Disaster Relief in Guatemala: From Bismarck to Central America

By Kristine Kostuck
Contributing Writer

The volcanic eruption followed by the first tropical storm of 2010 brought heavy rainfall, high winds and landslides. These created a sinkhole, and left Guatemala flooded and covered with mud. With disasters occurring back to back like this, a lot of relief aid was postponed. The death toll is now nearing 200. And while thousands were evacuated to neighboring countries, Guatemala is expected to get the natural disaster’s aftermath cleaned up by the end of the summer, though some may be homeless until the following year.

Guatemala is known for poverty and all its effects. Crime is high and malnourishment is common. The people affected by these issues see little help from the country’s elite. However a Bismarck-based organization, The GOD’S CHILD Project, has worked since its establishment in 1991 to cap their social and economic problems. When the disaster hit last month, the group didn’t fail to offer their support immediately.

Luke Armstrong is the program director for the GOD’S CHILD. He spends most of his time in Guatemala but was in Bismarck when the disaster hit. “It was hard to be away from the country at that time,” he said. “I worked with the Bismarck staff to help fundraise relief efforts, but I was relieved when my flight to Guatemala touched down.”

Armstrong is currently in Guatemala digging people out of the landslide’s mud. He has said that the country’s need for donations and volunteer work is great, and anyone can get involved using “their time, treasure or talent.”

Another way to get involved is through service work within Guatemala. The organization is well established. Miranda Mauch, a Bismarck resident, first heard of the project through a friend and decided to volunteer with four others after she graduated high school. While there, they built a house, volunteered at a homeless shelter cooking and took care of kids at a malnutrition center. “The malnutrition center was the most intense part of the trip for me,” she said. “Those kids were skeletons. They looked like zombies, none of them smiled and it took many of them about half an hour to warm up to us.”

Mauch says that the children were different compared to the other locals she met. Everyone seemed so upbeat even though they had nothing. “That was another thing I took with me when I came home. I also noticed time. Nothing is on schedule in Guatemala. You have to roll with the punches instead of running all the time like we do here,” she said.

Mauch plans on taking another service trip at the end of the summer to Guatemala again to help with rebuilding. “I want to know I am involved in something bigger than just me,” she said. “I walked away from my last trip with a greater appreciation for my life. I think that is something I need to learn again.”

If interested in having an experience similar to Mauch’s, contact the organization and they will set you up with a place to stay along with food and water in one payment, but airfare is not included in this expense. However, the organization works with their volunteers to make the trip affordable and comfortable. Because of this, The GODSCHILD Project has grown since its beginning.

The organization was founded by Patrick Atkinson, who is originally from Bismarck and is now a resident of Guatemala. The charity helps orphaned children, educates poverty-stricken single mothers and helps them to a better life. Volunteers have built clinics, schools, homes and worked in homeless shelters. They work with drug addicts and protect women and children from human trafficking. “The GODS CHILD Project is an educational development organization,” Armstrong said. “It breaks the cycle of poverty. And I don’t say this because I work here. I work here because I saw that in action. This charity has a vision I can believe in.” Armstrong said.

Armstrong volunteered in many places before working with “The GODSCHILD Project.” His first experience with the organization was at 13 when he went to Guatemala with a service team. The work he did had a lasting impression, and encouraged him to get involved in other organizations. Years later, he was studying abroad in Chile through NDSU during his last semester of school. When he finished the semester, instead of getting on his plane home, he decided to try hitchhiking from Chile to Alaska. He made his way up to Central America, volunteering along the way. While passing through Guatemala he called Atkinson to see if there was anything he could help with. It was supposed to be for a few weeks but ended up being almost two and a half years. “I didn’t make it to Alaska,” he said, “But I am happy where I ended up.”

Armstrong has helped with permanent, sustainable changes for those in need. He recognizes that “we can never control the outside forces that affect us, but we can control our response to them.” He sees the disaster as a way to connect with others and continue to make the world a better place. “It could have been anyone affected by a disaster,” he said. “And when the next one strikes, it could be us in need. We are all in this together.”

The disaster did not destroy any part of the project’s work. There is still hope for the residents of Guatemala and people like Armstrong are working every day to make sure of that.

If you are interested in making a difference, visit their website at http://www.godschild.org or call the Bismarck office at 701-255-7956. You can donate specifically for the disaster by clicking “emergency fund” or stay on the home page to give to the organization’s other projects.

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