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Video of the talk by Tek, from the Maya
K'iche community of Los Cimientos, Chajul, Guatemala.
- Tek spoke to a group of youth meeting through a program
with the Cities of Peace project, at the Santa Barbara High
School GreenHouse. Michael Marzolla, 4-H Youth Development
Advisor, was host for the meeting.
- Tek spoke of his Grandfather, of how he was taught the
ways of healing and how to take care of the Earth. He spoke
of his peoples struggle to survive and comments come up during
the videos that show many similarities to live in todays America.
- This is the email that was sent prior to his visit:
The Los Cimientos Alliance is a humanitarian organization
with non-profit status pending. We serve the Maya K'iche people
living in 7 villages in Guatemala. Our work is focused specifically
on the peaceful efforts of the community of Los Cimientos
to regain their legally owned land. These Elders are an inspiration
in the art of conflict resolution, steadfast determination
and living the truth of oneís spiritual tradition. We deeply
appreciate the opportunity to share the story of this courageous
community with you. Mission statement: The Mayan Connection-Los
Cimientos Alliance is dedicated to the empowerment and survival
of the Maya Kíiche people of Los Cimientos, Guatemala. We
are a cooperative partnership between people in the United
States and the Council of Priests and Elders of Los Cimientos,
the elected leaders of the village, working together to protect,
preserve and enrich the lives, land and culture of this Maya
Kíiche community. The Alliance focuses its energy on developing
support for the work of the Los Cimientos Council of Priests
and Elders to preserve Sacred Mayan Traditions that provide
reverent protection for the environment and encourage the
healing of inter- ethnic relationships between the Kíiche
and Ixil people living near Chajul in El Quiche. Our mission
includes empowering the leadership role of the women of Los
Cimientos by generating food and resources requested by the
Womenís Committee to sustain the village as it establishes
an infrastructure for health care, educational facilities,
micro-enterprise projects and ecologically responsible economic
development that reflects the Mayan values long honored in
this Maya Kíiche community. The families of Los Cimientos
remember when Rigoberta Menchu and her father would come to
visit their village when she was a child. The people of Los
Cimientos shared, day by day, the tragic nightmare that Rigoberta
Menchu brought to international awareness. They also share
the vision of the long hoped for Mayan New Dawn. The Los Cimientos
Alliance is pure grass roots. A traditional Mayan community,
speaking the Kíiche language, with only a couple village people
able to speak Spanish well enough to share the story of their
struggle for survival with the international world; and a
woman with hope of being a pebble in the pond for peace in
Guatemala. Together we are learning grant proposal writing,
accounting, computer skills and non-profit management. With
all good fortune, we will succeed in becoming a vital element
in a promising Mayan future. For The Right of A People to
Live, Francia Ala International Coordinator The Mayan Connection-Los
Cimientos Alliance
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