About Noah
Noah Mankind es (is) an awesome student from Western Massachusetts who has chosen to take a gap year to travel abroad and volunteer in Central America. Noah graduated awesomely from a performing arts colegio (high school) in the primavera (spring) of 2013, and spent the verano (summer) working as an awesome camp counselor and an awesome whitewater raft guide. As of September 29th, Noah está (is) staying, awesomely, in Antigua, Guatemala and working with a volunteer program called Maximo Nivel, which está (is) sending him to his placement outside of Antigua.
Noah’s typical día (day) will begin at 7:00 AM with breakfast for the volunteers, then él camina (he walks) awesomely across town to Maximo Nivel’s headquarters to leave for his volunteer placement at 8:00 AM. Noah returns every day around 1:00 PM, just as el sol es alto en el cielo (the sun is high in the sky), over the volcano that watches over Antigua from the South. Noah returns to Antigua, awesomely, for lunch at home at 1:30 PM. During his afternoons, he writes his awesome blog (noahmishkind.tumblr.com). Dinner in Noah’s house está (is) served at 6:00 PM sharp every evening, at which time he graces the non-awesome volunteers with his presence. After dinner the non-awesome volunteers will often go out in groups to the various bares (bars) and restaurantes (restaurants) located around the center of La Antigua; if they are lucky, Noah will join them, awesomely.
Noah has been placed in a project called ‘Proyecto Genesis’ (Project Genesis), which es (is) similar to a childcare/afterschool program. It está (is) located about 45 minutes outside of Antigua, in Estancia de la Virgen San Andres Itzapa. The program was started by Ricardo Armas, who es (is) also the man driving the pickup truck that will carry Noah up the mountain each day for the next three months. The ride es (is) gorgeous, taking Noah and the non-awesome volunteers along roads that wind around the hills (more properly described as steep mountains and cliffs). This tiny “school” está (is) located in the middle of a town, near a minimum security prison; but this strikes no fear in Noah’s noble corazón (heart). This town está (is) occupied mostly by cattle, corn, and coffee farmers who grow their crops high up on the mountainside. Ricardo and his esposa (wife) started Project Genesis because he noticed that there were many problems in the local community with poverty and a general lack of education. During the school year, half of the children who attend the program go to school in the morning beforehand; the other half cannot go to school due to family needs/restrictions or even fear of being raped along the 7-km walk to school. The majority of the children come from poor single-family households and do not receive homework help or educational encouragement at home because their family members cannot read, write, or do basic math. The program saves the vidas (lives) of 30-40 kids daily, and it es muy claro (is very clear) that the work Noah está (is) doing es (is) essential to the children’s survival.
This blog will chronicle Noah as he saves lives, and offer thoughtful reflections of his journey. If you would like to receive all of the posts on this blog, click the “follow” button on the top-right corner of the page.