A surprise ending for the Computer Center?

You all remember Galindo, right? Nas Palas’s grandson that tried to commit suicide a few months after we got here? Well, I’ve not spoken of him in a while, but he’s been around, doing various things as young men his age do. Sometimes he goes to cut firewood, sometimes he cleans trash out the stream, sometimes he paints the house. But he also has a “job” that is pretty atypical around here: he’s The Cable Guy.

You see, a family in our valley has a big satellite dish in their yard, and there’s coax cable all over the valley to bring TV to those who crave it. For some reason that is beyond me, Galindo is the designated guy who hooks up new customers, collects the money, and writes receipts. Perhaps he has a teenager’s affinity for technology, and he’s a clever guy like his cousin Chalio? He’s done this job since we met him; about once a month I see him in his room with a desk and a pen, writing out receipts in a little book. Occasionally I bump into him as I’m walking somewhere, with a reel of cable under his arm and a pair of wirecutters, on his way to hook up someone else.

But this all changed in January, when he got accepted into post-secondary school. Galindo decided that he wants to be a PE teacher, and that requires taking classes full-time in the capitol city Huehuetenango, about five hours away. Nas Palas went with him to find a room to rent, get him settled in, and we didn’t see much of him after that except on the occasional weekend.

Then, disaster struck. A few weeks ago, Emily and I had a meeting planned with the leaders of the village to decide if they want a new volunteer after we leave. Nas Palas, being a staunch ally of ours and a respected village elder, was key to the meeting. About an hour before start time, his daughter mentioned to us that Nas had gone to Huehue to “visit”. ARGH! He knew about the meeting, and just bailed? We tried not to be hurt, and held the meeting without him.

Turns out, though, that Nas had actually gone to get Galindo and move him out. There isn’t a lot of gang activity outside of Guatemala City, but apparently there’s enough that one of them came across Galindo and tried to extort him. This kid has rotten luck! Now, he’s back in the village, helping around the farm and being The Cable Guy once again, and trying not to be bored.

And this is where the computer center comes in. After we initially explained to the leaders how the computer center would work, they all just sortof lost interest. Things have stalled out again, much to my dismay. “Why not talk to Galindo?” Emily said.

What a great idea. I went over to his room, and explained to him everything I’d told the leaders and they’d then ignored. He listened intently, and decided he was game. He really seemed to understand the basic ideas behind what I had in mind- a group of young people that could watch over the center and keep it open, collect money to pay the bills, and work together to develop the center further. I also told him that getting other people involved would protect him and Nas Palas as well- if it was only Galindo, rumors would start that Nas’s family was trying to steal away the computers, or that they struck some sort of deal with the Gringos. He said he understood, and would get some more people together and do it.

In our time here, I’ve learned to be suspicious. It seemed too easy… would he follow through?

This evening, though, I saw the proof. I went by the Health Center to get our cheese out of the vaccine fridge (heh) and saw lights on in the adjacent computer room. Galindo was in the computer center, with a few kids I’d never seen there before, as well as a teenager who was working on homework! I was floored. This is how I’d always imagined the center being used, and finally, in our last weeks here, it happened. We still have a long way to go (especially with collecting and managing money, paying light bills, and getting internet), but this somehow makes me feel like finally, we have success.