 Hello everyone. I am James Milan. Welcome to this episode of Talk of the Town. I am very pleased to be joined today by an Arlington resident who has been up to something that you may not know about, but you should. And that's what we're here to talk about today. Bethany Eisenberg is joining me. She is the president and founder of the Guatemalan Aid Fund, which is a nonprofit operating right out of Arlington, a house here in Arlington, with a huge impact already that we want to kind of dig deep into here. So Bethany, first of all, really appreciate your being here. So so grateful to be here. Thank you for inviting me. Yeah, no, it took us a little while to put this together, right? Because of complications in our life, but also because I know you're just very very busy and you're about to go back to Guatemala again, I think. Yes, next week. Yeah, very soon. So next week. So thanks. I'm so glad we found a little pocket of time to be able to talk. So I just, I've mentioned already, you're, you kind of founded the Guatemalan Aid Fund, and I know it's, that's over 20 years ago now, but I would like to ask you to start by just kind of telling us, how did this come about? I mean, I just am going to assume that you weren't born in Guatemala, so you came to be aware of things sometimes since then. So just tell us, you know, take however long you'd like just to let us know how this has come about. Okay, well, well, thanks. So I always wanted to go to Latin America, and our children were born in Latin America. And when I went down there, it was over 20 years ago, I had never been there. And I had never really seen a culture that experienced such poverty. And I was really quite stunned by it. And it's a beautiful country. It's absolutely gorgeous. I mean, the everything, fresh air, sunshine, mountains, volcanoes, beautiful waterways and the people are just colorful and beautiful. But the poverty is incredible. It's the fourth poorest country in the world. There's malnutrition of more than 50% of the indigenous children and most indigenous children, or many don't have access to clean water, school, it's very difficult to find jobs. And I saw a glimpse of that when I was down there the first time 20 years ago, but it was enough that I came back and I just looked at my house. And I looked at, you know, and I thought to myself, my bathroom has more things in it is larger and cleaner than many of these people's homes. And I just had to do something. And so that year, I stopped giving, we used to have a big huge Christmas party, you know, lots of gifts that people didn't need, you know, and kind of typical, right? And I just stopped. I said, everybody, you okay this year that we don't exchange gifts and everyone was thrilled, of course. And I said, and could you bring like maybe some infant Tylenol or something to the party or, and they were thrilled. And we had this pile of donations under the tree and nobody left with a gift that they didn't want or and that started the Guatemala Aid Fund. And people were so enthusiastic. And then in order to do more every time I went to Guatemala and, you know, I just wanted to do more because there's such a need. So I started a 501C3. And I was lucky because this is kind of funny. When I started it, I, I didn't know really anything. And I did it myself. And the woman at the IRS said, Bethany, when you open a nonprofit, you can't be the president and the secretary and all of the board members, you have to have other people. And she was so lovely. She literally walked me through the entire process. So I became a 501C3. I got board members and five of our six board members are Arlington residents. Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah. And we've had different people over the 20 years. And I'm just so grateful to all of them because everybody contributes something from their perspective, their skills. And we just, you know, want people to enjoy being part of the Guatemala Aid Fund, that it gives back to them, you know, that it's not a burden being on the board. And so, yeah, that's how we started. And, and, you know, over 20 years later, you know, here we are, and we've progressed and we have a great, great, great Guatemalan communities that we're, we're, we're frankly honored to be able to help them in the little way that we can. It's, it's just an honor that we can, you know, do something and, you know, be productive and helpful. Yeah. And the way in which you are being helpful, I think, you know, kind of demands to be amplified as a message, I think, for folks. Personally, I really, I love the, I was telling you before we went on air that the tone of your website is very, very clear. Right from, you know, as soon as you look at, and that's what you wanted a website. I know you were talking before. It's kind of messy or whatever. Because I do it myself. I don't have a professional web developer. So it's got all my thoughts thrown in there. So fair enough. But I think as far as I understand, really one of the points of any good website is, can somebody look at it for five seconds and feel like they have a sense of what that organization, what that cause, what that thing is about? And that was my, that was my experience in looking over the website. You know, just earlier. And what I love about it is that idea that you are there to accompany people, you are there to empower people, you are not there to spread charitable works, to lead somebody by the hand or nose. So talk to us about that ethos of the Guatemalan. Yeah. Yeah. So again, we're just honored to be welcomed, you know, into their community. And, you know, we ask, you know, what are the needs? And the people that we've partnered with, it's just unbelievable to be in their presence. They're just so