extremely impactful. Seeing how the young boys really wanted to learn English from the group of men really stuck with me. It is upsetting that these kids know their fate of working as farmers for the rest of their lives. I wish they were given the opportunities where they would be able to see more than that in their future. I cannot imagine feeling stuck like that. The fact that a twelve year old boy already knows what his future looks like is upsetting. Their poverty stifles his growth. 2: I think the root problem to their extreme poverty is derived from political strife. When their is a gap so large like the one in Guatemala, it is evident that these people are looked over. Seeing what they have to do to get a loan from a bank is just one small example of the society and how it keeps them from flourishing. 3: Their community is beautiful in so many ways. The main strength I see is their sense of acceptance and community. The people were so welcoming of the group of men that lived in their community for those weeks. Even with the hardships they are all going through, they were still willing to give loans to the men. That amazed me. To see these people help them while even though they are in need themselves is truly organic and humbling. It shows how caring these people are. It makes me question a lot about our society. We have so much yet some would not think of helping a person they have just met. There is one point in the video where the man Anthony says he considers them their bothers, after only weeks of knowing each other. 4: When it comes to education it is quite obvious that it is rare. Their circumstances leave minimal room for education which is extremely upsetting. These children have so much potential and having the opportunity to go to school would really benefit them. In the realm of services for students with disabilities, I would believe there are close to none. A lot of services cost money, which obviously makes it difficult for these people to receive services. 5: I know there are going to be a lot of challenges on this trip. It is going to be emotionally draining seeing how these people live and what they go through every single day. I am already preparing myself mentally. It makes my stomach hurt thinking about the fact that after two weeks we will leave these conditions that these people might never be liberated from. Another challenge will be the adjustment to living in a different way than what we are used to. Being prepared and ready for things we will encounter will be beneficial when it comes to this. We are going to have to be open minded and willing to step outside of our comfort zones.

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Erin Murray: 1.) My favorite story that was featured in the documentary was Rosa's. She  spoke of how sad she was that she could not afford to have things that other girls have, like nice clothes and even shoes. This is something that I know I take for granted as so many young girls are in the same position she is. Rosa also had to stop her educational studies, but she was able to go back after getting out one small loan and doing something she loved. This shows that even a little bit of support will boost deserving people to do things of their highest potential. 2.) These stories of poverty seem to be never-ending because of the cycle that occurs in these areas. The documentary featured a common conflict that parents face; whether their children will go to school or if they will go hungry. Poverty forces children out of school at very young ages, which makes it nearly impossible for them to receive educational resources that will allow them to be successful enough to make a decent living for themselves. 3.) The way the community is close with and cares for one another makes an extremely positive impact on the circumstances. The story of the man who paid for his neighbor's medical expenses without hesitation was very inspiring. This man had little money himself, but he knew that he had to help someone else that was in need. All of the people in the documentary seem to practice these values also, as they know that they are in these tough situations together. Another great value of the community is their support for children. Even in difficult times, the adults want the children to be kids and to have fun as much as they can. 4.) Besides nutrition and other basic needs, education is one of the largest things affected by this poverty. Children are unable to attend school any longer than a few short years, for a number of different reasons. Families often cannot pay expenses for education, or children are needed by their families to work in agriculture to provide food and other resources. Also, since many people in the population are not educated, there may not be enough people to work and teach in the schools for children. 5.) To go from our comfortable lives here to a completely different culture will be very overwhelming at first I'm sure. We will be immersed into a different place with different foods, practices, and lifestyles, which may be difficult to adjust to. I think the best way that we may face these difficulties may be to just be open to learning about Guatemala and its people. Hopefully we can find a positive and effective way to merge our culture with theirs that brings great service to all we meet.

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Genevieve Cohen: 1. Something that really struck with me in this documentary is when they were talking about Chino, who was only 12, had to stop going to school because they couldn't afford the supplies. In the documentary when they asked him if he could be anything, what would he be? And he responded that he was going to be a farmer, but when asked further he would want to be a pro soccer player, but has come to accept the fact that he will be a farmer. For me, I am in contact with younger children frequently whether it be family members, babysitting, volunteering, work, etc. and always talking to them about what they want to be when they are older, and continuously encouraging them no matter what. We as Americans are often taught the sky is the limit in terms of education no matter how you get there, and the fact that Chino just has to accept the fact that he will be a farmer for the rest of his life really changed my view on some of the messages and service we want to bring to Guatemala, no matter who we come in contact with. 2. I feel/believe a lot of the root causes to social justice issues observed in this documentary are politics and private corporations. Something that I found interesting in just doing some research about Guatemala and injustices there is their electricity system. The government privatized the electricity system, and in turn poor households or rural areas are often unable to keep their electricity running due to the cost of it. Politicians and private corporations often choose to ignore these issues, whether it be running water, a proper sewage system, electricity, access to affordable health care, a minimum wage, etc. because their pockets are still being lined no matter what. 3. Some assets and strengths that I noticed of the community when watching this documentary is the idea of togetherness. Whether they are farming, making goods, selling things, etc. the people of this community often did not let their hardships get them down even if these are the cards they have been dealt. 4. These circumstances may affect the quality and availability for education because as learned in the documentary, it costs money to get the supplies to go to school, and if that money isn't there then you won't go to school and will often have to start working at a young age which means that often children may not make it past middle school, as seen with Chino, or even graduate. As for individuals with disabilities and services for them, that costs money as well and those resources may not be there as well. 5. Challenges we may face during our service are firstly, redefining normal. While things may seem abnormal to us, it is normal for them, thus we need to seek out new ideas of "normality" during our time there, while also having realistic expectations because our perception of what Guatemala is right now will change vastly when we are there. One last challenge that I think is important to keep in mind is that even if we can't change the daily world they live in, we can make a difference and leave an impact.

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Laura Reyes: 1. This video reminded me a lot on my trip to Mexico because the indigenous people live in such different environments, and it is very hard to see at times when you compare it to your own living conditions. Its very frustrating to see such hard workers and sacrifices being given (whether it be education or family), for such little in return. 2. I definitely believe all root to the social injustices come from politics. Countries like Brazil, Haiti, and Dominican Republic all have such corrupt politicians that have no problem making the poor poorer and the rich richer. 3. The strength in the community are agricultural work and sticking together. They are put in difficult circumstances when this simply isn't enough to maintain a family, especially larger ones. 4. When their isn't enough money on the table children have to stop their education and work, this is a major sacrifice. 5. We might face the challenge of disrespecting someone over what WE think is unfortunate. Just because someone does not live with our privilege doesn't mean that they are any less happier.

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1. When the documentary spoke about malnutrition, and the lack of growth and activity the children can participate in, my heart really sank because it was never something I had thought about. I knew food supply would be low, but I never thank about the consequences that came along. This has influenced my perception because I will be more open minded and aware of the possible limitations these children might be facing.