Annual Report 2010
Table of Contents Letter from the Director Major Achievements in 2010 Volunteer Service EntreMundos Magazine Capacity Building Workshops IT Skills Training Courses Rural Workshops Community Tourism Workshops The EntreMundos Team Financial Report
Letter from the Director 2010 has seen many challenges for small grass roots organizations trying to improve the lives of their fellow citizens here In Guatemala. Hurricane Agatha and subsequent tropical storms caused problems throughout the country, and this, added to the issues of security and of a continuing global economic crisis, meant that many communities saw a drop in their traditional sources of income such as agriculture and tourism and organizations have struggled to find international funding. Despite a reduction in the number of international volunteers and students who came Guatemala in 2010, we saw signs that many people would not be put off from visiting this amazing country. In 2010, we have also noted more enthusiasm than ever, on the part of people who work for NGOs and community organizations, to gain knowledge and training that will help their organizations progress. In the following report you will read about the successes we have had this year in our various programmes, such as promoting best practice in volunteer management, raising awareness about development and human rights issues through our magazine, our capacity building workshop series and computer courses for NGO workers. We have many plans to develop and improve our programmes as we enter 2011, in our continuing mission to promote social change and promote community advancement. Thank you for your continued support.
Jocelyn Bates Director of EntreMundos
Volunteer
service Introduction The global economic crisis and the tropical storms that hit in 2010 are two factors that appeared to have had a negative impact on the numbers of people visiting Guatemala. Unfortunately this decline in tourism also impacted our volunteer placement services. Despite these difficulties, EntreMundos still connected a total of 109 volunteers with local development projects in the Western Highlands region, along with maintaining our online database of volunteer opportunities which allows prospective volunteers to organise their placement independently and free-of -charge. 2010 also marked the introduction of two new volunteer services. Along with our drop-in volunteer placement service we run from our offices in Xela, we also started offering an online predeparture volunteer placement service as well as our Volunteering and Cultural Programme Service for groups.
Drop-In Volunteer Placement Service In 2010, a total of 85 people interested in volunteering made use of our drop-in volunteer placement service which we run from our offices, Monday to Thursday 1pm to 5pm. For a donation of just Q25 (approximately USD$3), prospective volunteers receive expert advice from our Programme Advisor on finding the best placement to match their experience and needs. They can use our binders or online database which contain listings of over 120 different volunteer opportunities, receive free use of the internet to email organisations and free local phone calls to set up their placements. For those with limited Spanish, our Volunteer Programme Advisor can make contact with the selected organisation on behalf of the volunteer to arrange their placement.
Pre-Departure Volunteer Placement Service In March 2010, we introduced a service developed for prospective volunteers who prefer to set up their voluntary work prior to arriving in Guatemala. After the potential volunteer fills out a registration form, the Volunteer Programme Advisor then assesses whether the wishes of the potential volunteer are feasible. If so, EntreMundos organises the placement for a donation of USD$40. Along with the setting-up of the placement, the volunteer also receives a complete information package about Guatemala, including information regarding transport, accommodation, health, behavioural guidelines, recommended items to bring, etc. In addition to this, we also began offering additional services for volunteers such as booking an overnight stay in Guatemala City, airport pick-ups, booking accommodation in Xela and accompaniment of the volunteer to their project for their first day.
Volunteering and Cultural Programmes EntreMundos started developing an additional volunteer service for groups who are interested in volunteering and learning about Guatemalan culture but only have a short amount of time available to do so. The basis of the programme is a combination of participation in hands-on volunteer work and a variety of cultural activities. Each programme includes transport, accommodation, three meals a day, one or two guides (depending on the size of the group), volunteer projects, and activities. In March, we hosted our first group of 10 students from the University of Virginia. They spent their “Alternative Spring Break� working on a reforestation project, building a Safe Stove, painting a rural school, & taking part in a football tournament with a local orphanage. They also participated in several hikes, a visit to local thermal baths, enjoyed a traditional Guatemalan meal, attended a conference about the history of Guatemala, & participated in a Mayan ceremony .