inspiring. It's people, they're Guatemalans, and they could be wealthy Guatemalans. And they've chosen to give back to people in need. And when you talk to them, they say, it's just something we have to do. And so what we do is, we partner with them. And I consider us to just be a connector. It's not, and I'm very clear to say it's not our project. We're not building that, you know, community center. We're helping them build their community center because we have people who want to help here. And I can connect them and they feel comfortable because they go there and I know them and I know the people. And because these projects get done. And so what they are working at, the people that we work with, they're trying to eliminate the root causes of poverty that result in child abandonment, child abuse, deadly and dangerous migration, because migration is not the answer, you know. And when you talk to many of these Guatemalans, I mean, who wants to leave their family? Who wants to leave their home? But when you don't have clean water, you can't get to school. So then you can't get a job and you can't get out of it and you can't feed your family. It's desperation. But with just a little bit of help, you know, to help them be able to attend school, to help get clean water, to help with psychological and parenting skills and things like that. So that's how we partner with them. And again, it's not our projects. But yes, we're involved in the planning and the implementation and the fundraising and the connecting. And my background's in environmental and engineering water specifically, water resources. So I help with that as well. But it's really, it's amazing what they do. And can I talk about the parenting school? Of course. So the parenting school, we work with Fatima's Children Home, which is not an orphanage. It's a home for children for as long as they need it. And the circumstances by which they come to that home are devastating. But when you walk in the home, it's just, there's music and kids laughing and playing and they're clean and they're coming out in their jammies and there's 45 kids in a tiny little Cape House. But it seems fantastic. But their goal is not to have the kids stay in care, it's to have them reunited with either family members, maybe aunt, uncle, grandparent, or their biological parents, if it's safe, or to find a forever home for them. But what they were finding was, you know, the courts would say, okay, these kids now have, you've given them psychological care, dental care, they've been leveled out in school, you know, just send them back. You got them back on their feet, so to speak, and now send them right back. Exactly, but to where they came from, and there's no change. And they said, we want to break that cycle of why they came here in the first place. So they brilliantly started this parenting school that the parents have to be committed. They have to come or they will not receive their children back or wherever the children will be placed. And they have family counseling, parent counseling, the caregivers have to have a job. It doesn't matter what it is or how much it pays, but they have to have a job. The children have to be consistently in school, and they learn how to be good parents, and also how to be good to themselves, and to build strength in the family bond. And this completely changes patterns of abuse. And the parents are proud, and they go back and tell other people in their communities. But the thing about it, the reason it really works is it's not a handout. They, when they come, they have to pay a little bit to come, because they need to be invested in it. And then they have to consistently come, and the children have to be in school. But they will get supplies, food supplies, clothing, medical assistance for everyone in their family. But they won't get that if they're not attending the classes, their kids aren't in school, and there isn't progression. So they really are changing the cycle. So it's quite different from someone lines up, and you give the whole family some food, and they go away. Quid pro quo has gotten a bad name for obvious reasons over the last couple of years. But that is the value of that, that there is an exchange here. That you have responsibility and commitment on your side, and you have to stay, you have to stick with that. That's not a one-time thing. That's a every week thing. That's right. And that's what it is. And then in turn, you're saying, and you're going to be in a better place if you do all those things. That's right. Mentally, physically, everything. And it's really quite an honor to see the commitment of the parents and their appreciation when they've gone through it. And to see them rise up. And that's the whole purpose. So we just had great people. We had just joined in. And to see that the center was built with recycled materials. And the workers were trained in construction. So we're creating jobs. They're getting experience and things. So the whole program, it's so much better than just giving money. It's employing the community, helping them rise up and creating opportunity with dignity in their own country. Yeah. Well, I gotta say, I mean, can anybody tell if I'm a fan or not? Obviously I am. But it's because you described the birth of the idea of the parent school as a piece of genius. I would describe this as a piece of genius. And here's why. What you're doing is you're taking a community of privileged people, which is us. And you are asking them for things that they can afford. And you don't want them to feel bad about it. You want them to feel good about it. So it's all good on this end. So boom, in it goes. And then what comes out on the other side is you saying, you guys know what the problems are. You