Members of the RMP 2018 travel team recently returned from a visit to the community Xexuxcap. Following this meeting, RMP hopes to partner with Xexuxcap for our next project.
RMP members traveled to Guatemala to help the community members of Sumal Grande complete their water supply project.
Travel Team: Tiffany Malloy, Fundraising Coordinator; Nicki Seminara, Vice President; Jeff Hargis, President; Dave Heinrich, Engineer in Charge
Before heading to Guatemala, the RMP travel team and other chapter members got together to train in water quality testing and land surveying. Practicing these skills at home makes travelers better prepared in the field.
A huge thank you to all of our donors who helped us exceed our fundraising goal of $6000 and also helped us to win an additional $1000 for raising the most money! Read the full post for details.
Rueben's partnered with EWB-RMP to donate 25% of the evening's sales to our chapter to help fund our upcoming implementation trip in spring 2018. Didn't make it to the fundraiser but still want to support EWB-RMP? Donate to our End of Year Campaign from Tuesday, November 28 through Sunday, December 3, 2017. Every dollar helps!
Read the full post for details and fundraiser photos.
Paul Leidig and Dave Heinrich (pictured) recently attended EWB-USA's annual conference to learn the latest updates from HQ and meet other EWB members from around the world.
This August, the EWB-RMP team volunteered a third straight year for an aid station at the Boulder 70.3 Half Ironman. This was the team's first year staffing a run aid station, and we really enjoyed cheering on all of the athletes. The hula skirts and tutus were a fun addition. We even received thank you wristbands from over 20 triathletes. Our group was a bit smaller this year than it has been in the past, so if you're interested in helping out next year or for other events please join us!
RMP's second Discussion Group gathered to watch and discuss the 1983 documentary "When the Mountains Tremble." The documentary follows the turmoil and violence in Guatemala in the 1980s and increased our understanding of the historical and cultural context in which our chapter's project is taking place. We will later watch the follow-up film to this one, "Granito: How to Nail a Dictator."
If you weren't able to join us for the movie screening, you can watch it at home on YouTube.
On June 24, 2017, communities around the world shared a dance work set in a locale that is close to water and that best enables them to highlight a specified local water issue. RMP was invited to participate in Boulder's Global Water Dances this year, along with Maji Safi Group.
This year our charity partner relay teams in the Colfax Marathon raised over $500 for EWB. Several chapter members participated in the race, including Arista Shippy, who participated on the marathon relay team pictured.
On June 6th, we met at the Boulder Public Library - George Reynolds Branch to discuss the book Bitter Fruit by Stephen Schlesinger and Stephen Kinzer. This book chronicles the background, events, and consequences of the CIA-orchestrated plot to overthrow democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz at the request of the United Fruit Company in 1954. This coup set off a chain of events including the Guatemalan genocide of the 1980s, and shaped how the USA is viewed in Latin America to this day. We discussed the similarities between the events of this novel and modern events as well as actions of the CIA in other Latin American countries. We also discussed how it relates to our own experiences working in Guatemala.