Further Developments Other developments included the reintroduction of the Volunteer Listings Section in the EntreMundos Magazine, the translation into Spanish of all our volunteer placement listings, the development of Behavioural Guidelines for volunteers, a Code of Conduct for volunteers working with children as well as a new Volunteer Feedback Form to more effectively record the experiences of volunteers
Plans for 2011 In 2011 we aim to build on the success of our services & market them through the internet as well as by actively contacting potentially interested parties. Secondly we are planning on developing an internship programme service for volunteers that are wishing to work with a host organisation in Guatemala.
Magazine Introduction EntreMundos' bimonthly magazine is a unique project in that it works not only to complement the organisation's workshop and volunteer programmes by increasing the visibility of EntreMundos and generating interest in our projects, but also functions as a stand-alone publication. Its vision is to provide on its pages a space that may serve as an educational tool as well as a space open for discussion and exposition of the social themes that affect Guatemala as a whole. It is a free-of-charge publication with a proportion of printing and administration costs offset by revenues generated through advertising from local businesses. As well as informative articles from local and international journalists, it also provides free-ofcharge Volunteer Listings to local NGOs seeking volunteers.
Publication of our 50th Edition January 2010 marked a landmark event in the history of the EntreMundos Magazine with the publication of our 50th edition. To commemorate this event a selection of some of the most talked about articles from our back catalogue were reprinted. Throughout the lifetime of our magazine it has maintained steadfast in its principles of inclusion, respect for differences and solidarity. It has spotlighted the work of many different social organisations in the Western Highlands along with helping EntreMundos the organisation in the development of a social network that has allowed us greater interaction with civil society in Guatemala.
Magazine Internships A new initiative in 2010 was the creation of an internship programme for the magazine. Throughout July and August, we welcomed the assistance of Thomas Reid, a graphic designer from Ireland, who, under the stewardship of our editor, was responsible for the design and layout of our September/October issue on the theme of Communication.
The Re-Introduction of the Volunteer Listings Section March 2010 also marked the re-introduction of the Volunteer Listings Section at the back of our magazine. With 2000 copies distributed every two months, this free service that we offer local organisations and community groups, is an excellent way for small organisations to recruit new volunteers and raise the profile of their organisations in and around Xela. Over the five issues between March and December 2010, 31 different organisations posted volunteer opportunities in our magazine.
Plans for 2011 In early 2011, we will also be hosting two more interns for our magazine. The first will be working as Guest Editor throughout January and February and then at the end of February we will host a second in the capacity of Guest Writer and Fundraiser. We look forward to bringing even more fresh ideas to the magazine in 2011. We are proud to announce that 2011 will mark the 10th birthday of EntreMundos. To commemorate this milestone for we will be dedicating our July/August edition to the theme of Volunteering, a theme which remains an integral part of the overall ethos of our organisation.
A “thank you” from the EntreMundos Magazine. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank local entrepreneur, Frank Tillapaugh who generously sponsored the printing our July/August edition on the theme of Education. In addition we would also like to thank the following people who have offered their time and experience free-of-charge to the magazine during 2010: Mauricio L. Vassaux, Marielle Che, Freddy Barrios, Pablo Bartlett, Irma Sandoval, Fabiola Arrivillaga, Flor Gómez, Gina Spigarelli, Kristin Wright, Maria Taylor, Luis Cordón León, Jack Kerouac, Frida Kahlo, Sergio Villatoro, Ruth Brink, Donny, Sergio de León, Andrés Cabanas, Rachel Winograd, Emma Hulse, Wilson, Ixchot, Manos de Colores, El Nahual, Olga Lucia Pellecer, Cristina Alba, Cesia Orozco, Diego Martinez, Julio Pérez, Ludwig Shulte, Tracy Barnett, Stacy Whittlef, Paul Cesario, Armadillo Teatro, Guillermo Santillana, Cedric Lebretom, Jimena Argueta, Julio Valdez, Alyssa Fry, Brit Gordon McKeon, Julia Lake, Thomas Reid, Erick Cifuentes, Jaime de León, Gente Joven, Waldorf Guatemala, Pinar Istek
Capacity Building Workshops
Introduction The community organisations we work with here in the Western Highlands of Guatemala are rich in culture, unity and solidarity which are their main assets to confront and resolve problems. Because of this sense of community, there are many associations, NGOs and collectives working to improve the lives of disadvantaged, local populations. They have a great deal of will and passion to make their organisations work but often not enough experience or resources to make them successful. Our continually adapting and evolving Capacity Building Workshop Programme has been specifically designed to meet this need for high-quality technical assistance training to NGO managers and staff in the region and aims to offer the best possible chance of success for the grassroots development initiatives that these organisations are implementing.