know what the solutions are. You're going to be able to do that if we can also help. Exactly. Come on now. We're just, Guatemala Aid Fund is a connector. That's what I tell people. When people say, oh, you're doing so much, I said the Guatemalans are doing everything. And they are committed to their neighbors. It's neighbor helping neighbor. And it's really amazing when you see someone there that by our standards has nothing. By our standards, like less than nothing. And they turn around and give to their neighbor with less than less than nothing. And it's quite inspiring. And the community center was a dream for a long time because Fatima is children's home and they are child protection lawyers. And they run this protective home. They kept seeing these kids coming from this indigenous area. It's called Sola La. It's absolutely stunningly beautiful, where Lake Atitlan is called the most beautiful lake in the world and surrounded by volcanoes. And that's created the lake and it's stunning. Yeah, I hope that all of you can come and visit. It's gorgeous. But they knew that the kids were coming from this area and they couldn't get the parents into the parenting school. It's very difficult to get into the city from this rural area. And they said, we just want to build a similar type of center out there. And that was their vision and their dream. And we're like, we're with you and we're going to help you. And we had a beautiful fundraiser and doTERRA oils actually helped us with the foundation fundraising. And it was just so exciting because we went up there to the side of the mountain to the forest and met with the local people there. And one of the local landowners said, there's ancient ceremonial currently being used, indigenous ceremonial sites. And I don't want them to be destroyed. And I don't want this land to be destroyed and want to partner with you to save this land and protect this land and build this community center on part of it. And so it was all done through COVID. The last time I was there was 2019 when they were doing the foundation. It was thrilling for me. And the same thing there is they employed local Guatemalans to do the construction. And it's wonderful to come and want to help in other countries. It really is. But it's so empowering and impactful when they're doing the work, they're being paid, they're getting experience. So the manager of the site was a Guatemalan and he lived in Canada for years. And he learned really good construction skills and wanted to give back. He moved back to Guatemala, worked on this project and taught these high level construction skills to the local people. And they're now very valued workers. They got paid, they were invested because it's their own community. They're working to uplift their own community and get skills. It's just incredible to see that. And a little side story is they said, well, we can just build the thing right on a slab and we'll build it real cheaply. And I said, you know what? I said, from engineering here, I said, there's mud slides and there's, you know, it's on the side of a mountain and there's the rainy season. And I said, we really want this to stay. I said, I will help you raise the money. And it was a very expensive foundation for Guatemala standards. It was $30,000 with rebar and concrete and dug footings and everything. I said, but I would like to help you raise the money for your thing that's going to stay there forever and not get blown away. And you can build a second story on it if that's necessary. So anyway, they've been doing this. And the community center, the thing about it is it's their community center. And their local people are the ones that are working there. And they are all invested in having it happen. And it's creating jobs. And there's a malnutrition prevention program there. There is a library. There is after school dropout prevention program and school support and a medical clinic and all of this. And what we're working on next year is to put in a clean water well, a clean source of water for this indigenous community. But when you see these kids that are so excited to have the opportunity to learn and people who are working in the community. And I just want to say again that we're a very small part of this. And we're honored. I'm absolutely grateful. And the people that work with us are because they see and like you were saying, you don't have to do a lot. You don't have to give a lot just. And again, a little bit of genius here because at the scale of this means that somebody on our end, hey, Arlington is a giving and generous community full of good people. We all know we have more than we need. And so many of us wish to give. And what's the easiest way to give? We give money. And but we give money in the hopes and in the faith that something good will happen. But we don't know most of the time. But folks who give money to you. They know, they know, we, we, we, yeah, we live stream, you know, and that is a hundred percent goes there. It's really invaluable for the way that somebody like me would feel that, okay, you know, I know I could do more, but I'm doing this and look, I feel good. Right. And that's, that's the message we try to give to people is first of all, we are a hundred percent volunteer. And so we say, whatever you give to us is going and not only is it going, it's incredibly impactful. You literally, literally are absolutely changing the lives of Guatemalans. They want to go to school. They want to work and they want to stay in Guatemala. I mean, who wouldn't, if you saw how beautiful it is and everything and, and the culture is stunning. And so we're just honored to help them realize their dreams in, in their own country and not have to, you know, desperate and deadly