Resolution from Boston City Council and How You Can Show Support

City Councilor John Connolly presented a resolution from the Boston City Council to the Get Fresh Crew in honor of their tireless efforts to help build a school in Guatemala and use media to bring attention to the issues that indigenous people in Guatemala face.  The Councilor was impressed with the Get Fresh Crew’s work and took home his very own GFC Environmental Coloring and Activity Book.  The Get Fresh Crew sincerely appreciated the recognition from the Boston City Council.  Councilor Connolly was especially impressed to hear that the Get Fresh Crew is currently planning their return to Guatemala this August.  Please consider donating to the Get Fresh Crew’s Return to Guatemala.  It will be a week-long adventure in radically sustainable building and your donations will make it possible.  Please visit our Donations page to find out how to support the Get Fresh Crew.

Resolution from the Boston City Council.

 

Get Fresh Crew Presents Work to Community

Get Fresh Crew members Kim and Faetitia introducing the presentation.

It was standing room only at UMass-Boston last Friday for the Get Fresh Crew’s presentation about their 7-day experience as green builders in Guatemala .  The crowd included elementary, middle, and high school, and college students, UMass-Boston staff, and community members of all backgrounds and ages.  The performance consisted of a brief powerpoint, a live skit, a video with footage from the trip, a photo show and tell, and a youth panel.  Attendees asked questions about how the Crew members’ experiences in Comalapa changed their perspective.  Several Crew Members talked about how they stopped taking their garbage collection and sewer system for granted.  The final question was whether the group would consider doing another trip in the future and the answer was a resounding “Yes.”  An announcement was made that the Get Fresh Crew has already raised over half of the amount necessary to return to Comalapa.  Guests enjoyed cake and sparkling cider and mingled with the Get Fresh Crew members.  If you didn’t make it on Friday, another presentation will occur on a Saturday night in January.  Stay tuned for more information.  If you are interested in supporting the Get Fresh Crew, please click on the Donations page.

Come One, Come All! Get Fresh Crew Presentation on November 18

 

Great article on boston.com about the Get Fresh Crew’s work: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/roxbury/2011/11/boston_youth_help_build_school.html

Support! The Crossfit Foundation and Boston Youth Environmental Network

Faetitia and Kim with a generous donation from the Crossfit Foundation.

The Get Fresh Crew is extremely excited to announce two amazing achievements.  The Crossfit Foundation has donated $7500 towards the Get Fresh Crew’s next service-learning adventure!  We are so appreciative of this generous gift and are looking forward to working with the Crossfit Foundation.  Find out more about Crossfit here:  http://crossfitfoundation.net/

The Boston Youth Environmental Network gave the Get Fresh Crew an award for the the Best Green After-school Program in the city of Boston.  We graciously accepted the award at the Environmental Education and Employment Showcase, where we also set up an exhibit about our experiences in Guatemala.  We are very thankful to the Network for their support and recognition of our work.  Learn more about Boston Youth Environmental Network here:  www.environetwork.org.

Get Fresh Crew Performing on November 18

The Get Fresh Crew visiting the students who will attend the new Tecnico Maya school.

The Get Fresh Crew will host a live performance on Friday, November 18 to share their experience as green builders in Guatemala.  The event will take place from 4-5pm in the Lipke Auditorium, located in the Science Building on campus at UMass-Boston.  The event is free of charge and all are encouraged to attend!  There will be multimedia presentations and a very brief one-act play titled “A Day in the Life of a Get Fresh Green Builder” written by the Get Fresh Crew.  UMass-Boston is T-accessible and plenty of parking is available. 

For more information on getting to UMass-Boston, please visit: http://www.umb.edu/the_university/getting_here/

Post-Trip Reflection: Kara

From the Journal of: Kara

8/12/11

Last Blog Entry

I’m sitting at the airport in Miami reflecting on my journey in Guatemala.  Emotionally I was not ready to leave Comalapa, but physically my body was telling me otherwise.  I got traveler’s “you-know-what” this morning and realized that was the queue to depart.  However, I didn’t know saying goodbye to people I only knew for a week would be so hard.  I’m assuming it’s because the people of Comalapa had some things Americans lacked: manners and love… lots and lots of love.  I thought I would be happy to come back home and at times I did miss things about home, such as toilets that can actually flush the paper down.  Now, that seems to be the only thing that’s better.  I miss the simple life back at my home in Comalapa, and yes I said “home;” not “house” but “home”.  It will take some adjustment to return back to my regular lifestyle but overall my lifestyle changed after this trip.  I understand the importance of education, listening to my elders when I am told, and to just all around be a more simple character rather than the complex individual I once was.  My view of life is different now, so hello new world!

Kara working on a table for the Tecnico Maya worksite.

Back in the States: Post-Trip Reflection

The Get Fresh Crew, showing their fuerza with the alumnos of Tecnico Maya.

From the Journal of: Faetitia

8/13/2011

Faetitia enjoying herself at the cultural festival our last night in Comalapa.

As I leave a new place and return to an everyday structured lifestyle, where it’s ok to wear whatever you want and not a social norm to greet everyone you walk by, I reflect on my days spent in Comalapa laughing, working and pushing through the obstacles that stood in our way. The expectations I had prior to this trip were more than fulfilled. Not only did I do what I came here to do, help build a school with Long Way Home, but I was able to use my three years of Spanish outside the classroom and apply it to something greater and I learned about a culture that most people know nothing about. Getting used to putting toilet paper in a bin rather than in the toilet is something I can’t say I’ll miss but it’s definitely an experience that I won’t forget. However I will miss Manuel, who opened my eyes to what we take for granted every day: a lifestyle full of happiness and a sense of peace even though you can clearly see the years of struggle and labor upon these people’s faces and by looking at the beautiful murals. I’ll also miss the way this culture doses not revolve around superficial things, hence the fact that there was no mirror in the hotel I stayed for the week. I will never forget Clara, Manuel’s mother, holding our hands and saying her final goodbyes as tears fell from her eyes. In that moment I knew just I much our trip to Comalpa impacted her and her family. Remembering the warm hugs and innocent laughter of the children at the Tecnico Maya school I see now that we are not just another volunteer group visiting a project for fun but we are individuals who really care and who WILL make a difference in their lives. On the last day working on the worksite we left our finger prints on the wall that we put cob on for six hours and when I look back I can gladly say I helped in making this happen. Yes, there were times when there was tension between the group but that all did not seem to matter when we were in our hotel room laughing and having a good time getting to know each other.  If I hadn’t gone on this trip I wouldn’t have discovered my new love for Picamas, the Guatemalan version of hot sauce. Goodbye Guatemala.

p.s I will never be the same after this trip. Till next time <33