The EntreMundos Diplomado in Formulation and Evaluation of Projects In May were proud to be able to launch our first ever Diplomado in Formulation and Evaluation of Projects. The course ran between May and August and was specifically designed by our professional facilitator Dr Walter Hillermann - a specialist in Project Planning, with over 30 years experience in putting development theory into practice - in conjunction with EntreMundos staff. The course was without doubt the most in-depth that EntreMundos has conducted since we began offering capacity-building workshops in 2007. A total of 42 NGO workers, cooperative and community group members participated in this inaugural year’s programme and by the end of it demonstrated not only improved theoretical knowledge of project planning techniques but also created new or amended their own organisational documentation, assessed throughout the course, specific to each of their current or prospective projects. With this all-new or highly-refined project planning documentation produced by our participating organisations, we were able to assist in greatly improving the efficiency and effectiveness of countless, vital grassroots developments initiatives across the region and in doing so improving the quality of life for the many rural indigenous communities in which these programme are being implemented.
Dates and Themes of Workshops in 2010
March 25th: Volunteer Management May 13th: Project Planning: an Introduction May 27th: Diplomado in Formulation and Evaluation of Projects: Day One July 1st: Diplomado in Formulation and Evaluation of Projects: Day Two July 22nd: Diplomado in Formulation and Evaluation of Projects: Day Three August 19th: Fundraising Day One August 20th: Fundraising Day Two August 26th: Diplomado in Formulation and Evaluation of Projects: Day Four A cumulative total of 223 NGO staff, cooperative and community group members participated in our Capacity Building Workshops held in 2010 from the following 57 development organisations: ADAFIS, ADAM, ADICLA, AFDIGUA, ALAS, Amigas del Sol, APS, ASECSA, Asociación Ajb'atz Enlace Quiché, Asociación Brazos Unidos Para Viviencia Ixpiyacoc, Asociación de Comunidades Rurales Integradas para el Desarrollo, Asociación IXKOQ´A´, Asociacion Nuevos Horizontes, Asociación Pop Wuj, Asociación Utz N´oj, ASPAS, Casa Xelajú, Centro Infantil Bellota, Centro Maya, CODECOT, Colegio el Pedegral, Comité Evangelica de Servicio y Socorro Maya Quiché, Comunidad La Florida, Comunidad Nueva Alianza, DESGUA, Dirección General de Deporte Adaptivo, EDELAC, El Buen Samaritano, El Nahual, Escuela Educacional Especial Xelajú, FECCEG, Fraternidad de Presbiteriales Mayas, Fuente la Vida, Fundación Futuro de los Niños, Fundación Luna de Xelajú, FUNDAP, Habitat para la Humanidad Guatemala, Hogar Comunitario, Hogar Temporal, Kaj Ulew, Kamalbe School, Long Way Home, Mayalan, NPH, Pro Agua del Pueblo, Proyecto Miriam, Red Kuchub'al, Red Nacional de Grupos Gestores, Seguras Perspectivas, SEIBA, Serjus, Servicios para el Desarrollo, Sociedad al Adelanto, Trama Textiles, Unidad Ejecutura, Utz Kol´bal, Xelateco.
Plans for 2011 We have already begun our preparations for our Capacity Building Workshops Programme in 2011. During the calendar year we will be offering a brand new series of ten, full-day workshops on a variety of best practice methods for organisational capacity strengthening.
IT Skills
Training Introduction Our IT Skills Training Courses put technology within the reach of all local NGO staff. For many of the participants in our courses, this is the first opportunity they have been given to learn vital IT skills. Our IT Skills Training courses, specifically tailored towards NGO managers and staff, are designed to provide organisations with greatly enhanced internal and external communication, greater visibility for their organisation and improved capacity for fundraising. In 2010 we were proud to be able to offer five IT Skills Training courses, three at beginner level and two at intermediate level. With the importance of information technology never greater, the chance for small-scale NGOs to learn vital IT skills and, within a matter of weeks, be able for the first time to have information and photos describing their organisation online, combined with the ability to communicate with this new audience and support, is something of significant value to our local partner organisations.