migration is just, it's just brutal. Yeah. I may, I may not have counted accurately, but I know that it is at least five times now that you have said the word honored, that you have described yourself as honored. And I believe you. And I just want to say that it, it speaks to the, the kind of humility with which you are approaching this mission because it's been a mission clearly. And it's moving to hear you speak about it that way. I believe you, you know. I'm lucky. And I'm really, I'm really who, you know, I say that to people all the time. I say, who has the opportunity, you know, especially in this time right now, when there's so many unsettling things happening everywhere, everywhere around the globe, and then you have this opportunity to help wonderful people doing excellent things for their neighbors and to be part of something good. It's just, that's just good. That is just, I'm, I'm the lucky one here. I'm blessed to be able to be a part of that. And, and also, you know, being able to go there. I'm going there next week. And as I was telling you, I'll be going up onto the side of the mountain into an indigenous community. And they're so welcoming. And I'm just grateful. I'm just grateful that I can do that. Well, let's, I was going to say, let's help you do that. But I don't really mean that because that would go counter to your whole message. So that that humility of yours that I was, you know, you're being honored in that way, I think makes you maybe a little ambivalent or ambiguous about talking about how do you raise money and how could people help. But I think we should do a little of that, you know, as part of the message here. So how can people help? And what are the different ways in which you are raising the money that is going to these excellent ends? Well, thank you for asking. And, and we did talk earlier that, you know, I do consider a big part of, if you want to call it our mission or whatever, is we do that teen to teen event where it's not for raising money. And, and we really want to send a message to anybody that you can always do something and don't ever think that it's little because any tiny thing that you do is, is helpful. But we do have some things and we have some exciting things. Right. But you just mentioned the teen to teen events. Yeah. We should, we should very quickly let people know what that is. And then, yeah, let's show people a couple of things. We haven't done the teen to teen event, of course, since COVID, but we get teens together. And the purpose I started that years ago, because kids don't know that other kids can't go to school in other countries because they don't have money for the uniform and they can't get a boss or they can't get there. And they don't know that entire families, six people live in a shack with a dirt floor. And that's not, you know, why should they? They haven't been exposed to that. And we're not trying to expose them to that, but we're trying to get teens together to talk about community service. It can be anything. It doesn't have to be in another country building wells. It can be right here like, do you love dogs? Then you can collect dog food and give it to your local shelter. Do you love the park near your house? And it's needs to be cleaned up. You can go clean it up. So the teen to teen thing is a party that we put together and have teens that do service talk to other teens that do service. And to inspire them, why do you do it? Because you care about something. And it's not as meaningful if it's not a cause that you don't care about. And so we try to inspire them for what they do care about, you know, and you can pick. There's a myriad of things you could volunteer at ACMI. Absolutely. Well, yeah. And it should be something that gives back to you. And that's what we find is that, you know, you do it because, you know, it's something you care about. And that makes it so meaningful. And it doesn't have to be Guatemala Aid fund. And so that's something that, that, you know, we just try to inspire people, whoever it is, you know, adults or children just to find something that's meaningful to you and give back. But we do, yeah, go ahead. Yeah, no, no, I just want, I do want to. All right. I'll show. You know, kicking and screaming, you're going to come. No, no, I do. We, our project this year, which we need to raise a very large amount of money for, is a clean water well for the village Las Minas neighborhood area of San Jose, Chacaya, which is very interesting because that means Chacaya means where there's a lot of water in the local Kachacal language, but they don't have access to clean water. It's there. So we want to have a water filling station. We want to drill a well, solar powered pumps, a very simple but excellent chlorination system. So we'll be raising money for that. And also, this land that I was talking to you about is a long term plan. And if there's something that I could say that people want to donate to have an impact on the world is this is native, forested, threatened land that has three indigenous ceremonial sites on it, we would like to raise money to purchase it and put it in protective care of the indigenous people forever there. And what I consider that would be a great gift to the world. And so that's a big project for us. So this, this book, the money will go towards that. So this is a book that is headed here right now. This is a labor of love that I've worked on with our illustrator Don Prindle in Maine. And my sister, Martha Eisenberg on the board, she's also here in Arlington. And this book, we call it a book with a purpose or four. And it gives back. So 100% of the profits from this book called Singing Beach Day, and it's Singing Beach in Manchester, Massachusetts is about the book. And