Celebrating the launch of Balancing Act in Guatemala

| 29 January 2024 | 68 views

Project Manager Tom Collier reports on the launch of Balancing Act in Guatemala.

“We have the people, we have the expertise, we just need the support.”

These were the words of the Mayor of Cubulco, as he spoke to the researcher team at the launch event for Balancing Act in Guatemala. He was referring to his town, highlighting the knowledge held by the likes of Mario, Walter, and their colleagues at AIDEPCE, as well as of the community members themselves.

At the same time, he might well have been articulating the mission statement of the Balancing Act project.

Since the project began, we have believed that people with disabilities and their families all around the world know best what balance of support they required, but access to that balance is not always possible. Our experiences in Guatemala provided further evidence that our communities are full of knowledgeable people – but access to formal support and ability to mobilize or enable natural supports is lacking.

In early December, academic team members Tom and Nicole travelled to Guatemala, to work with CBM and AIDEPCE on launching Balancing Act for the local community in Cubulco, a small town located in the Baja Verapaz department of Guatemala. The long, scenic car journey from Guatemala City to Cubulco, via some incredible mountain ranges, provided a unique opportunity for conversation with Juliana Turqui (Central America Representative) and Melissa Vega (Communications Officer) from CBM. We learned so much about Guatemala, its politics, its people, its culture, the challenges that people with disabilities might face, and the strength of the communities that must mobilise to support each other in the absence of organised formal supports.

The objective of the launch was twofold: to introduce the research project to the local community, and to help raise the profile of the work that AIDEPCE does and, by extension, the context for people with disabilities in Cubulco and in Guatemala at large. Mario and the team organized a packed schedule with various individuals who could speak to those pieces. The event embodied the aims of the project by centring people with disabilities throughout the planning and execution: we were thrilled to hear music played by a young musician who is one of AIDEPCE’s clients, as well as marimba music fronted by two musicians with visual impairments.

The excitement of all 70 attendees was palpable when Rosa Idalia, who among her many roles serves as President of the National Council for the Care of People with Disabilities, President of the Small People Association of Guatemala; and the representative for Guatemala on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Dr. Rosa spoke passionately on the politics of disability in Guatemala, and the importance of self-advocacy.

Mario and his AIDEPCE colleagues spoke to the history of AIDEPCE, while Juliana shared the story of CBM, and Tom explained the work that the Queen’s International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation has done globally with people with disabilities. Nicole then introduced the Balancing Act project to the community, describing its aims and how the community can be involved in the upcoming research. You can watch the event on Facebook here.

This was an intense, but also an intensely rewarding, trip for us who were visiting Guatemala for the first time. To have been welcomed so warmly by Juliana and Melissa from CBM, and Mario, Walter and the team at AIDEPCE, set the perfect foundation for a week of not only celebrating the launch of the project, but also of productive and open conversation around planning for its implementation. We were able to learn first-hand of the particularities of conducting research in Guatemala (i.e., consideration for the safety of the mountainous roads during rainy season) as well as to hear more about AIDEPCE’s hopes for the project, and the excitement of collaborating on research with an international education institution for the first time.

Guatemala was the second site to launch, following Mozambique who launched just eight days earlier. The well-planned and executed event set a wonderful example for the other sites to learn from as they look ahead to their launches in winter/spring of 2024.

With thanks to Mario, Walter, Juliana and Melissa.

School of Rehabilitation Therapy