Valor, Commitment, Fortitude, and Kindness are some of the other colors woven into the fearless life of my dear friend and light of revelation don Emiliano Rosales Chial.
“Para el tejido es el diseño de los colores que representa la vida del ser humano, porque acá utilizamos trajes típicos que nos representa como indígenas de campo.” Don Emiliano is a father, husband, brother, volunteer at the Biblioteca Comunitaria Rija’tzuul Na’ooj, and Leader in his Community of San Juan La Laguna, Sololá.
“It is the design of the colors in the weaving that represent the life of a human being, because here we use native dress to represent us as indigienous people of the countryside.”
Designed for solidarity in times of hopelessness, is what drives don Emiliano’s spirit to support his fellow residents in his town of San Juan La Laguna, and the more hard hit families in the neighboring villages.
CALL TO ACTION IN MOMENTS OF DESPAIR
As the Covid 19 pandemia continues to ravage individual lives, family lives, village lives in Guatemala and all nations around the world, kindness and goodwill also continues to rise up in miraculous ways! Don Emiliano’s unwavering spirit to provide hope and sustenance to the members of his dear community abounds with each sunrise. He has been busy along with other volunteer members of the community library in the distribution of basic staple foods and others essential for survival as massive numbers of residents have lost their jobs and other sources of income.
At San Juan La Laguna, as in the surrounding towns and the whole area of Lake Atitlán, people greatly depend on income generated from year round tourism, whether it is from national or international visitors. All forms of tourism have ceased leaving, oftentimes multiple household members deprived of much needed earnings.
OUR RESPONSE TO COVID 19 IN SAN JUAN LA LAGUNA
Honoring don Emiliano’s call to service in and outside of his community, in October, De La Sidra united forces with other local donors in San Juan La Laguna to support his initiative to help and be a source of hope. In this moment of pandemic despair, 10% of proceeds from sales of “the purchases for impact” at De La Sidra, many from returning customers, were pledged and made available to alleviate food insecurities.
Along with don Emiliano, the volunteers assisted many families to receive essential life sustaining items. The distribution of staple foods like rice, beans, sugar, and other products, such as toilet paper were delivered on Fridays or Saturdays after a week-long of item collection. Other times, fresh vegetables donated from local farms were distributed as well.
And just like the revered San Juan La Laguna huipil with its design of colors that have embroidered the courage possible in any human life, don Emiliano has long ago answered his calling to honor the dignity of every human being in and out of his beloved town of San Juan.
May the colors that weave our true values design our spirit with the wisdom to represent our purposeful humanity at its best in honoring the goodness in humankind.
“Muchos sueños que cumplir, amiga, mientras que Dios me de vida.”
“Many dreams to make come true, my friend, while God gives me life.”
WHAT IMPACT SOLVES IN TIMES OF COVID 19 AT SAN JUAN LA LAGUNA