GATE (Global Awareness Through Experience)

Guatemala

Guatemala w/ Mount Mary College: March 13-22, 2009

Holy Week: April 1-11, 2009

Encounter people living out their values through active resistance. See first hand the effects of trade agreements in the countryside and how emigration is seen as a sole alternative. Witness grassroots efforts to provide jobs to build a more sustainable future. Explore human rights issues. Presenter Julia Esquivel, poet, theologian, teacher, and human rights advocate, shares her spiritual wisdom.

Cathedral in Antigua; photo taken by Jim Hendrickson

The program includes several presentations that orient the participant to the reailty of the country, including:

Mayan roots and spirituality
Historical and political reality of Guatemala
Human rights and concerns
Systems of poverty affecting indigenous people
Community leadership in liberation model
Learn how economic needs affect immigration issues

Starts in Guatemala City, then moves to the highland of Quiche, San Lucas Toliman, Santiago Atitlan, in the lake area, and ends in Antigua.

Visit this past traveler's journal to learn more about the GATE experience.

Resources for more information on Guatemala:

GHRC: Founded in 1982, the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, humanitarian organization that monitors, documents, and reports on the human rights situation in Guatemala, advocates for survivors of human rights abuses in Guatemala, and works toward positive, systemic change.

www.soaw.org

www.8thdaycenter.org

"Wonderfully diverse, yet all contributed to the experience of Guatemala and her beautiful people. Thank you for this wonderful, life-giving and most of all, spiritually renewing journey!"

--Mary DeForrest, Guatemala Holy Week 2008

Upcoming Trips

March 13-22, 2009

Holy Week: April 1-11, 2009

Trip Cost: $1250.00* Plus Registration Fee

*Air fare not included. All trips include transportation (except taxi to airport at the end of the trip), accomodations, and food (except one evening meal).

"Our destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things." -Henry Miller

GATE Retreat

Welcome one and all! Give yourself a gift with this retreat opportunity.

GATE Renewal

Welcome one and all to another GATE reunion. Sign up early for this renewal opportunity!

Introducing Kirkridge

The Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center focuses on social justice issues.