April 2001

Dear Friends,

In Guatemala it is obvious that we live with a legacy of paternalism, when people from other countries used their abundant resources, technology, and education in inappropriate ways and so created dependency as well as lack of initiative and self-esteem among the Guatemalans. We most often think of paternalism as a problem that wealthy people or countries have in their relationships with poor people or countries, but I have found that a paternalistic relationship can happen anywhere, as I discovered in a conversation I had with Nicolas, a pastor in the Presbytery of Sur Occidente. I was talking with Nicolas about one of his congregations when he said, "there were three families, really poor families in this congregation. In one case there was a father with no work, the wife and their three children, and they were trying to pay 300 quetzals (about $40) a month to rent a house. The deacons of the church would give them an offering each month of 40 or 50 quetzales" (about $6.50). At this point in his story I was thinking that their charity was good—that the deacons are doing their work of caring for members of the congregation. And knowing that the no one in the congregation had much money, I also thought it was good that those who are poor are sharing with those even poorer. But then Nicolas went on to say, "but as we looked at the situation we decided our 40 or 50 quetzals a month were not really helping and our offering was making the family dependent on us." Then Nicolas described what the deacons decided to do. They got together 350 quetzals and then asked the man in the family if he would be willing to start a small business. He said he was willing but had no money to start one. That's when the Deacons gave the 350 quetzals and said they would check in with the family every 15 days to see how the business was going. With the 350 quetzals the man and his wife began selling coconuts, which they could get for free. Bore a hole in a coconut and you have a popular drink that sells for one quetzal. Now the family has sufficient income to provide food, clothing, and the notebooks and pencils the children need for school.

Nicolas went on to share another similar experience in the neighborhood where he and his family live. It seems that there was one man in the neighborhood who daily made the rounds, visiting each house, asking for money. Most neighbors gave him several quetzales and that seemed to be enough to provide food for his family. One day, after the weekly visit, Nicolas and his wife began to talk about how the situation might be changed. They talked with other neighbors who all agreed to put their funds together, which amounted to about 400 quetzals. Then they talked with the man about his using the money to begin a small business. At first the man was reluctant saying he had nothing he could sell. But after the neighbors made suggestions and encouraged the man’s 14-year-old daughter to help, the man accepted the money, again with the stipulation that the neighbors would check in with him every 15 days. Using the money, the man and his daughter began to make tamales to sell each Saturday. That was the beginning of their small store that now sells other food items and provides an adequate income for the family.

I came away from my conversation with Nicolas thinking of all the things we might learn from these two experiences. We who think if we don't have a lot of money, we cannot even begin to make a difference in situations of poverty. With a very small amount of money two families were able to begin a new way of life. And I think it is important to remember that in both situations, the community worked together. Not a single one of the deacons nor Nicolas and his wife alone had sufficient resources to help, but working together, the community—in one case the church, in the other, the neighbors—was able to help. They continued in contact with the family. They were not left alone. If there were problems, there were people to help. Both the neighbors and the church community could have said, "there is so much poverty here and we have so few resources, what difference would it make to help one family?" It surely made a difference in the lives of each family, for the parents as well as the children. I think of the 14-year-old daughter who before just stayed at home, helping her Mother with the chores, but who now has an active role in supporting her family as she helps to make the tamales. And finally I think we can learn from the creativity of the Guatemalans who live daily with a poverty that could make them bitter and angry, but who instead looked for ways to help and support one another.

I know there will always be beggars on the streets of every community in Guatemala, men and women with their hands out for money. And I will continue to carry coins in my pocket to put in their bowls. And I know that there are situations and times when direct aid of food or clothing or medicines is a necessity. The response of the church community and neighbors will surely not solve all the problems of poverty or injustice in this country. Nevertheless, I think there is much we can reflect on in these two situations.

As we finished our conversation I started to quote to Nicolas the saying, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for the day. Teach him to fish and he can eat every day," but I did not need to tell Nicolas this. As soon as I said, "Dé a un hombre un pescado…" (Give a man a fish…) Nicolas completed the quote, saying that he and his neighbors and congregation are living out this reality day by day.

Ellen Dozier

The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 241