Architecture students tell of their volunteer experience in Guatemala
The initiative was born in 2007 thanks to the existing relationship between the University of Navarra and the University of the Isthmus.
- Photo gallery of the Guatemala-2011 trip
20 volunteers from the School of Architecture of the University of Navarra traveled to Guatemala during the month of July to build houses in Chipatán, a village of Santa Apolonia. This is an area of department Chimaltenango that was devastated by storms Stan and Agatha in 2005 and 2010. Upon their return, they narrated their experience in the classroom Magna of the School.
"It is fortunate to be able to participate in a project like this subject. Although the work was hard, we didn't feel tired because we were guided by a good goal: to help people without resources to have a decent home," said Borja Lorenzana.
María Alfaro agreed with her colleague and insisted that work began long before arriving in Guatemala: "Throughout the year we have to work hard to raise money to buy materials; the more money we raise, the more families will enjoy decent housing. To do this, we sell lighters, T-shirts...; we ask for financing from companies, we organize events... But all this effort is rewarded when we hand over the keys to the finished houses; it is a very exciting moment".
"We were worried that some of the families we had made a commitment to would not have a house because we didn't have enough money to build it," said Nerea González.
Participating students
The young people who traveled are: Irantzu Abaurrea, María Alfaro, Cristina Arribas, Ion Vivanco, Marta Boneta, Imanol Etayo, Nerea González, Amaia Guibert, Berta Iribarren, Maider Isturiz, Pello Iturria, María Labairu, Javier Larrea, Jokin Lecumberri, Borja Lorenzana, Maite Navarro, Uxue Pérez de Pipaon, Marta Sánchez, Koldo Urrutia and Maitane Zazu.
These students worked at project for the fifth consecutive year, along with other volunteers from the University of the Isthmus and monitors from the NGO FUDI. The initiative was born in 2007 thanks to the contacts that María Antonia Frías, professor at School of Architecture of the University of Navarra, maintains with the University of the Isthmus, in Guatemala, and has been maintained every year since then.
The volunteers successively improve the current housing project , with innovative proposals that combine functionality and technical perfection with aesthetics and sustainability. The impulse of these improvements is facilitated by the coexistence with Guatemalan university students -with whom they worked together in the village-, with the members of the NGO and with the beneficiaries.
The students pay for their own trips. They raise money for construction materials and, depending on what they get, they build a certain number of houses at issue . Donations can be made through Fundación Rode: Banco de Vasconia, Pamplona 0095 4709 80 0600014841 (indicate: project Guatemala); or the NGO Fundación para el development Integral FUDI, Banco Industrial, Guatemala c/c 006-009914-3 (indicate: project viviendas en Chipatán). It is also part of the program Tú eliges, tú decides of Caja Navarra (project 22338: 'Arquitectura y development: Construcción viviendas para indígenas damnificados. Guatemala').
Recently, students David Garraza, Xabier Garcia, Lorenzo Hurtado de Saracho, Miguel Montesinos, Teresa Bazal, Carmen Gonzalez, Guillermo Bernaola, Pablo Antón, Pablo Fuertes and Fernando Lecanda donated to this project the award they won in the 'Amstel Challenge' of the University's Sports Day.