Working with the children (above) and making disinfectant for the floors (below)

ANADESA- Asociacion Nuevo Amanecer de Santiago Atitlan.
Nuevo Amanecer means new dawn, new morning, and new beginnings.
The association of ANADESA was formed after the tormenta STAN in 2005 destroyed many homes and killed many people. This was a new beginning for a group of 20 families as they joined to put back together their lives. It started as the women and a few men learned how to make beaded jewlery in order to make an income. Now ANADESA has grown and is reaching out to the communities of Panabaj, Tzanchaj, and Chukmuk in several different projects.
We have an afterschool program for children that reinforces reading, writing and mathamatics, as well as does arts, recreation, and holds talks on important themes.
A lot of adults in Santiago dropped out of school to help support their families, so we have an adult education program that teaches basic reading, writing, and mathmatic skills to persons over the age of 15.
Our program of 20 women has also expanded and in addition to making jewelry we have recently developed products such as shampoo, liquid soap, disinfectant for the floor, lotions, and a few other products to our repituar.
The women will also provide housing and food for groups who visit the lake.
With our quickly expanding programs we have big dreams and are looking into buying our own land and building our own facilities as well as working on becoming a legal organization.
The month of January has been very busy with this sort of work! Sorry that I havn´t updated. Hope this gives you a sense of the organization and what Ive been up to the last few weeks!