this book will all the profits, not the profits, all the sales, not just the profits will go directly to the programs that you and I have been talking about, but mostly that land preservation and the water well and the community center. And this book, the purposes are, you can see that the people in this cover are all different colors, each one of them is a different color. And it's to showcase diverse families and that you may these, this family may have been formed by many different situations. And we want the reader to make up whatever they think that is. But in the story, the children are trying to talk their mom into taking the day off of work and taking them to the beach to Singing Beach. And they successfully do that. So the another message is to take time off and how precious it is to spend time with family. And then some of the things that the children do and kind of say to the mom on how it's important to take the time off and how precious this time is. It's the third purpose is how much we learn from our children. And I have to say that I have learned so much from our children. I can't even begin to list all of the things that I would never be exposed to if it wasn't for them. And they've just made me a better person. And I think it comes through in this book. And then the fourth thing is that I already mentioned that all of the sales will go to these programs. And our artist is amazing. She's just incredible. And she put in, she just brought it to life. She brought this book to life. You can see the motion and the movement. And joy. Joy, love. And she put all these little details in it. And one of them is, so this is a Guatemalan weaving. This weaving is called, is a backstrap weaving. And it's called a backstrap because the weavers, the women, they put a strap around their back and around a tree. And they have sticks and they pull it down. And you can see it's the width of the sticks. And this is incredibly detailed. This is a very typical Guatemalan weaving. And you can see the other side, the threads on it. But the colors, everything in Guatemala is colorful. And this would take months to make. So we also have these for sale. And we, again, all of the money goes back to Guatemala, all of it. Everything that goes to Guatemala, it goes back to the people who make the items and are running these programs. So we do have an Etsy site for that. And then just some of the things that we have, I just, I'll show you if you're looking for little ornaments. This is the Quetzal bird. And I guess I'll put it here right in front of me. So the Quetzal bird is the national bird of Guatemala. It's also the money, the Quetzal. And the reason the Quetzal is the actual dollar bills and money now is in the ancient times, the feathers of the Quetzal bird were used as money. And so the Quetzal is. And so we have many different things. I just brought a couple of these because they're kind of cute. But we have many things on that Etsy site, you know, pocket books and jewelry and everything. And we also have things that are made by Indigenous crafts. And then we have people that donate items. And again, 100% of that money goes to the programs. And so we're very excited. We're very excited about this book. And I hope we get to read this in Arlington Libraries. Yeah, that would be great. I would hope so. We can help make that happen at a library event, I think so. So basically what I hear is that there are, there's ways to get stuff if you so choose in terms of giving, or you can just give. But one way or the other, whatever you're getting is reinforcing the message. And then the money itself, as you have clearly expressed, is going straight to. Straight there, directly. Yes, the people in communities that we so or you so much want to support. And now we do as well, I hope. Bethany, it's been, it's been a very nice chat. Thank you so much. It really has and inspiring, I have to say. Definitely. And I am looking forward to just kind of staying in touch with you and seeing how things go, seeing how things go with the well and the land and on from there. But I want to thank you for, again, your time here today, but also for this work that you're doing, which I know you are honored to do. But boy, it's nice to talk about some positive things going on in the world now. And those people who are getting the most benefit, we hope from all of this right now, are so deserving. Yeah. Well, I'm just, thank you so much for, you know, you can tell I'm super passionate about it. And thank you for having me here as thrilled to come. And I do want to say kind of the message I hope is that, you know, we all can do something, you know, that's what I've learned is we all can do something and it doesn't have to be huge. But, you know, when you see other people helping others, and that's where I get so much inspiration. And then you see these kids that come in in desperate situations that you can't, I wouldn't even tell you. And then you come back and you hear of these kids and you see them and you're like, I... That's possible. That's possible. And it really is. And I just want to, you know, thank everybody for listening and thank you so much for inviting me here. Absolutely. Well, as you said, everybody can do something and it doesn't have to be huge. That's right. But it can be huge. I'll just leave it at that. She is Bethany Eisenberg. It is the Guatemala Aid Fund. We will make sure that you can see on your screen how to make contact and make donations if you wish. And we very much hope that to keep up with Bethany as I was saying. So we'll keep everybody attuned to the situation. This has been Talk of the Town. I am James Milan. Really appreciate Bethany's time. Really appreciate yours as well. We'll see you next time.