All Blog Posts (305)

My son asked me to join him for a day trip to San Francisco so we flew up early and took a quick walk around to see a few sites. He wanted to avoid the typical tourists things this trip so we just walked along the bay and over the Golden Gate Bridge.…

Over the past 2 months we have been conducting surveys among 24 communities as a part of a large nutrition program sponsored by USAID. Beginning this month we will provide a specially formulated product to all children ages 6-24 months each day. This product has been shown to significantly reduce illness and…

We had 91 mothers with over 300 kids show up today for lunch and milk distribution. One would think it would be complete chaos with that many small children trying to get away from their mothers. Actually, aside from an unplanned trip to Godinez to buy more bowls and forks, it went quite smoothly. One thing…

2011 was a very good year for the kids at Casa de Sion in Los Robles, Guatemala. Our little foundation has fed over 350 small children and their moms every week this year. We have prepared a nutritious hot lunch and 3 hours of extra schooling for over 60 school kids from the local public elementary school…

Guatemala is famous for its many ancient Mayan temples throughout the country but few know that the tradition continues even today. A group of 10 of us from Casa de Sion got up very early and headed for Quetzaltenango to see the brand new temple that is having an open house for all visitors before it is…

We spent the entire day at Chuiti Estancia, a very poor village about 15 minutes from Los Robles, Guatemala. Our objective today was to identify all the families with young children and assess needs that would align with our programs.…

Every Tuesday and Thursday we host a hot, nutritious lunch for all of our moms with their toddlers. You can't help but think these are special kids. They are so cute and love to see the gringos. We start our program essentially at conception by giving moms prenatal vitamins and eggs every week. When the baby…

Most of today was spent searching for families with children who might benefit from our program. We have just been approved by a large organization to distribute a high vitamin peanut butter type of product especially designed to overcome many of the debilitating effects of malnutrition which is so pervasive…

Today we had 54 mothers with 98 children and numerous infants. It was a big day and we used every bit of food and still needed to raid our fridge for a few leftovers that we had there. Today we distribute formula and encaperina to all the moms. And this is only half of them. The remaining moms come on…

Casa de Sion has produced some very nice Christmas cards that anyone can purchase to assist in fund raising efforts. Any proceeds, as always, come directly to the people in Guatemala. One of the reasons I like Casa de Sion is because it is the only non profit organization I have ever found that uses…

Our day started very early today. At 6 AM we loaded all the volunteers and their luggage into the van for the short ride up to Godinez where they caught the shuttle to Panajachel and then on to Antigua for a few days before they head for their next assignment in Honduras. At the same spot I left our…

Our volunteer group ends their tour of Guatemala today and their timing could not be more perfect. The major project they undertook to build an significant erosion wall had the last stone placed today leaving them with enough time to clean up and pack for their next destination, Honduras. They spent a month…

Our mothers and toddlers returned today to enjoy lunch. Every Tuesday and Thursday all the local mothers with children 0-5 come to have a hot, nutritious lunch. They are the sweetest people and you can't help but just feel good around them. It's interesting, but you rarely hear kids cry here in Guatemala. Not…

Over the past couple of weeks, our new caretaker house on the lower level has taken shape. They have finally placed the roof and are now digging the septic system (basically a big hole). Any US building inspector would suffer a major cardiac arrest if he came on any building site in Guatemala. But as long as…

It is so nice to be back in Guatemala this week. I arrived to sunny warm weather and although the cleanup continues from an unusually disastrous monsoon season, much progress has been made to clear the roads from the many mudslides during October.  I arrived in Los Robles at Casa de Sion to find my…

I 'm glad to take your round in City of Yangon , lately Capital was since 2004 ,so many fantastic place to visit  yet complete highly commended for five days tour.....

Day ... 1 ... It was a good place to stroll for 2 hours in the heart of city which 's more than 120 years old

                  colonies building and daily busy situations of urban life, 2000 years old of Sule Paya (measure

                  point start on Zero degree) ,72 meter long and 22 meter…

We visited North Carolina in both 1993 and 2007 but our beer knowledge of the Tar Heel State was limited to only two brewery additions to The List.



We recently journeyed back to North Carolina to make our first serious exploration of the state, centering on one of the country's hottest beer scenes, Asheville. Over five days, we explored not only Asheville's bustling downtown, but also walked, hiked and drank the best beer that Western North Carolina had to offer.



We…

In Guatemala, when it rains, it really pours. This is the end of the monsoon season here in Guatemala and it is definitely going out with a bang. Over the last 3 days it has rained incessantly. There is always a consequence; mudslides. And we are now completely cut off from everywhere. The roads on all sides…

Twice a week our Mayan mom's come to Los Robles for a nice hot lunch and to receive baby formula for their infants. The group above traveled by foot from Chuti Estancia, a small community about 40 minutes away on foot. They are always so grateful for the warm, healthy meal and can of baby formula as it has…

This week the foundation owners are in Guatemala for a short visit and as you might expect, everyone is excited to spend a little time with them. This morning Vicki decided to make a visit to the local elementary school to share a few treats with all the kids. These are the same kids that participate in our…