Humble and hope
Elmer (L) and Hugo (R)
If you were to ask Hugo Rosales and Elmer Valle to describe the people of Guatemala, one of the first things they will say is, “humble.” And, if you were ask them that same question, but on the beauty of Guatemala itself, they would say, “it’s humble.”
“Guatemala is rich in our nature and in our people,” said Elmer. “Everyone is willing to help one another without expecting anything back. We are hard-working people who work to feed our families and strive to provide safety and a roof over our families heads.”
Friends since childhood, Elmer and Hugo live with their families in Acatenango, Guatemala – a volcanic and rural village close to Antigua that is home to the third-highest volcano in Central America – Volcan de Acatenango. Both married and fathers of three children, Elmer works as an English teacher and Hugo is a carpenter who aspires to become an engineer or lawyer and likes to write in his free time.
“Our community is a safe one,” said Hugo of their village where the majority of residents are farmers that grow and harvest coffee, beans, corn and other vegetables. “It’s important that we teach our children and those in our community how to support and give back to one another. Our children will learn how to work hard, become good citizens and feel proud doing so.”
That support for their community, especially the agricultural community, is one of necessity, as a history of political instability and an infrastructure that is not properly equipped to handle the needs and work of the world today in the country has led to poverty and more.
“We always have hope that better products and technology improvements will happen in our country,” added Hugo. “However, we keep working hard no matter what so our children can see us, learn from us and be the change for the future.”
It’s an approach Hugo and Elmer learned from their parents and grandparents – waking up at 4 a.m. to go out to the fields with them to farm and harvest coffee beans. It’s an approach that also led Hugo and Elmer to the U.S. – Elmer twice and Hugo once.
“How can I continue to tell my kids to work hard, learn and go to college here in order to get a well-paying job when that job simply doesn’t happen [in Guatemala],” said Elmer. “It’s hard seeing your kids grow up and wonder what is going to happen. You don’t want them to end up like you. I think there’s a misunderstanding that those who go to the U.S. are lazy and go to get money, but that’s not true.”
Elmer’s first visit to the U.S. was when he was 17 years old. Not knowing any English and having worked only in the fields up until he arrived in the U.S., it was a culture shock.
“I had one friend in the U.S. and it was my aunt’s husband, my uncle,” said Elmer. “Two weeks after I got to the U.S., he left to go back to Guatemala and I was completely on my own. I was without work for a month and didn’t have any money for food or to send to my family. It was scary, but one day, I said to myself, ‘Alright, this is what I want and here I am.’”
Work came around for Elmer and shortly after, he began taking English classes Monday through Thursday night after work to learn English. Elmer had been in the U.S. for about three years when Hugo came over at the age of 22. While there, they supported one another and were roommates.
“When I went to the U.S., I was already married and dreamed about putting a roof over our heads,” said Hugo. “I spent 14 hours in a trailer truck with dozens of other people from Central America. Drug dealers stole our money, the police stole our money, we were beat up. There were a lot of bad things. I saw a big black bags with bodies in it on the way. This all continued until we reached Arizona.”
In the U.S., Hugo worked as a gardener for a year and was later introduced to Elmer’s boss, who gave Hugo a job that also allowed him to take English class.
“We thank God we encountered good people along the way,” said Hugo. “Good people who looked after us and helped us.”
When Elmer returned to Guatemala after his first stay in the U.S., he got married, had his first child and wanted to provide his family with more financial support, so he decided to go back.
“My second time around [in the U.S.], it was a lot easier,” said Elmer. “I knew a lot of English, had more friends here and was able to send money back to my family.”
In Guatemala, to be part of the middle class, Hugo and Elmer note you must make about 25,000 quetzals (a little over $3,000 U.S. dollars) each month. Most people only make 3,000 quetzal (about $400 U.S. dollars) a month.
“If I took a vacation with my family today, my kids would starve for three or four months,” said Hugo. “You can’t take vacation, they don’t happen. Thinking about buying a new car here? You will be working a lifetime in order to get that.”
“And if you do have a car, it’s so hard to fix them,” added Elmer. “Taking them to the mechanic is like us trying to go to the doctor here – it doesn’t happen because it’s too expensive.”
Jobs are also hard to come by. They shared that every year, nearly 75,000 young adults graduate from college in Guatemala, with only 25,000 jobs available for them after graduation – hardly any being in their field of studies.
“When I came back from the States, I decided I wanted to finish high school, go to college and get a degree in Guatemala in order to have a better job,” said Elmer. “It took me seven years to do and required a lot of sacrifice, and I still can’t have a job that meets the level of my education and skill. It’s still minimum wage after all these years.”
Today, Hugo and Elmer have been back in Guatemala for a while now. They returned for their families and are working their respective jobs while running the operations in Guatemala for a mission-based nonprofit Heart to Heart Experiences. They dream of going back to the U.S. legally and with their families in order to give them a better life.
“If anything, we would love to get an opportunity for our children to go to the U.S., maybe with scholarships and to study there” said Elmer. “We just dream of seeing them succeeding and having a better future. I usually wake up in the middle of the night and can’t sleep because I think about their futures.”
However, Hugo and Elmer continue to have hope. Hope for political stability. Hope for community improvements. Hope for a better life. A hope that is rooted in the humbleness of Guatemala and its people.
“We feel blessed we are from Guatemala,” said Elmer. “We love our community, people, culture and kids,” said Elmer. “We encourage others to come and learn about us and our country, too.”
“While we don’t know where life will take us, we count our blessings,” concluded Hugo. “We thank God our families are united and are grateful for God’s will. We trust that God will provide and lead us to where we are supposed to be and what we are called to do.”
For the last seven years, Hugo and Elmer have been involved with Heart to Heart Experiences (H2H), a U.S.-based nonprofit that works in partnership with communities in Central America to provide relief through home construction and community outreach. As the H2H staff members in Guatemala, Hugo and Elmer have been instrumental in strengthening H2H’s partnership with Asociacion Pequenas Apostoles de la Redencion, From House to Homes and The God’s Child Project that has allowed H2H to live its mission and for the communities they serve to grow.
For the first time in three years due to COVID, H2H will be returning to Guatemala with a group of over 30 people to carry out their work in-person. If you are interested in learning more about H2H, please visit their website.
