SYNERGY: the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
New Oxford Dictionary of English
It was rather sadly and somewhat apprehensively that I said goodbye to my close friends Heather and Greg in Guatemala City two days ago. Heather and Greg have been an important part of my life for a few months now – although it seems much longer – and there is no doubt that I would not be where I am now with Project Seres without their support, advice and words of encouragement, not to mention their friendship.
I met Heather and Greg in Antigua shortly after I arrived, and it was obvious from the first meeting that I had found two people that would be a positive, inspiring and uplifting influence on my life. For the past few years they have been traveling, researching, promoting and fundraising for their project – the Somos Children’s Village – and they had moved to Antigua shortly before I arrived to find the land on which they would build the Village. Their vision for the Somos Children’s Village is to provide a home, a family and a future to abandoned and orphaned children – of which Guatemala has over 370,000. Among other things, their vision of the Somos Children’s Village includes the use of environmentally sound design principles for all aspects of the project. This will help to ensure that the children grow up being environmentally conscious and aware of the situation in the world around them in regards to the environment and climate change – something that I believe should be an essential part of every child’s education. It was this aspect of the project that first led me to Heather and Greg, and the somewhat serendipitous first meeting in a small coffee shop in Antigua. It was not long after our first meeting that they offered me a place to live with them in their apartment, and a space in which I could work on my project with like-minded people to bounce ideas off. It was working here that gave me the courage and inspiration to take Project Seres from an idea in my head – occasionally bandied around over a beer between friends – to something more real and concrete.
Greg, Heather and myself
Over the months, as we have shared our visions and dreams, we have also started exploring ways in which we can collaborate, combining our energy and resources to create a mutually beneficial relationship for both projects. As Greg would say, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, and the potential for creating strong synergies between our projects is exciting. Their approach to partnership and collaboration is also very refreshing, and something that can be quite rare in both the non-profit and for-profit arenas. It is wonderful to work with people so open to synergy and collaboration, and I believe that this is one of the strengths behind Project Somos.
Living with Greg and Heather in itself has also been a wonderful experience in being a part of the life of two people whose core qualities are compassion, kindness and generosity. As part of their daily routine, Greg and Heather would often go and work for a few hours in one of the many coffee shops around Antigua. On any of these days, it would not be unusual to find them sitting with one of the young children that work (shining shoes and selling souvenirs) or beg for money on the streets that they have invited to sit with them. Over an orange juice, they would talk about school, their families, what they love to do and their lives here in Antigua. I have heard second-hand many of these stories, and have no doubt that there are times when the strength and resilience of these amazing young children have given Greg and Heather the inspiration to continue their work.
Even though they have now left Guatemala (temporarily), I am lucky enough to have a constant reminder of their generosity and compassion in my life, in the form of Jango. Jango, sitting at my feet as I write this blog, is the street dog that Heather and Greg rescued from the Central Park one day after they found him injured. They brought him in, nurtured him and – since they had to leave to return to Canada – passed him on to me. He has become my ever-present companion now in Guatemala, and also a gentle reminder to me to maintain these qualities in the way I live my life.
Jango
Since locating the land on which to build the Somos Children’s Village, Greg and Heather have now returned to Canada to start the fundraising campaign to raise enough capital to purchase the property. With a successful campaign, their plan is to return back to Guatemala later this year, when we will be able to start work in earnest building the Somos Children’s Village. They will be hosting information events through the United States and Canada on their return home, and I encourage anyone interested to go along to meet Greg and Heather and learn more about Project Somos.
For more information on the project or to find further details on the information events please go to the Project Somos webpage.
Project Somos Blog: http://projectsomoschildrensvillage.blogspot.com/
Joey Jango Wannabee Wallaby Blog: http://projectsomoschildrensvillage.blogspot.com/2009/04/joey-jango-wannabe-wallaby.html