Successes during 2010 A major success of our IT Skills Training courses in 2010 was the increasing interest that the courses were receiving within the local NGO community. Word-of-mouth about the quality and professionalism of our courses continued to grow throughout 2010 which helped to make it our most successful year of programming to date with a record number of NGO workers, community group and cooperative members graduating our courses during 2010. Another significant success of the 2010 programme was the increase in female participants for our IT Skills Training courses. Although the participation of women in NGOs is increasing, IT is one area that is still commonly regarded in Guatemala as more appropriate for men than women and during the first year of our IT Skills Training Programme in 2008/2009 nearly all of the participants were men. This was something we identified in previous programme evaluations as needing to be addressed and for our 2010 programme we actively promoted the importance of women members from our partner organisations participating in our courses. We were delighted by the positive response we received and during the course of the programme year we trained 27 women (64% of the total number of participants) in vital computing skills.
Programme Outputs A total of 42 NGO workers, community group and cooperative members participated in our IT Skills Training Courses during 2010 representing the following 23 organisations: AEMG, Amigas del Sol, ASCHAC, ASECSA, Asociación ACDEC, Asociación ADICH, Asociación Pro Desarrollo Social, ASODEPA, AVAH, Bejeleb B´atz, Casa Xelajú, COCODE Barrio Garibaldi, CODECOT, COMAGAUTI, Coordinación de COCODES, FCPNYA, FECCEG, Grupo de Mujeres Xecaracoj, Hogar Temporal, Organizaciones Indígenas de Momostenango, SIEA, Trama Textiles, Voces de Cambio.
Plans for 2011 In 2011 we are planning to build on the successes of 2010 and offer even more specific courses on a wider variety of Information Technology tools and programmes. New options available for our local partners include advanced Excel, website creation and maintenance and the use of project planning software packages. We intend to offer a minimum of four, ten week computer courses in 2011 though if the demand for places is at the same level or higher than in 2010, we will do all we can to accommodate it.
Rural
Workshops Introduction In May 2010 we successfully completed our final series of rural workshops in the communities of Chuicutama, Pacutama and Chuacruz. Thanks to the support of Planet Wheeler and GDG, these three rural, indigenous communities now have fully functioning weaving cooperatives and are receiving orders from both North America and Europe for their textiles. This represents a much needed, genuinely sustainable, long-term income stream for these displaced communities who had previously been dependant on agriculture as their only precarious means of supporting their families.
The Communities of Pacutama, Chuicutama and Chuacruz We are delighted to report that the 2010 Rural Workshop Programme in the three communities of Pacutama, Chuicutama and Chuacruz achieved its main goal of bringing these cooperatives up to a level of production quality at which they can sell their products in international markets. Y’abal (a partner organisation of EntreMundos) is planning one or two more workshops independently with Pacutama and Chuicutama but are already beginning to generate and export orders for the three communities. The income streams that this represents for these rural, indigenous communities is something of great value to these new cooperatives and vital for the long-term sustainable development of these villages who have suffered so much in the past. We at EntreMundos are extremely proud of the advances that have been made over the past couple of years with the participants of this programme, and whilst our final workshop in May marked the end of our active involvement with these communities, we look forward to monitoring the development of the cooperatives long into the future. 43 members of the communities of Pacutama and Chuicutama participated in our 2010 Rural Workshop Programme along with 19 members of the community of Chuacruz representing a total of 62 between the three communities.
Asociación Chajulense de Mujeres The Asociación Chajulense de Mujeres began as an effort to create opportunity for women in Chajul, due to the decrease of job sources from some organisations in the area. Thus, 50 women began meeting to create alternatives. The main goal of the Asociación Chajulense de Mujeres is to promote the comprehensive development of the associates, their families, and their communities through: a) promoting community organisation; b) creating productive projects; c) promoting micro-credit; d) finding support from other entities; e) organising special activities for women; f) generating training processes to increase the women’s knowledge in different issues; and, g) watching over the care and protection of the environment. Towards the end of 2010, EntreMundos was approached by a funder of the organisation to conduct an association diagnostic to identity technical assistance training needs for the association.
