Guatemala Final Celebration

Alaina Cronkright, Buildabridge Team Leader

Today we had the final celebration, exhibiting the children's art work, in Campo de Marte, nearby the Limonada community. One of the metaphors to real life that had come up in our art classes this week came to life today. Even if you don’t have the resources you think you need, you can preserve and work together to reach your goals. We ran into some logistical problems with our venue once we arrived, the main problem being a lack of electricity. But, despite the lack of music for the dance class and the noisy background of the park (soccer games, live music, and traffic to name a few) the children performed. Parents gathered around the stage and watched the celebration of the art-making unfold. They joined in as the Visual Arts & Music class sang their call and response, “music has the power to unite La Limonada.” Children from both communities were present, as well as parents.

At the end of the exhibition the students received their Buildabridge Certificates for the classes they participated in, and the teachers were lined up to congratulate them. Smiles were shared, and tears were shed as each one of the 94 children were hugged by the six artists teaching their classes. Some of the children wrote notes to teachers to tell them how much they had affected them. Despite the challenges, today really was a celebration of the life-changing week we all spent together.