tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31141765.post-1153789745316672682006-07-24T18:07:00.000-07:002006-07-25T14:35:17.740-07:00I’m on layover in Houston, preparing to depart for Guatemala City tonight. I’m looking forward to getting out of Seattle and having the chance to visit one of Pura Vida’s most important exporting countries. As many of our customers, supporters and donors know, the roots of Pura Vida extend deeply into Central America, where my friend and co-founder Chris Dearnley has lived and served for more than a decade. As Pura Vida has grown over the past few years, however, our reach has extended far beyond Costa Rica. We will buy almost a million pounds of coffee over the next year, much of it from Guatemala and surrounding countries so I am excited to ‘venture out’ and meet some of our key partners in this region. This is my first trip to Guatemala and I have a long way to go before I understand the challenges and history that color life and culture in this country.<br /><br />Guatemala, as I am learning, has the highest GDP in the region but the wealth is very unevenly distributed. The poorest 10% of the population take home less than 1% of the national income while the richest 10% take home almost 50%. Guatemala sadly “leads” Central America in illiteracy (48% of population), infant mortality (48 per 1,000), lowest infant birth weight, lowest ratio of doctors per patient (1 per 4,000 people) and lowest percentage of children in enrolled in school. In the last decade, the Guatemalan spent only 1.7% of GDP on education (compared to UN recommended minimums of 5-7% of GDP). The situation is even worse for the indigenous Mayans compared to Ladinos, where illiteracy rates are above 60% and wages are half of the national average. The World Bank has noted that the “indigenous people of Guatemala are the poorest of the poor….” (source: “In Focus” Guatemala, 2005).<br /><br />I find that stats like these are sobering and sort of depressing…analytical, theoretical and devoid of much emotional power. I sense that I am overdue to see for myself the human toll and consequences that come from such stats. I hope what I see, hear and learn will encourage our staff, customers, vendors and donors to join with us to do even more to create connection with the farmers, families and communities of Guatemala. I am encouraged by the first, small steps we are taking to extend our reach into smaller communities around Quetzaltenango and the area near Santiago that was hit hard by Hurricane Stan. I’ll let you know what I find.<br />---- JS<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/31141765-115378974531667268?l=puravidacoffeeman.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PVCoffeemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368073445928962389noreply@blogger.com0