Plans for 2011 Alter conducting the association diagnostic on the 15th and 16th December, we are currently in the process of working together with the association and an outside funding body to run a series of workshops in the community of Chajul in 2011. The workshops will be on the themes of General Administration, Financial Administration and Human Resource Management with the objective of creating a more solid foundation for the long-term sustainability of the association.
Community Tourism Workshops
Introduction For many rural communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, displaced during the civil conflict or after horrific natural disasters such as Hurricane Stan in 2005, farming is the only option available to them to provide for their families or earn any sort of income. However for the genuine long-term development of marginalised, indigenous communities here in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, and to create truly sustainable livelihoods, diversification is imperative and that non-agricultural sustainable solutions be found for these displaced rural communities.
Why Community Tourism? Guatemala’s physical beauty is stunning and it currently receives over a half-million visitors a year. A verdant landscape of rain forests, highland cloud forests, whitewater rivers, volcanoes and lakes, Guatemala is one of the world's richest areas of biological diversity. It is this wealth of natural beauty and breathtaking landscape that, for many indigenous communities, represents their best chance to bring their communities out of poverty. For this reason, many rural indigenous communities are uniting and forming basic structures of cooperatives. With their community leaders, they are attempting to identify how they can manage their natural resources most effectively to attract a controlled level of tourism and generate vital, more sustainable income streams. With little to no previous experience in project planning, we are being increasingly approached by communities to meet this specific need for training for community tourism projects. For this reason, in 2009 we launched our inaugural Community Tourism Workshop Series
Loma Linda Workshops Following on from an initial workshop in 2009, In 2010 we held two weekend workshops in the community of Loma Linda, the first took place on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of February, with a further two -day workshop held on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st March. The first weekend workshop focussed on publicity and marketing whilst the second two-day workshop was on the theme of organisational structure and planning and was facilitated by Fernando Cojulun, from the organisation ADAM with the assistance of EntreMundos staff.
Successes We were very pleased with the quality of the publicity that was produced for Loma Linda over the course of the first weekend workshop as well as how much the participants visibly enjoyed the process of creating this material themselves. The production of a concrete marketing plan was another significant achievement of the twoday workshop and another step forward for the association With regard to the second capacity building training weekend, we are pleased to be able to report that following this training weekend, the association has now produced new organisational charts for both the association and its small business arm. Another significant achievement of the weekend was the demonstrated improved understanding of vision and mission by the participants who will now be able to take forward the association in a far more considered and structured manner.
Plans for 2011 In 2011, we aim to build on the successes of our inaugural Community Tourism Programme and offer an expanded series to more communities in need of capacity building. The emphasis of this training programme will be on best management practice for a controlled number of visitors. It will focus on attracting tourism whilst at the same time maintaining the integrity of local community life and the surrounding environment. For our Community Tourism Programme 2011, we plan to run a series of workshops for cooperative members from 6 different communities to enhance their knowledge on how to effectively identify, plan and deliver their community tourism programmes.
Our Sponsors in 2010 The Inter-American Health Alliance (IAHA) is a U.S.-based 501(c) 3 non-profit that was started by volunteers to support development operations in Guatemala. IAHA acts as EntreMundos’ US fiscal sponsor and takes no percentage of grants processed through them for this service. IAHA also manages individual donations made through our website. It is entirely volunteer-run, which means that the maximum amount of funds raised go directly to EntreMundos in Guatemala. IAHA's status as a tax-exempt organisation also allows U.S. donors to receive a tax discount on their donation to EntreMundos. IAHA also works closely with other charitable U.S.-based groups and universities to develop sustainable relationships that can help support the work of EntreMundos. For more information about the organization, please visit www.interamericanhealth.org
The International Foundation, established in 1948, helps people of the developing world in their endeavours to solve some of their problems, to attain a better standard of living and to obtain a reasonable degree of self-sufficiency. In 2009 The International Foundation funded a programme comprised of a series of workshops on the Setting-Up of Cooperatives for two rural communities here in the Western Highlands as well as our inaugural Community Tourism Workshop Series for community groups from all over the region seeking more sustainable solutions to their local development problems. In 2010 they funded our Community Tourism Workshop Series in the community of Loma Linda. For more information about the organization, please visit www.intlfoundation.org
Global Development Group is a Non Governmental Organisation [NGO] carrying out humanitarian projects with approved partners and providing aid to relieve poverty in a tangible way. They provide long term solutions through the provision of quality aid development projects in approved countries. Global Development Group has been partnering EntreMundos since 2009 on our Community Capacity Building Programme. For more information about the organisation please visit www.globaldevelopment.org.au
The Planet Wheeler Foundation was established in 2008 by Maureen and Tony Wheeler, founders of Lonely Planet Publications. Planet Wheeler is based in Melbourne, Australia and currently funds over 60 projects in the developing world. While they focus on South East Asia, East Africa and South America they currently provide support to NGOs in 30 different countries. Their purpose is to support practical and effective projects which make a difference in the alleviation of poverty.
