This summer, Benedictine Certified Nursing Assistant/UND nursing student Hayden Reitmeier participated in the God’s Child Project in Guatemala. He traveled to Guatemala with fellow students working for 11 days. The God’s Child Project, founded in 1991, works in the United States, Guatemala, and India. Their focus is to provide aid in education, healthcare, housing, disaster relief, legal systems, and human trafficking, with the goal of lifting people out of poverty.
“I learned about this amazing opportunity through one of my college professors and knew it was something I wanted to do,” stated Hayden. During this project, Hayden worked at a nursing home and a malnutrition center, along with assisting in building a house.
According to Hayden, the conditions of these facilities were much different from what many of us are used to in the United States. The nursing home fits seven beds in one 6×20 ft. room. These beds were lined up next to each other so closely that there was little to no walking space. There were two other larger rooms that each fit 30 people, one room for women and one for men. A few former professional soccer players were living in the men’s area. At this facility, Hayden and other volunteers gave back with knee massages, and some of the women painted nails.
The malnutrition center houses mothers and their children, as well as children without parents. At this facility, the volunteers played with the children, helped to dress them, read books, and gave bottles at mealtime. Hayden made an especially close bond with a child named Freddy, who he enjoyed seeing each day. “My heart went out to him, as he was one who was there without his mother. He latched onto me early, and we made the best of our time as I was unsure of what would happen to him when he was well enough to leave the malnutrition center.”
As well as volunteering at these facilities, Hayden and the God’s Child Project group helped build a home. From start to finish, it took only three days. A total of 7 workers and an instructor built this 12×16 ft. house for a Guatemalan family, which would house two parents and their five kids. No power tools were used, so concrete was hand mixed, and cinder blocks were hand cut. After the home’s construction, the volunteers went shopping for furnishings and groceries. They were able to bring two suitcases of donated items as well to offer.
During this trip, Hayden and the group stayed with a host family. Their host mom prepared meals for them each day. Breakfast often consisted of 2 fruits, oatmeal or pancakes. Lunch included chicken or other meats. White rice and tortillas became regular staples as well. For supper, the God’s Child Project group would visit different restaurants, which often included rooftop balconies to show the scenery of Guatemala.
The group was able to enjoy some tourist activities when they had downtime. A few notable moments from Hayden were zip lining, shopping at the artist market, touring a macadamia nut farm, and visiting Hobbitenango.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. We have so many blessings we take for granted here,” notes Hayden. Check out the Benedictine Living Community-Crookston Facebook page for more pictures from Hayden’s trip.