The EntreMundos Team Staff in 2010: Director: Jocelyn Bates Development Coordinator: Ian Taylor Volunteer Programme Advisor: Marloes Nijboer Magazine Editor: Valeria Ayerdi IT Trainers: David Matul Hernandez and Margarita Ovalle Publicity Coordinators: Lennert Rohde and Karina Minera Reyna Magazine Intern: Thomas Reid Fundraising Intern: Julia Corden Lake Accountant: Aldy Cajas Cajas Board of Directors: President & Legal Representative : Manuel Rodolfo Sanchez Diaz Vice President: Sergio Fernando Villatoro Curnes Treasurer: Thomas Anthony Lingenfelter Secretary: Yovani Alberto Cux Chan Vocal: Glenda Gabriela Lopez Ximin Vocal: Lucas Edward Vidgen
Staff for 2011: Director: Jocelyn Bates Development & Workshop Programme Coordinator: Ian Taylor Volunteer Programme & Community Tourism Advisor: Laurel Carlton Magazine Editor: Valeria Ayerdi IT Trainers: David Matul Hernandez and Margarita Ovalle Publicity Coordinators: Lennert Rohde and Karina Minera Reyna Accountant: Aldy Cajas Cajas
Condensed Financial Information for year ending 31st December 2010 2010
2009
2008
OPERATING REVENUE
Foundations
Q87,948.42
Q188,961.02
Q54,665.40
National and International Donations Magazine Revenues
Q62,939.66 Q40,955.00
Q55,378.41 Q35,521.00
Q38,059.40 Q44,255.00
Q191,843.08
Q279,860.43
Q136,979.80
Workshop Programmes
Q98,182.68
Q163,875.56
Q59,082.70
Volunteer Programmes
Q44,056.89
Q10,808.29
Q22,409.18
Magazine
Q50,508.25
Q45,350.00
Q49,285.18
Q192,747.82
Q220,033.85
Q130,777.06
Q20,913.25
Q20, 779.00
Q12,495.47
Q213,661.07
Q240,812.85
Q143,272.53
(Q21,817.99)
Q39,047.58
(Q6,292.73)
Total Operating Revenue OPERATING EXPENSES AND CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
Programme Services
Total Programme Services Management, Fundraising and General Expenses
Total Operating Expenses Operating Revenue Over Operating Expenses Non-Operating Activity Total Operating Revenue & Non-Operating Activity
n/a
n/a
n/a
Q191,843.08
Q279,860.43
Q136,979.80
Total Operating Expenses
Q191,843.08
Q240,812.85
Q143,272.53
Increase / (Decrease) in Net Assets
(Q21,817.99)
Q39,047.58
(Q6,292.73)
All amounts above are displayed in Guatemalan Quetzals (GTQs) with exchange rates as of 31st December 2010 as follows: 1 Euro = GTQ 10.39 I USD$ = GTQ 7.84 1AUD$ = GTQ 7.97
How We Used Our Funds In 2010
10%
90%
Programme Costs
Management, Fundraising and General Expenses
Nature Of Our Programmes In 2010
26%
51%
23%
Workshop Programmes
Volunteer Programmes
Magazine
Sources Of Support And Revenues In 2010 21% 46%
33%
Foundations
National and International Donations
Magazine Revenues